Nava: In Conversation

For this episode we are at MAAS, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences speaking about the upcoming Sydney Design Festival. Running from the 2nd to the 11th of March the festival hosts over 100 exhibitions, events, workshops and talks, both in the museum and through the public program partners in and around Sydney, including industry, universities and studios. The theme for this year's festival is 'call to action', and the events focus around the role and responsibility of design in our world and the potential for design to solve complex global problems. International keynote speakers alongside local makers contribute to the dialogue of what design can offer our contemporary society. We speak to the producer of the festival about the curatorial approach, the key events and why the event is important in challenging, provoking and inspiring creative practitioners in Australia. Information, ticketing and news about the festival can be found on the website: sydneydesignfestival.com.au

For this episode we are speaking with Dr. Pippa Dickson. Pippa is the chair of Design Tasmania and an advocate for design, art and creativity in Australia. We speak to Pippa about the changing climate of design in Tasmania and Australia, and some of the key issues facing the sector in 2018. We discuss multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary creative practice, and her recommendations for developing design, design policy and creativity in Australia.

For this episode we are at Girrawaa Arts Centre at Bathurst Correctional Facility. The arts centre is an initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inmates to connect with culture, develop their art practice and sell their work. We speak with centre manager Bryan Reiri about the role and value of art in corrective services and one of the current participants about his experience in the program.

'If we want change, we gotta make it ... we need to participate', Richard Bell. For this episode, artist and activist Richard Bell is in conversation with Esther Anatolitis about politics, social change, the role of art and the responsibility of artists. Richard is involved in the current Artspace instagram project, #52artists52actions, featuring an artist a week throughout 2018, each tackling an urgent political issue.

​For this episode we speak with Susie Rugg, the Kids & Families Coordinator at the Museum of Contemporary art about the major summer exhibition, Pipilotti Rist: Sip my Ocean. Pipilotti's work is immersive, engaging and accessible and has been particularly successful in attracting and engaging children and families. The museum hosted a children's only preview opening, and is running 'Sundays with Pipilotti' an interactive space for children and families in the learning centre. We discuss the increasing role and importance of these family friendly exhibitions to the MCA and to museums and galleries throughout Australia. For more information about the exhibition and the family programs, visit the Museum of Contemporary Art website.

In this episode of NAVA: in conversation with are in Hobart for the inaugural Hobiennale 17. We speak with the two directors of the festival, Grace Herbert and Liam James as well as producer Alex Hullah, about why they developed the festival and about the role of artist-run spaces in Australia. Hobiennale went for 10 days in November, with 18 ARI's from around Australia and new Zealand presenting and discussing works in unusual and re-contextualised urban spaces. For more information about the festival and the participating organisations, visit the website: www.hobiennale.com

For this episode we speak with Australian Design Centre about the state of the craft and design sector in Australia, and particularly the inaugural Sydney Craft Week that took place in October this year. We speak with ADC’s CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Cahill and Creative Strategy Associate, Penny Craswell about the Design Centre's program of exhibitions, workshops and events celebrating craft in Sydney. We explore why craft and design are increasingly important in contemporary culture, and the future of the industry. For more information, head to the website for Sydney Craft Week or the Australia Design Centre

For this episode, we discuss the Fake Art Harms Culture campaign. The Fake Art campaign is being run by Arts Law, the Indigenous Art Code and Copyright Agency, to introduce policy to protect Indigenous artists against Fake Art being made and sold in Australia. We speak with Gabrielle O'Sullivan, BiBi Barber and Judy Grady about why this campaign is so important and how artists and arts workers can get involved with the current Parliamentary Inquiry. The Fake Art campaign suggests over 80% of Aboriginal products sold in Australia are not authentic – meaning they are not made by or credited to Australia's Indigenous peoples. It is important that Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people’s rights are protected and this means stopping the fake art and holding companies, individuals and dealers to more transparent and ethical processes. The campaign is encouraging artists to make a submission to the enquiry, for more information go to www.aph.gov.au/inauthenticart This discussion was part of the NAVA

This week we speak with Georgie Meagher, the CEO and Artistic Director of Next Wave Festival, a biennial arts festival based in Melbourne. Georgie chats with us about what good leadership means, the role of directors in organisations and the responsibility of curators to artists. We get an insight into the plans and challenges for Next Wave’s experimental new model of artistic develop in Australia. Next Wave have just announced an incredible list of artists for the 2018 festival, so keep up to date on website.

