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What art ought to be
Yorta Yorta woman, composer and soprano Deborah Cheetham Fraillon was joined by some of the country’s most creative minds for an expansive conversation that reflects on the role of the arts in a post-referendum Australia.
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Australia, at this time following the Voice to Parliament referendum and with a new national arts and cultural policy, is going to be profoundly changed. The arts has, and will have, a role in reflecting our aspirations – so what do we want? How does the arts articulate and advance this? Hear from:
- Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, Elizabeth Todd Chair of Vocal Studies at Sydney Conservatorium of Music;
- Michael Dagostino, Director of Museums and Cultural Engagement at the University of Sydney;
- Guzheng performing artist Mindy Meng Wang; and
- Host Jess Scully, author and curator.
This event was held on Wednesday 1 November 2023 at the University of Sydney.
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Audio transcript
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The speakers
Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Professor Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Yorta Yorta woman, soprano, composer and educator has been a leader and pioneer in the Australian arts landscape for more than 25 years. In the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Deborah was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), for “distinguished service to the performing arts as an opera singer, composer and artistic director, to the development of Indigenous artists, and to innovation in performance”.
Michael Dagostino, University of Sydney
Michael commenced as Director, Museums and Cultural Engagment in March 2023, with over 25 years of experience in the contemporary arts sector. Michael has had many leadership roles, including as inaugural Director of the Parramatta Artists Studios, where he developed an innovative hub for emerging artists to extend their professional practices locally and internationally. In 2023 Michael was appointed to a Ministerial Advisory Panel developing NSW's first-ever Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy.
Prior to his role at the University, Michael was Director of Campbelltown Arts Centre, a flagship cultural venue for contemporary multi-disciplinary art. Michael’s career includes being the Chair of Artspace, on the boards of Accessible Arts, FBi Radio, and Sydney Writers Festival and leadership positions on the NSW State Government Arts and Cultural Advisory Committee, Western Sydney Arts Alliance and Sydney Cultural Network.
Mindy Meng Wang, composer and Guzhen performing artist
Mindy Meng Wang is a versatile Chinese/Australian composer and world leading contemporary Guzheng Performing Artist. She is a pioneer to bring the Guzheng (ancient Chinese harp) into many western genres such as experimental, Jazz, western classical, Electronic, pop and improvisation. In Europe, she collaborated with many high-profile artists like Gorillaz and in Australia her collaborators include Regurgitator, Tim Shiel, Paul Grabowsky and Deborah Cheetham, Orchestra Victoria, among others.
Mindy has won “the Best Musician” of the 2021 Music Victoria Awards and the 2021 “the 40 Under 40: Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards”. Mindy’s long-term vision is to creates a strong voice for female composers and artists of Asian heritage, and more importantly, create a deeper and reciprocal musical connection between Australia and Asia.
Photo credit: Hugh Stewart
Host: Jess Scully, author and curator
Jess Scully is an author, city-maker and advocate for the creative economy and the role of cities in a fair future. She was an elected Councillor of the City of Sydney from 2016 to 2023 and Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney from 2019 to 2022. Over a 20-plus-year creative career Jess has worked as a festival director, public art curator, cultural strategist, policy adviser, magazine editor and radio host. She is currently a consultant to the World Bank on sustainable urbanism. Her first book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer, is published by Pantera Press.
Header image: Mindy Meng Wang, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Michael Dagostino and Jess Scully on stage at Sydney Ideas. Photography by Nicola Bailey for The University of Sydney.