Four weeks after my mentor and friend, Katherine Knight died I was having more success putting tears to paper than ink. She had insisted that I keep writing; that I stay vulnerable and courageous. I made the promise. Read More
On Friday night, Sydney’s Town Hall was abuzz as audiences gathered to hear Roxane Gay and Christina Hoff Sommers discuss the current state of #Feminism. Representing two opposing views, a robust debate was expected. Alas, poor facilitation saw the event quickly descended into chaos. Positioning two women against each other is not productive for the progression of gender equity. But that isn’t why this event failed – we can have healthy discussions with people we disagree with. I left frustrated and exhausted and it all came down to abysmal facilitation. To be honest, to even call it facilitation is an insult to the profession. Keep reading
With a title like ‘The Power of Hope or: how community, love and compassion can change our world’ it is hard to believe that Kon Karapanagiotidis’s memoir could be a disappointment. Alas, disappointed is exactly how I felt as I moved through this quick read. Read More
It’s been twelve months since I gave in my resignation at my part time role in the arts. It was a great opportunity at the time, however it robbed me of my ability to enjoy the arts as a consumer. I spent my days helping others connect with artworks I was trained to love. I side-stepped in to the social sector in pursuit of a purpose-aligned role and to focus more energy on my side hustle. A lot can change in twelve months.
The Price of Profit by Jason Wicks is an essential read not just for corporates, but any business (be that for profit or not-for-profit). As the title suggests, Wicks pushes readers to consider the impact business operations have on the wider community. He provides an accessible introduction to the ideas that are going to separate businesses from being good and great in the future economy. Read More
They had grown up only two suburbs apart, both commuted to the city for university and somehow Natalie and Thomas never crossed paths. With a distant appreciation for his work, in 2016, Natalie conducted an interview with artist, Thomas Quayle.
By 2030 every job will be affected by automation and globalisation, according to research about the New Work Order.
The arts sector, still painfully traditional in its administrative ways, is not immune. In order to provide relevant education and sustainable employment, the sector needs to have joined this conversation a long time ago. What’s stopping us? Read More
Over the last decade a new form of festival has been flooding cities and lighting up the faces of citizens. Pardon the cliche puns, but of course I am talking about events that use projections to temporarily activate urban landscapes. In these events surfaces that are passive, be it not for the history they represent, come alive under a mask of digitally rendered images. Read More
Stories, history and culture are embedded into everyone. But not everyone has had equal opportunity to share their stories. Power structures and dominant systems have seen people and their cultures spoken about, spoken for or worse, silenced. Read More
The Western Sydney Jam hosted by NAVA in November 2016
Conference. Forum. Symposium. They are the events that aim to gather the industry and it’s supporters to discuss problems, share skills and work towards solutions. But there is nothing worse than events that become all talk and no action. You know the ones – we have all found ourselves in them. Is this the most effective way to drive conversations and thus the arts forward in Australia? Read More
Verb. to move somewhere in large numbers.
On Saturday 1st October, SWARM:Collective Actions on Queen Street, saw five artists take over pockets of the street. Curated by Branch Nebula (Lee Wilson and Mirabelle Wouters) and commissioned as a part of Campbelltown Art Centres live art program, the event sought to enliven and activate the street with new works. Read More
Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, is rife in the arts. There is a lot of activity across greater Western Sydney and NSW, which means that getting to everything is just not humanly possible. I know because on more than one occasion I have tried. Read More
