ACCA Podcast

In this session of ACCA's Book Club, author and activist Tony Birch and Max Delany discuss two of Birch's essays about site-specific writing, one written in reflection of a residency in Banff, Canada to research climate change and Indigenous knowledge, and the second considering the ecological pertinence of the walking/reflective/philosophical essay model. For more information, and links to read t...

Defining Moments: 'The Aboriginal Memorial' at the 1988 Biennale of Sydney with Djon Mundine, OAM. ABOUT THE LECTURE: Djon Mundine OAM reflects on his personal account of the initial development of the idea of 'The Aboriginal Memorial' from a series of projects which involved all sections of the local art community, to the genesis of an idea for a memorial, through to the process of its realisatio...

This conversation between Peter Cripps and Channon Goodwin considers the contemporary relevance of ideas of 'recession art', and follows on from the the lecture by Cripps and response from Goodwin, addressing the 1985 exhibition 'Recession art and other strategies' 1985 at the IMA, curated by Cripps, and the 2019 publication 'Permanent Recession', edited by Goodwin. This conversation is part of AC...

A lecture by artist Peter Cripps on the exhibition 'Recession art and other strategies' 1985 at the IMA Brisbane, followed by a response from Channon Goodwin. Part of ACCA's Lecture Series 'Defining Moments: Australian Exhibition Histories 1968–1999'. Listen to the follow up conversation between Peter Cripps and Channon Goodwin (Director of Bus Projects, founding Convener of the All Conference net...

In this session of ACCA Book Club, Quentin Sprague and John Kean discusses Sprague’s 2020 book, 'The Stranger Artist' (published by Hardie Grant). ACCA Book Club is our new monthly lunch-time catch up about reading, writing and more. Each month, we invite a special guest and previous contributor to ACCA publications, to lead an open and active discussion with participants about a written or spoken...

In this first recorded ACCA Book Club, Elvis Richardson and Melinda Rackham discuss their forthcoming publication 'CoUNTess: Spoiling Illusions since 2008', specifically '‘Chapter 3: My Brilliant Art School Career’ with participants on Zoom. ACCA Book Club is our new monthly lunch-time catch up about reading, writing and more. Each month, we invite a special guest and previous contributor to ACCA...

Popism, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1982 Lecture by Judy Annear The exhibition POPISM was held at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1982. At 24 years old, recent honours graduate and founder and editor of Art & Text magazine, Paul Taylor was invited to curate an exhibition of contemporary Australian art. The NGV was usually described as ‘the bunker’ with apparently little connection...

This Think Tank is the first in a series of public forums that will take place over the next twelve months that will both feed into and highlight the ideas and concerns of ACCA’s forthcoming 2021 research, publication and exhibition project, 'Who’s Afraid of Public Space?' This forum featured key thinkers in public culture, art and design to consider the impacts of the rapid turn to the digital, m...

What does it means to live, work and create in the pre-history of the future? This lively discussion about the role of new and emergent technologies in the visual arts and contemporary culture considers the developments in motion capture, mining virtual libraries of code, artificial intelligence, gaming and computer generated imagery and more. The Forum panel features Feedback Loops exhibiting art...

In advance of the live performance of 'Carrion: Episodes' at ACCA, as part of the exhibition, 'Feedback Loops' (7 December 2019 – 22 March 2020), artist Justin Shoulder spoke with Kate Ben-Tovim, Associate Director of Asia TOPA 2020. This rich and generous conversation unpacks a range of ideas in Shoulder’s performance practice, from birds to Body Weather, the underpinning influence of ecology, an...

In this conversation, recorded in association with ACCA’s exhibition 'Feedback Loops' (7 December 2019 – 22 March 2020), exhibiting artist Madison Bycroft speaks with the exhibition Curator, Miriam Kelly about the installation of new drawings, sculptural video installation and performance works in this exhibition. More info: acca.melbourne/exhibition/feedback-loops/ or https://maddog.hotglue.me Th...

This podcast is part of of ACCA Education's 2019 ACCADEMY Program. During the last ACCADEMY workshop for 2019, participating students reflected on ACCA's exhibition 'Haroon Mirza: The Construction of an Act' and co-developed an audible response to Mirza’s acoustic, visual and spatial poetry. ABOUT THE PROGRAM: ACCADEMY is an Education Program providing unique and dedicated opportunities for young...

In this floor talk, recorded in ACCA's galleries, exhibiting artist Sahej Rahal speaks about his installation of artificial intelligence and sculptural works for ACCA’s exhibition, 'Feedback Loops' (7 December 2019 – 22 March 2020). Rahal’s installations, installations and digital works are part of a constructed mythology that he creates drawing upon sources ranging from local legends to science f...

