Soul of the City: Australian Museum x Vivid Ideas

This is a past event. Discover other exciting programs and events here.Event: 5 - 9pm

Talk: 6:30 - 7:45pm

Ages: Recommended for ages 16+

Sydney's beating heart is its creativity. Throughout the city's history, our artists have brought us together and pushed the agenda. Hear from some of the people who’ve helped to shape our creative landscape, Stephen Page (Artistic Director Bangarra Dance Theatre), Sara Mansour (Co-Founder of Bankstown Poetry Slam) and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (Visual Artist) as they share stories of the artistic moments that have defined us. The talk will be moderated by Katarina Kroslakova, Publisher and Editor in Chief of T Australia: The New York Times Style Magazine.

Delve into tales of family and community, explore heritage, spirituality and how creativity can be used to connect with others as we celebrate those who have added soul to our city.

After the talk, Jonny Hawkins regales us with their love of eccentric characters who add soul to a city before they seamlessly segue into DJing for the night.

Top off this jam-packed night with free music, drinks and the chance to explore the Museum’s incredible permanent galleries after hours.

In this series of FREE talks curated by Vivid Sydney and the Australian Museum, we reflect on what makes great cities, the joys and the pitfalls of city-living, and we will hear personal stories of belonging.

Stephen Page is a descendant of the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh Nation from South East Queensland. In 1991, he was appointed Artistic Director of Bangarra and has developed a signature body of works that have become milestones in Australian performing arts. His first full-length film SPEAR premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before screening at various arts festivals around Australia in early 2016.

He has also co-directed and choreographed the documentary FREEMAN (2020) and choreographed the feature films Bran Nue Dae (2009) and The Sapphires (2011). Stephen has received both the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award and JC Williamson Award, been honoured with the Australia Council Dance Award for significant contributions to the cultural and artistic fabric of the nation, and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran is a Sri-Lankan born contemporary artist who explores global histories and languages of figurative representation. He has specific interests in South Asian forms and imagery as well as politics relating to idolatry, the monument, gender, race and religion. While he is best known for his irreverent approach to ceramic media, his material vernacular is broad. He has worked imaginatively with sculptural materials including bronze, concrete, neon, LED and fibreglass, as well as conventional painting and printmaking materials and techniques. His work has been featured in some of Australia’s most prestigious galleries as well as internationally and his first major permanent public artwork was recently installed at the entrance of the new HOTA gallery.

Sara Mansour is the Co-Founder and artistic director of Bankstown Poetry Slam (BPS), Australia's largest poetry slam. Founded in 2013, BPS has partnered with a number of leading organisations and festivals over the years such as Youtube, Sydney Festival, the Biennale of Sydney, Sydney Writers Festival and the Art Gallery of NSW, attracting crowds of over 900 people. She uses her practise and her art to shed light on issues of political and social importance and to drive change. Sara has been heavily involved in community work and the arts since BPS' inception, performing and facilitating workshops locally and internationally, and curating "Real Talk" - an award-winning inter-school poetry program which uses performance poetry as a medium to discuss contemporary social issues and empower young people in Western Sydney to find and use their voices.

Jonny Hawkins is an actor, writer, film maker, DJ, Founder of the Dollar Bin Darlings and self-proclaimed Sydney Loyalist. They have won awards for stage and screen including for the film Joy Boy which picked up Best Film Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Best Screenplay at Vivid's Fresh Flix and went on to screen at international film festivals including Cannes. Their most recent theatre work, Maureen Harbinger of Death was part of Sydney Festival’s 2021 season and will be presented as part of Melbourne’s 2022 Rising Festival.

Katarina Kroslakova is one of Australia’s most experienced editors, journalists and authorities on curating luxury experiences. Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of T Australia: The New York Times Style Magazine, Katarina brings almost 20 years’ experience writing, consulting and editing for respected national publications with a vast global reach. The former editor of The Australian Financial Review’s Life & Leisure and Luxury magazines, her extensive magazine portfolio includes a career working across Fairfax Media, News Ltd, Pacific Magazines, Bauer Media, the ABC and Macquarie Radio Network, and she regularly features in the media, reporting on the business of lifestyle and luxury in the retail, food, fashion, arts, travel and motoring industries.

Bankstown Poetry Slam (BPS) is Australia's largest regular poetry slam, and has been dubbed the largest poetry slam in the Southern Hemisphere. BPS' award-winning events and projects drive change by empowering young people and people from diverse backgrounds to express themselves through the medium of spoken word poetry.