Change! It’s the only constant.

Now that COVID-19 is with us, we’ve had to adapt to new habits and make new plans.

Our Poetry Takeover Challenge was originally meant to be a new young people’s component to South Australia’s History Festival. But even though the festival won’t be going ahead, the Takeover will be!

During May 2020, we invite young people to take inspiration from the collections that the History Trust and other museums and galleries hold on behalf of the state of South Australia. We encourage you to engage with objects, think creatively, connect those thoughts to the theme ‘change’ and then develop a poem of any kind.

  • What does local history mean to you?
  • Why are objects important and why should we care?
  • Why would a museum have that particular object on display
  • What’s the story?

The Poetry Takeover Challenge is open to all students in Years 4 through 11 across South Australia. Parents, carers and/or teachers can provide support. The poems will be inspired by museum objects discovered by exploring the collections linked on this site.

Participants can create poems in any form: haiku, stanza, limerick, sonnet or slam, either written or recorded. Whatever form is most interesting to you.

Submit your poem in writing, or as an audio or video file, along with a picture of the object that inspired you. The History Trust will share the poems on our Poetry Gallery page and on the History Festival Facebook and Instagram accounts. Be sure to tell your family and friends to read your poem online and get in on the Community Choice voting later in May.

Check out The Challenge page for important dates and all the rules.

Special Thanks

We would like to express our gratitude for the generosity of our sponsors and partners who have helped to make the Poetry Takeover a reality. Thank you!

Art Gallery of South Australia
Children’s University
Commissioner for Children & Young People
Wakefield Press
Manal Younus
SAYArts – South Australian Youth Arts Theatre Co