Sydney magician and illusion designer Adam Mada is returning to the State Library of New South Wales to explore its extraordinary collection of magic history and create a new immersive theatrical experience.
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been awarded one of the inaugural Creative in Residence Fellowships at the State Library of New South Wales for 2027!
It’s an incredible honour, and particularly exciting because it brings me back to one of my favourite places in Sydney, home to an extraordinary collection of magic books, historical artefacts and stories from the golden age of conjuring.
The fellowship will allow me to spend 2027 diving deeper into the Library’s remarkable magic collection, researching centuries of magical history and exploring how these historical treasures might inspire an entirely new kind of live magic experience.
And for a magician who has spent much of his career dreaming up the impossible, that’s a pretty exciting prospect.
Conjuring the Archive: Reimagining a Hidden Collection
My research project, titled Conjuring the Archive: Reimagining a Hidden Collection, will explore the State Library’s significant holdings of historical magic literature, illustrations, performance material and rare books.
At the heart of the research is the Library’s remarkable R. B. Robbins Collection, an extensive collection of magic-related material documenting the history, techniques and theatrical traditions of conjuring.
I’ll also be exploring some of the Library’s older and rarer works, including Hocus Pocus and The Discoverie of Witchcraft, which offer fascinating insights into the development of magic, illusion and performance over several centuries.
These books and collections represent much more than instructions for tricks. They reveal the inventiveness of generations of performers, the changing relationship between science and wonder, and the ways magicians have used storytelling, psychology, theatrical design and technology to create impossible experiences.
What particularly interests me is how these historical ideas might be reimagined for contemporary audiences.
Rather than simply recreating tricks from the past, I want to investigate how the concepts, characters and theatrical thinking behind historical magic can inspire something genuinely new.
A Return to the State Library: How’s Tricks? in 2022
My relationship with the State Library’s magic collection began several years ago, when I was invited by Caroline Baum to explore ways of bringing the collection to life through performance and public engagement.
That collaboration eventually led to my involvement with the Library’s wonderful exhibition, How’s Tricks? Magic in the Golden Age, which ran from June 2021 to March 2022.
The exhibition explored Australia’s fascinating history of stage magic, highlighting the extraordinary performers, elaborate illusions and theatrical innovations that captivated audiences during magic’s golden age.
As part of the project, I worked with students from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) to explore the collection and investigate historical approaches to magical performance.
I also created, wrote, produced and hosted How’s Tricks? Live on Stage, a special live performance at the Library in March 2022, bringing together some of Australia’s leading contemporary magicians.
It was a fantastic opportunity to connect historical magic with modern performers and audiences, and it sparked plenty of ideas about what else might be hiding within the Library’s collections.
This new fellowship feels like a wonderful continuation of that work, only this time with the opportunity to explore the material in considerably greater depth.
About the Creative in Residence Fellowship
The State Library of NSW Creative in Residence Fellowship is a new initiative supporting established and mid-career performing arts practitioners to develop original creative works inspired by the Library’s collections.
Introduced as part of the Library’s expanded fellowship program in its bicentenary year, the residency provides twelve months for artists to research, experiment and develop new work.
The 2027 program includes two inaugural Creative in Residence positions, each supported by a $15,000 fellowship. The program welcomes practitioners from across theatre, music, dance, performance art and other performing arts disciplines. State Library of New South Wales
I’m particularly excited that the Library is recognising magic and illusion design as a form of creative practice that can contribute to the interpretation of its collections.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to explore how an archive traditionally experienced through books, documents and exhibitions might also be experienced through live performance.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Throughout the fellowship, I’ll be sharing some of the discoveries, research and creative experiments that emerge from the project.
I’m looking forward to working with the State Library’s extraordinary staff and researchers, uncovering more of the stories behind the collection, and seeing where those discoveries lead.
A huge thank you to the State Library of New South Wales for this opportunity and for continuing to support artists who find new ways to connect audiences with our cultural history.
I can’t wait to get started.
And who knows? Perhaps there’s a 400-year-old magic trick sitting quietly in the archive just waiting for its next performance.