When: Wednesday 13 November, 5.30-7.30pm
Where: Louie Louie, Verity Lane Market, Canberra
Price: $20 (student), $45 (theatre seating), $65 (cabaret) per ticket (concessions available)
Details: Light food is included in the ticket price and there will be a cash bar onsite. Held in the hub of Verity Lane Market – ticket holders can stay on for dinner and drinks, with a range of cuisine on offer.
Register here.
The Academy, in association with Australian Dialogues, will present a Big Dialogue on arts policy on the eve of our 2024 Symposium.
The Big Dialogue format has developed over the past four years as a successful, trusted platform for better public discussion of contentious policy issues by people with different viewpoints.
A panel, moderated by Kelly Burke, arts reporter for The Guardian Australia, will include:
- former Queensland Minister for the Arts, Ian Walker,
- University of the Sunshine Coast Creative Industries Lecturer, Dr Karen Hands and,
- former Artistic Director at Opera Australia, Lyndon Terracini AM OSI
The issues of funding, governance, and sustainability for the Arts sector in Australia will be explored in a long-form and enlightening discussion. The panel will consider questions such as; is arts funding a function of the value of the arts? But what is that value? Is it social cohesion or personally enriching or a foundation for nation building?
‘The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.’ Joseph Joubert
The event is co-presented with Australian Dialogues.
Moderator
Kelly Burke is the Arts Reporter at Guardian Australia, a role made possible with a Balnaves Foundation grant. She started her media career with The Sydney Morning Herald in the 1990s and spent almost two decades at the paper filling various reporting and editorial managing roles. Kelly worked as a government media adviser at both state and federal levels before joining Guardian Australia in 2020.
Speakers
Ian Walker
A lawyer for 35 years, Ian Walker was Brisbane Managing Partner and National Board member of his international firm before being elected as a Queensland State MP from 2012 – 2017. He was appointed Assistant Minister for Planning Reform and, subsequently, Minister for Science, IT, Innovation, and the Arts. He served as a member of the School Council of the Anglican Church grammar School (Churchie) and as President of the Churchie Foundation. He has held positions both at Diocesan and National level with the Anglican Church. He was a Trustee of the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Community Trust from 2005-2010. He has had a long association with the arts, having previously chaired the Board of Camerata (Qld’s Chamber Orchestra), and is now President of Queensland Youth Orchestras. He maintains an interest in science and innovation, and from 2017-2020 was a member of the External Engagement Board of the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation within QUT. He is a Life Member of the Urban Development Institute of Aust. (Qld) and holds the Distinguished Service Award from the Federal Liberal Party of Australia. He is currently engaged in the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership within Monash University. He and Heather have 2 children and 4 grandchildren.
Comm. Lyndon Terracini AM OSI
Lyndon Terracini was the Artistic Director of Opera Australia from October 2009 until October 2022.
He remodelled that company to connect to a much wider public. During that period Opera Australia more than doubled its turnover and tripled the size of its audience and attained world standard performances. During this period artistic and financial imperatives worked hand in glove to attain consistently outstanding success.
His stewardship of Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA which he founded) and the Queensland Music Festival and Brisbane Festival have also been hallmarks of his philosophy and success.
Prior to his work as an Artistic Director and CEO he was an internationally acclaimed operatic baritone.
Dr Karen Hands
Karen Hands is a researcher and educator with a professional background in the creative industries. She is a lecturer and program coordinator of the Bachelor of Creative Industries program at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Karen’s research focuses on the political, economic and social aspects of the arts and creative industries, specifically examining how policy shapes the career trajectories of creative/cultural workers. Her research has been published in scholarly journals including the International Journal of Cultural Policy, the International Journal of Arts Management, and Gender and Education. Karen is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has previously held positions at Griffith Review, Queensland Writers Centre and Brisbane Powerhouse. She has been a peer assessor for Creative Australia and Arts Queensland.
LinkedIn profile: Karen Hands
About The Australian Dialogues
Australian Dialogues is an informal network of diverse organisations interested in participating in, or supporting, better across-the-aisle discussions on significant policy issues, raising the quality of public discourse.
It is inspired by Braver Network in America and is an initiative of The Brisbane Dialogues Inc., Australia’s first dedicated bridging or civil discourse organisation – a wholly independent, neutral, intergenerational, volunteer-based, not-for-profit project to model and facilitate discussions about big ideas and issues.
The Dialogues always address substantive issues of current interest, but their premise is that the greatest problem we face is the growing inability to have good discussions about all the other problems we face. Polarisation and uncivil discourse are widely lamented, analysed and commented upon; the Dialogues are doing something about it.