In this lecture feminist art theorist and writer Professor Anne Marsh discusses the influential 1976 exhibition Australian & New Zealand Post-Object Art: A Survey — the first major exhibition curated by the Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, and its legacy for experimental art in Australia today. This is the final lecture for 2019 in ACCA's to-year series 'Defining Moments: Australian Exhibiti...

The Psychology of Sounds Forum Listen to our forum about the psychology of music and sound, moderated by psychiatrist, author and media commentator, Steve Ellen. Building on the considerations of sound and the voice in healing and transcendence in ACCA’s exhibition Haroon Mirza: The Construction of an Act, this discussion brought together sound artist and co-director of FutureTense, Fjorn Butler;...

Lecture by Janine Burke, Respondent: Helen Hughes In this lecture, art historian and curator Janine Burke reviews pivotal radical feminist interventions of the mid-1970s, interrogating their legacy and exploring catalysts for collective feminist action, as well as their influence on Australian art history. Curator, writer and academic Helen Hughes responds and addresses the influence of this era o...

Chance Composition: Haroon Mirza and James Rushford in conversation Artist Haroon Mirza is joined by collaborator and composer James Rushford in a conversation that provides insight into each of their practices, from their shared interest in the aesthetic and spatial possibilities of sound and sampling to their experimental approaches to collaboration. This conversation is presented in conjunction...

Doubting Writing/Writing Doubt: Public Readings Developed in partnership with RMIT University non/fiction lab The Doubting Writing/Writing Doubt workshops were held over August and September 2019 to look closely at the themes of ACCA's exhibition, On Vulnerability and Doubt, and to ask: "How can engaging with doubt and vulnerability help us let go of conventional writing positions, and go further...

Almost Anything Goes: Sculpturescape 1975 at Mildura Lecture by Julie Ewington In the 1970s Mildura became an unlikely epicentre of contemporary experimental art in Australia. Julie Ewington reflects in this lecture on the visionary leadership of Tom McCullough in staging the Mildura Sculpture Triennial, which morphed the town's Arts Centre from an exhibition of recent sculpture into a freewheelin...

Soft Touch: Brent Harris and Justin Clemens in conversation Artist Brent Harris and academic, writer Justin Clemens discuss the role of vulnerability, doubt, desire and touch in Harris' painting and printmaking practice, specifically with reference to the works presented in ACCA's exhibition, On Vulnerability and Doubt. Further info available here: https://acca.melbourne/program/brent-harris-justi...

ACCA is pleased to host Chi Tran: Attention is a form of prayer as part of the 2019 WRITING & CONCEPTS program. A writer, artist and editor, Chi Tran presents this lecture in the form of a lyrical, prayer-like essay. Split into short chapters, Chi Tran's talk showcases 'how crucially feminist it is to combine poetry, autobiography, and critical theory,' as the speaker notes. This lecture is a medi...

Bandits Live Comfortably in the Ruins by Sean Lynch Presented by the City of Melbourne Irish artist Sean Lynch visited Melbourne in August 2019 as part of a research project into creative practice in Australia, with Arts Melbourne. In this lecture Lynch speaks about his practice and recent work in terms of the public realm. Sean Lynch is interested in loose ends within stories: the lost footnotes...

Clifton Hill Community Music Centre Lecture by David Chesworth. Respondent: Kelly Fliender The Clifton Hill Community Music Centre (CHCMC) was a lively place from 1976 to 1984, where artists from two distinct generations created, performed and debated. In this lecture, David Chesworth (coordinator between 1978-82) examines the CHCMC as one of the first places in Australia where the boundaries of p...

This panel discussion was presented alongside ACCA's exhibition 'On Vulnerability and Doubt' (until 1 Sept 2019) and focussed on self-doubt, imposter syndrome and the complexities for artists in putting themselves and their work on display. PANELLISTS: Exhibiting artist Charlie Sofo is joined by artists Kevin Chin and Jessie Scott and moderators from the Pro Prac Podcast Nicole Breedon and Kiera B...

Inhibodress: Multimedia interference: Lecture by Peter Kennedy; Respondent: Sue Cramer Artist Peter Kennedy continues our lecture series on the game-changing moments in Australian exhibition histories, speaking on interference and Inhibodress, one of Australia’s first artist-run initiatives co-founded by Kennedy with Mike Parr, Tim Johnson and others. Sue Cramer, curator of Inhibodress 1971-1972,...