For this episode we speak with Rabbaya Nasser & Hurman Ul Ain, two artists from Pakistan who are in Sydney presenting a live performance work as part of the Public Body .02 exhibition at Artspace. Rabbaya & Hurmat are performance artists who have collaborated for several years, and work as artists, curators and educators in Pakistan and internationally. In this episode we discuss their collaborative practice, what we can expect from their work, and explore what it means to be a performance artist today.

Episode 11: Proximity Festival with Kelli McCluskey & Sarah Rowbottam by National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)

For this episode we speak with Liz Nowell, the CEO of ACE Open. Based in Adelaide, ACE Open is an exciting new model for independent contemporary art spaces. We chat with Liz about the vision, program and necessity of creating this new organisation to truly support artists and contemporary ideas.

This episode we speak to key members of ALL Conference about the need and purpose of collaboration and connection in the arts. All Conference is a national organising network comprised of 15 artist-led, experimental and cross-disciplinary arts organisations. Representing a crucial stratum of the Australian arts ecology, All Conference members present diverse and innovative artistic programs which support the practices of living Australian artists.

Episode 8: The National 2017, Art Gallery of New South Wales by National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)

The new documentary feature, WHITELEY is a visual journey into the private life and creative legacy of Australia’s most iconic artist, Brett Whiteley, told 'in his own words' using personal letters, notebooks and photographs, interwoven with reconstructions, animations, archival interviews and rare footage. NAVA's Penelope Benton met with Wendy Whiteley to chat about the challenges of being an artist in Australia and what it takes to make it internationally.

The second instalment of our series on The National exhibition is a conversation between artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and curator Nina Miall at Carriageworks. The conversation discusses Ramesh's large scale installation work, 'The Cave', and the curatorial approach of this collaborative exhibition.

For this episode, curator Blair French is in conversation with artists Zanny Begg & Alex Gawronski at the MCA for The National exhibition. This episode is the first in a series unpacking and discussing the exhibition with featured curators and artists. The National 2017 exhibition is on display at MCA, AGNSW & Carriageworks, and is the first of three instalments over the next 6 years presenting new Australian art.

For this episode of NAVA: in conversation, Melbourne-based artist and producer Audrey Hulm, (aka ADHOC) speak with Honor Eastly - founder and director of the very successful 'Starving Artist Podcast' Her podcast, released in April 2017, is an excellent series exploring the relationship between and challenges of art and business for emerging and established artists. The conversation covers a range of challenges facing Honor in her work as an artist, producer and marketing director of her own creative practice, including social media, mental health and self care, collaboration and identity, and provides insight into establishing and dealing with success in creative endeavours.

In this instalment of NAVA: In Conversation, Melbourne-based artist and producer Audrey ( aka ADHOC) speaks with Devon Taylor, the Executive Director of The Women's Circus, a 26-year-old arts organisation with a strong legacy for fantastic community and artistic support programs for women. The Women's Circus is also a key player in the Arts West partnership, that harnesses a collective of Arts organisations to revitalise and celebrate their place in Footscray, Melbourne. They touch on a broad range of subjects around Feminist legacy and gender politics, funding, and the increased pressure on the Australian Arts sector to provide advocacy and services to citizens, as health and welfare service providers face continued funding cuts.

For this episode we are on site with Mark Shorter and Sach Catts, at Cementa17. We listen into their conversation as they discuss their collaborative endurance performance work 'Chip Chop Chanty', the intention of the work and leaking water pipes. In their conversation Mark and Sach, explore methods of collaboration and unpack the connections of work and labour both in practice and theory. They discuss and interrogate the concept of purpose, logistics, politics, and what it means to dig and occupy a hole.