Past Events › Festival

Following on from his landmark 2010 anthology Joyful Strains: Making Australia Home, editor and poet Kent MacCarter speaks to authors Dmetri Kakmi, Maria Tumarkin, and Chi Vu about writing cultural displacement and the experience of being an immigrant in an ethnocentric society. Panelists: Dmetri Kakmi, Kent MacCarter (chair), Maria Tumarkin, Chi Vu

That the word poem derives from the Greek word "poiema" or "made thing" is indeed quite telling. How does a poet turn experience into poetry? Whose experience is it? Are imagination and inspiration personal or universal? How does a poem work and move and sound, and why? In the spirit of the famous Paris Review interviews this in-depth discussion about the aesthetics and praxis of poetry takes us into the "mindfields" of poet and researcher Dr. Lucy Van and celebrated poets Michelle Cahill, Dr. Tina Giannoukos, and Ouyang Yu. Panelists: Michelle Cahill, Dr. Tina Giannoukos, Dr. Lucy Van (chair), Ouyang Yu.

Location: Library Join poet and researcher Dr. Lucy Van as she speaks to award-winning poets Bella Li and Stavros Messinis about the relationship between the written word and the image in avant-garde poetry, and the narrative possibilities that can be produced in their work. Panelists: Bella Li, Stavros Messinis, Dr. Lucy Van (chair)

Location: Mezzanine How does literature from marginalised communities challenge the colonial monolingualism of the Australian literary landscape and broader national narrative? Dr. Lucy Van finds out when she explores the topic with the inimitable poet-activists Π. Ο. and Sista Zai. and acclaimed author and First Nations community activist Dylan Coleman. Panelists: Dylan Coleman, Π. Ο., Sista Zai, Dr. Lucy Van (chair)

Location: Library If literature is a vehicle through which we make sense of the world, what happens to writing when the author writes in a language other than his or her own native tongue? What is the impact of bilingualism (or multilingualism) on an author's aesthetics and praxis and their negotiation of a largely monolingual literary and cultural landscape? Poet and researcher Dr. Tina Giannoukos speaks to author Maria Tumarkin, and poets Dean Kalimniou and Ouyang Yu, about this vital and fascinating topic. Panelists: Dr. Tina Giannoukos (chair), Dean Kalimniou, Maria Tumarkin, Ouyang Yu

About Asia TOPA This stunning and multi-art form collection of works over the three-month long festival explores the connections between contemporary Australia and its growing diaspora. The 2020 program is focused on new work creation alongside presentations of iconic and legendary artists and reflects the contemporary imagination and lived experience of artists from the entire Asia-Pacific region. Australian artists, groups and companies have made connections across the region to present collaborations and intercultural works spanning music, dance, theatre, contemporary performance, film, digital, visual art, public talks and more. Fourteen Asia TOPA Consortium partners and more than 20 Victorian Program Partners have committed to simultaneously program and present contemporary Asian arts and culture across the festival. Their shared vision is to create a change in the Australian performing arts sector and play a critical role in shifting the conservative model of programming on all major stages, both locally and nationally. We…

What is FRINGE WORLD? FRINGE WORLD is the most popular annual festival in Perth and annually hundreds of thousands of people enjoy the incredible array of entertainment on offer. There’s something for everyone at FRINGE WORLD; from comedy, music and musicals, circus and much more, plus ticket prices are great value so you can enjoy multiple shows in one night out! The 2020 Festival will be held from 17 January to 16 February at more than 150 venues all over Perth and regional WA. The most popular way to enjoy the Festival is at one of the central hubs such as The Woodside Pleasure Garden or Girls School. The spaces are free to enter and have a magical atmosphere featuring food trucks, outdoor bars and free entertainment.

