Ciara Ferguson’s best life
Jul 17, 2026, updated Jul 17, 2026
Ciara Ferguson at the 2024 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Photograph photo: Claudio Raschella
Jazz artist Ciara Ferguson, who has collaborated with artists such as Tina Arena, Lior and Paul Grabowsky, will be performing during Art Gallery SA’s Monet to Matisse Friday Nights.
What does your idea of the perfect day look like? It begins with a few hours of cosy reading time, soundtracked by gentle rain on the window. Then I venture out into a brilliantly sunny day for a lovely walk, spotting beautiful flowers and plants. I would then cook a delicious vegetarian lunch and bake a lemon curd-filled sponge cake, decorated with flowers I picked on my morning walk, which just so happen to be edible, for my family and friends. My afternoon is filled with art and everyone is indulging me in one of my favourite activities- sightsinging Renaissance madrigals. As night falls, I play piano and sing a gig of original music, then we have a dance party into the wee hours.
What is a wonderful moment of kindness you have experienced? After a very stressful drive to get to a gig (having only recently got my Ps), I had parked truly atrociously when a kind dad offered to fix my park; his nine-year-old asked if I wanted a hug; and his six-year-old taught me five-finger breathing to help calm me down.
What is your favourite photograph? This photo of my parents, Susan and Mark, with me as a baby! They look so beautiful, and I can feel the love they have for one another and their children.
If you could own any piece of art, what would it be? I love going to the Art Gallery of South Australia! There are so many beautiful and thought-provoking artworks to see, free of charge! When I need a dose of beauty and peace, some of my favourite paintings to visit are Arthur Streeton’s Early Summer – Gorse In Bloom, Bessie Davidson’s Mother And Child and Rupert Bunny’s A Summer Morning.
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Here’s $500. You have to spend it in the next hour – what are you buying? I would donate it to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, an amazing organisation that supports people seeking asylum in Australia with a food bank, healthcare, legal advocacy and employment pathways.
A bar in SA you’d recommend? I love going to the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Thebarton. I don’t actually drink, but they have the loveliest staff, best music (shout out to Creative Original Music Adelaide!) and such a wonderful vibe!
What was the last film/tv show you watched? The Law According to Lidia Poët, about Italy’s first female lawyer. It is so interesting and full of intrigue, and Lidia is such an intelligent and kind character, who also happens to wear lots of fabulous 19th century outfits.
Favourite way to unwind? Being in nature. Hugging people.
Last book you read? Dirrayawadha: Rise Up by Anita Heiss, is a moving (and necessarily horrifying) book set during the brutal Frontier Wars. At its heart is a love story between a Wiradyuri woman and an Irish convict, but it’s also an important history of the atrocities committed by the English settlers. I learned so much from it, including many words in the Wiradyuri language.
Last song you listened to? I have been loving listening to local artist Ryan Martin John’s recent release Big Love and his other track Honey, Honey. I love his sonic landscapes – full of interesting chords and pretty melodies (and I do love hearing the banjo!)
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Best Life
