Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 02 July
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
When Tom Roberts painted Shearing the rams, he wanted to create a painting that would represent Australian life. His image of men hard at work in a shearing station has endured since as a symbol of iconic national values like hard work and mateship, and of the characters who live and work in country Australia.
How have these things changed in the century-plus since the painting’s creation in 1890? We’ll look at how the nature of work has evolved with the advent of new technologies, the changing role and power of unionism, and at the changing face of the rural Australian workforce with successive waves of migration.
Michael Varcoe-Cocks, head of conservation at the National Gallery of Victoria, will lead by talking about the artwork itself, placing it in context.
Arts advocate Esther Anatolitis, director of Regional Arts Victoria, will talk about the clubbish, closed shed of the painting’s Anglo-Australian workforce, introducing the perspective of migrants.
Dave Oliver, secretary of the ACTU, will talk about the role and power of unionism.
Dr Hugh Bradlow, head of innovation at Telstra, will discuss the massive shifts in technological development between the era of this painting and today’s heavily mechanised world.
And to close, comedy performer Gillian Cosgriff will write and perform a song about the work.
Australian Art Starting Conversations
Certain timeless works of art make us see the world differently. By experiencing famous paintings or sculptures, we can form an idea of what life was like when they were created.
But how much can iconic art teach us about the world today? Taking four historical works as a starting point, our guests make a series of lateral leaps to explore the diversity of the modern world through the prism of classic art.
After a curator from the National Gallery of Victoria places the work in context, three different speakers will explore the tangents that arise, leading the discussion surrounding the piece in new and unexpected directions. The evening concludes with a creative response directly inspired by the artwork itself.
Please enter through the North entrance, via Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt.
Presented by the Wheeler Centre and the NGV.
Featuring
Simon Abrahams
Simon Abrahams is a strategic arts and cultural leader, dynamic programmer and experienced producer whose work has been recognised nationally and internationally. He is Chair of Theatre Network Victoria, and a freelance arts consultant and performer.
Previously, Simon served as the Wheeler Centre’s Head of Programming, Executive Producer at Polyglot Theatre, Artistic Development Program Manager at Arts Centre Melbourne and Producer at Gasworks Arts Park. In 2010, Simon was named amongst Arts Hub’s Top Ten Australian Arts Leaders.
Hugh Bradlow
Hugh S. Bradlow is Chief Technology Officer for Telstra and is responsible for investigating the future technologies that will impact Telstra’s business.
Prior to joining Telstra in September 1995, Professor Bradlow was Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Wollongong in Australia and Professor of Electrical Engineering (Digital Systems) at the University of Cape Town.
Professor Bradlow is a graduate in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town in 1973 and received the D.Phil. degree for research in experimental nuclear physics from the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, an Emeritus Professor of the University of Wollongong, a Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne, and a recipient of a Centenary Medal from the Commonwealth of Australia. He was elected as the joint 2009 Australian Telecommunications Ambassador of the Year. He was listed in the 2010 Global Telecom Business Power 100 rankings (at number 32) and was named by Smart Company as one of the 12 most influential people in Australian ICT.
Michael Varcoe-Cocks
Michael Varcoe-Cocks is Head of Conservation at the National Gallery of Victoria.
His area of specialist practise focusses on paintings produced between 1850-1900 and in recent years undertook the restoration of Tom Robert Shearing the Rams 1890.
Dave Oliver
Dave Oliver is the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the National Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.
After leaving school in 1977, Dave began his working life as 15 year old apprentice at JR Simpson Engineering in Botany, NSW. On completing his trade as a fitter, Dave went to work for the Sydney lift company, Johns Perry Lifts (later Boral Lifts).
He first became a union site delegate while working on the construction of the elevator in the new NSW Industrial Relations Commission building at 80 William St, Sydney. After 10 years in the industry, and as a union activist with a passion for safety and asbestos issues, Dave became an organiser with the AMWU in 1988.
As AMWU National Secretary, Dave played a key role in the Your Rights at Work campaign and the Manufacturing: Australia’s Future campaign, as well as several government taskforces on apprenticeships, skills and the resource sector.
He is currently a director of Australian Super and a member of the Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Manufacturing.
Dave is married with four children and lives in Melbourne. He is a member of St Kilda Football Club and in his spare time likes to escape on his touring motorbike.
Esther Anatolitis
Esther Anatolitis is the Editor of Meanjin and one of Australia’s most influential advocates for arts and culture. She is Hon A/Prof at RMIT School of Art and a member of the National Gallery of Australia Governing Council ...
Gillian Cosgriff
Gillian Cosgriff is a singer, songwriter, pianist and performer.
After graduating from WAAPA in 2010 with a Bachelor of Music Theatre, Gillian wrote her debut show, Waitressing…And Other Things I Do Well, which played to sellout crowds in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. She also recorded an EP of original songs from the show with Luckiest Records, which was released on iTunes in 2011.
Her television appearances include Offspring, House Husbands, and Fat Tony & Co., and she was a backing vocalist for Kate Miller-Heidke’s 2012 album, Nightflight. Theatre credits include Pirates of Penzance (The Production Company) and A 3-Handed Mikado with Colin Lane (Lano and Woodley) and David Collins (The Umbilical Brothers). Her performance in the improvised web series Written It Down (featured on Funny or Die) saw her win Best Actress at the LA Webfest Awards 2014.
Her most recent show, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, has played at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Fringeworld Perth, and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and received the Best Cabaret Award at Melbourne Fringe 2013, the WA Arts Editor Award at Fringeworld Perth 2014, and a Green Room Award for Best Original Songs.