Creative minds
Interior designer Abbey Hall offers a sumptuous setting for a gathering of creatives.
It’s a sunny winter’s day when SALIFE joins Abbey Hall as she hosts the committee of the Arts Club for lunch.
Abbey has lived around the world enjoying a career in brand and marketing for luxury hotels – in fact, she has moved home 34 times – but she and husband Christo have embraced Adelaide since their return in 2020. Abbey is now chair of the Arts Club, which formed recently to support the Adelaide Festival and welcome new faces into the arts community.
“Having had that opportunity to live abroad, I realise how lucky we are to have such an incredible festival here bringing international performers to Adelaide,” Abbey says.
“It’s about creating a culture around art – you can’t live without art. It’s an important fabric that binds people together.”
Abbey’s passion is evident in her extensive collection of artwork and sculptures, plus her own handcrafted ottomans; the fabrics are often inspired by a painting. “A big part of making a home is collecting pieces that mean something to you,” she says.
And each space has a distinct personality – Abbey laughingly describes them as “a series of cubby houses”.
“I grew up in the Southern Flinders Ranges, north of Quorn. Two of my sisters were always building cubby houses, another sister [contemporary artist Sally Smart] was always creating art for the cubby houses, and I would decorate it.”
Interior design is a relatively recent career change. After home schooling via School of the Air, Abbey attended boarding school and university in Adelaide, before her first hotel marketing role launched an international career.
“I often say I went from the Todd River to the Thames! My first hotel job was in the Northern Territory, I left about 1990 and was overseas for about four years, then Melbourne and Sydney, over to London and then New York.
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“Being surrounded by luxury you get a bit spoilt; that really helped me develop my passion for interior design.”
A few life changes preceded her career shift. “When I moved back to Adelaide, I had been away 18 years. Christo and I knew each other from uni days, then met later in life. We now have a son at school, and three older stepchildren. We travelled abroad as a family to Hong Kong, then Sydney, then back here.”
Abbey studied interior design while in Hong Kong and also started handcrafted furniture company, Meet the Ottomans. “In the beginning I did styling with hotels, now I tend to do residential; I’m inspired by the places I’ve lived, and the incredible hotels I’ve worked in.”
Personalising their historic North Adelaide home has been particularly enjoyable. She and Christo have added an extension onto the master bedroom that includes an office and studio lounge, plus a pool and gazebo in the spacious backyard.
“One condition of owning such a lovely old home, you have to do it right. And after living in lots of apartments, the space is lovely.”
Today, this space and its impressive art collection are savoured by Adelaide Festival Foundation Board chair Chris Harford and board member Brigid Emmett, and Arts Club committee members Christine Gosse, Sam Joyce, Anna Baillie Karas, Sarah Abbott and Eli Zaikos.
On the menu are canapes of tomato tarte tatin, mini lamb pies with harissa yoghurt, mini hamburgers and prawn brioche, plus a laden grazing board. Later, ribbon sandwiches are served during a working lunch in the dining room, followed by orange and almond cake.
They are all passionate about helping more people discover the thrill of theatre. Eli, whose creative career has included textile design and printmaking as well as running luxe giftware store Paloma & Co, says life without arts is very bland.
“When you’re exposed to theatre and can share that joy … theatre takes people into another world, you can totally immerse yourself. People are very busy, there’s so much stress in the world, with career, raising children, everyday stress – theatre is escapism.”
She says our local audience is very open-minded. “We have a lot of talent in Australia, and the Festival also brings international theatre to Australia – the international theatre groups feel that Australia is worthy for them to come.”
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Like Abbey, Christine Gosse has been living the expat lifestyle for many years, including for the past four years in Adelaide. “My husband is from SA, and I’m the Kiwi girl who didn’t know anyone” Christine says. “Abbey was very welcoming to us when we got here. She’d always say, ‘Come along to this, I’ve got a spare ticket’.”
This friendship echoes the Arts Club concept; bringing new people into the theatre experience, an idea that appealed to barrister Sam Joyce.
“I was sick of friends whingeing that they were bored in Adelaide, so I said ‘Ok, let’s do something,” Sam says.
He enjoys meeting new people and seeing them bond over theatre. “When you come to an Arts Club event, you might not know half the people in the room. People can have a plus one, so social gatherings are refreshed as new people come along,” he says. “And if people find it hard to find someone to come to a show with, this way they know more people there.”
While the club usually hosts bi-monthly lunches and events, Sam and Abbey recently hosted a trip to Sydney for almost 30 Arts Club members; welcome drinks were hosted by former Adelaide Festival chair Tracey Whiting, who came up with the Arts Club concept.
Adelaide Festival artistic director Matthew Lutton had returned briefly to Malthouse Theatre to direct The Birds, and he spoke to the group before they enjoyed a preview performance. They also met director Damien Ryan ahead of his production of The Iliad with David Wenham, enjoyed a backstage tour of Sydney Theatre Company, and a tour of the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prizes at the Art Gallery NSW.
“One of the highlights for me was the Sydney Dance Company rehearsal performance where they were in their sweats, in their studio,” Abbey says.
Brigid Emmett is also an Arts Club member who went on the Sydney trip, and was invited to deliver feedback to the committee. She says it was a unanimous verdict among attendees – the trip exceeded expectations.
Which seems to be a theme of the Arts Club.
“The goal was 50 people, we have 100 members, in 15 months,” Abbey says. “Matt (Lutton) being a younger artistic director has been key to broadening the base.”
Abbey has held many volunteer roles, but says the Arts Club is different as she is sharing not just the theatre, but the stories behind it. “My sister is a contemporary artist so I see what happens, it’s a tough game,” she says.
“This group is a way to not just support the arts but also share that inside story with people who might want to delve a little deeper into what the festival can offer.”
And enjoy some socialising along the way.
This article first appeared in the July 2026 issue of SALIFE magazine.
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