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
It has never been made public why ARTEXPRESS ceased touring to Campbelltown Arts Centre (C-A-C) after the year 2000. The only evidence of the decision was its absence from the Friend’s Journal in subsequent years. The return of the exhibition, which exhibits major works from HSC visual arts students, has filled a critical gap in C-A-C’s program, where young people are given wall space once a year as a part of the Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize. Read More
Innovation is broadly defined as new ideas, methods or products. This is true in the arts, where it can also refer to new ways of seeing society, or methods of engaging with ideas and knowledge. Read More
For those who are yet to cross paths with Bilal, you might soon because his presence in Western Sydney and beyond is only going to increase. I first met Bilal when he was performing as a part of Night Sky at Bankstown Arts Centre in early 2017. He is eloquent with words, deliberate in his delivery and an all-round great human being doing youth work.
The Sydney Story Factory is opening up an office in Western Sydney and the Bankstown Poetry Slam regular is going to be the Storyteller in Chief. We took some time out to have a chat about his new role, turning passions into careers and the power of storytelling. Read More
