The Advertiser Contemporary Art Award stands as one of the most prestigious accolades of the SALA Festival, recognising the most outstanding contemporary works across all mediums.

For SALA 2025, Emma Fält’s deeply moving piece Wildflowers Grow in the Saddest Parts of You has been named a finalist.

Wildflowers grow in the saddest parts of you. Not in easy earth, but in the cracks, where the pain has dug deep, where sorrow has worn you thin. Our roots, unseen strength, don’t wait for kindness, they push through the dirt of hurt, finding life in what’s been broken. Petals rise, not as fragile gifts, but as proof. Not to erase the hurt, but to claim it – turning scars into fields of wildflowers, despair into defiance. The wildflowers bloom, not to end the sorrow, but to light a corner of it, holding space where the love once lived.

This powerful work embodies Emma’s practice of weaving fragility and resilience into layered narratives of healing, courage, and transformation. It stands as a testament to the strength found in adversity, much like wildflowers thriving in harsh, unexpected places.

The Advertiser Contemporary Art Award 2025 finalist exhibition will be held at Keith Murdoch House, Adelaide, bringing together an extraordinary cohort of artists pushing the boundaries of contemporary practice in South Australia.