Who's a good dog? There's one canine who is so well behaved she spends her time in art galleries.
Three-year-old Weimaraner Zelda has seen more art than most dogs because her owner, Jenna Pippett, is an artist and gallery manager.
Not only that, the two are leading a Dog Friendly Art Tour in Adelaide as part of the South Australian Living Artists Festival.
It's billed as the world's largest open access arts festival and is run across Adelaide and regional South Australia during August, with 10,915 participating artists and 697 exhibitions.
Pippett and Zelda will only see a tiny fraction of them during their afternoon meander through Adelaide's galleries but it's a big day for Zelda all the same.
"She's enthusiastic and very excited to go and take some dogs to see some artworks," Pippett told AAP.
People are often worried about how dogs might behave in a gallery, she said, but the tour starts in an open space so participants can sniff each other out before the "serious walking business" begins.
Pippett started the dog-friendly art tours in 2017 and it's Zelda's first time on the leash as head dog, focusing on social cohesion, canine style.
"Making sure everyone gets along and checking in with everyone, which she's a natural at," Pippett said.
Some of those who book in for the tour don't actually own dogs, they just want to be one of the pack, Pippett explained.
This year's route is still being confirmed but previous walks have visited the organisation FELTspace and experimental gallery Floating Goose Studios, as well as public installations in the city.
So what kind of art appeals to dogs?
An exhibition of kinetic sculptures with moving balls proved very popular on one previous tour, while a sculptural installation that included cow poo also got a lot of interest from the canine crowd.
Earlier in the week at the Hugo Michell Gallery where Pippett works, Zelda was honing her skills, appraising a hand knitted acrylic yarn work by Kate Just, titled Self Care Action Series.
No word on whether it met with her approval but the 39 panels of knitted advice included some instructions Zelda surely would have endorsed: "take a walk", "eat good food" and perhaps most importantly, "pat an animal".
The Dog Friendly Art Tour seems to encapsulate the spirit of the long-running SALA festival, in which anyone can participate, and an exhibition by schoolchildren is given as much status as a show by a professional boasting international success.
“South Australians live in an innately creative community; we have incredible artists around every corner," said SALA acting chief executive Bridget Alfred.
Painter, sculptor and ceramicist Helen Fuller is the featured artist for 2023 and artists including Angela Valamanesh, Kaspar Schmidt Mumm, Kate Kurucz and Crista Bradshaw are also participating.
A festival hub at Adelaide's Queen’s Theatre will host a five-day drawing marathon, an ink painting workshop and wax carving classes.
As for Zelda, perhaps her artistic bent is all in the breeding, laughs Pippett.
"Weimaraners do have that very aesthetic look to them, so perhaps it's in her nature," she said.
South Australian Living Artists Festival is on during August, with the Dog Friendly Art Tour on Sunday 20 August.