About Midsumma Festival Midsumma Festival is Australia's premier queer arts and cultural festival, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences. Every January, Midsumma Festival expands over 22-days of summer with an explosion of queer events that center around hidden and mainstream queer culture, locally and internationally. The Midsumma program shares with you the lived experiences of those voices at the margins, the expression of queer history, and the celebration of new ideas that come to life through world-class art and performance. Our festival program is made up of diverse art forms and genres, including visual arts, live music, theatre, spoken word, cabaret, film, parties, sport, social events, and public forums. Featuring over 194 events in 2020, with involvement by over 5000 culture-makers in over 100 different venues across Melbourne and wider Victoria - to anticipated audiences of over 284,000. Although the primary three-week festival is…

ABOUT US PERTH FESTIVAL HAS BEEN DISRUPTING AND CELEBRATING PERTH AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA FOR OVER 65 YEARS. The Festival was born out of The University of Western Australia’s annual summer school entertainment nights as a ‘festival for the people’ on 3 January, 1953. Since then, Perth Festival has seeded and cultivated decades of cultural growth as the oldest arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere. It is Australia’s premier curated multi-arts festival and one of the greatest in the world, known for commissioning major new works, celebrating the unique qualities of Perth and engaging diverse audiences. For a few weeks every glorious summer, the best artists from Western Australia and the world stand shoulder to shoulder in creative unity within the community.

Applications for zine stalls at The Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair 2020 close on January 10th 2020. It is free to have a zine stall. Applicants will receive email confirmation of their zine stall on January 19th 2020. To book a zine stall at the zine fair go here: https://forms.gle/ZgRbZSzeTNEoegCv8 Program will launch closer to the date!

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) is one of the oldest continuously operating LGBTQI organisations in Australia. SGLMG was built on the foundations laid by early community activists who fought for LGBTQI rights in a time of wide-spread, institutionalised oppression and discrimination. From these origins, SGLMG has evolved to include a strong focus on celebration while maintaining a commitment to social justice for LGBTQI communities. The Festival includes the iconic Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday 29 February and a dedicated performance program at the Festival Hub (the Seymour Centre in Chippendale).

About Fringe We were born 59 years ago (although we don’t look a day over 25) and we’ve grown up to become the Southern Hemisphere’s largest, and Australia's biggest, open access arts festival! We completely take over Adelaide, its surrounding suburbs and even some regional areas of South Australia for 31 magical days and nights each year. The city practically pulses with creativity. In 2020, it'll be our 60th birthday! Our dates are from 14 February-15 March, and if you ask anyone who’s ever been lucky enough to experience the Fringe, they’ll tell you themselves that it’s the best time of year to be in Adelaide. Our atmosphere is indescribable, but here are some words that almost do the job: mythical, magical, fantabulous, fantasmagorical, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. You get the idea – we’re one in a million. Venues big and small, pop-up and permanent house thousands of artists from all over Adelaide,…

In 2020, Writers’ Week contemplates one of the few things that incontrovertibly unites us all: Being Human. Through the words and minds of great thinkers, Writers’ Week explores how humans engage with each other, with technology, with the natural world. It examines the stories we tell ourselves and those we construct. It asks from where we can draw solace and inspiration. It challenges us to avoid apathy and despair. It applauds our curiosity in and engagement with the wider world. It seeks joy and stimulation in our intellect and each other. We hope you will join the authors, poets, journalists, historians, scientists, politicians and academics from around the world coming to Adelaide to be part of our annual conversation. Explore the exciting list of authors. This year sees the return of the weekend for younger readers, including the powerful showcase of spoken word performance, Hear Me Roar. We expand the…

BACKGROUND The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of the three largest comedy festivals in the world, alongside Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival. An annual event, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival literally takes over Australia's comedy capital, Melbourne, each autumn with an enormous program of stand-up comedy, cabaret, theatre, street performance, film, television, radio and visual arts. The Festival was launched in 1987 by Barry Humphries and Peter Cook. Thirty-two festivals later, with attendances of up to 770,000, it has grown to be Australia's largest cultural ticketed event. With an average ticket price of just $30, the Festival is not only a hugely popular event but an extremely accessible one. When the Melbourne Town Hall precinct is converted into a giant comedy hub, there is something for every comedy lover, from the very best local and international comedy acts in venues of all shapes and sizes.…