This panel discussion explores ideas of safety, movement, surveillance, physical distancing, visibility and invisibility within Melbourne’s public spaces.

Think Tank Moderator Nur Shkembi, artist, curator and PhD candidate, University of Melbourne, and Curatorial Advisory Group member for Who’s Afraid of Public Space?, is joined by esteemed local cultural contributors including Idil Ali, writer, performer, youth practitioner and community organiser; Antony Hamilton, Artistic Director, Chunky Move; Nicole Kalms, Associate Professor in Department of Design and founding director of Monash University XYX Lab; and Steven Rhall, artist, curator and PhD candidate at Monash University.

This Think Tank is fourth in the series presented by ACCA and produced as part of 'Who’s Afraid of Public Space?'

MTalks—Who’s Afraid of Public Space? Think Tank #4: Movement of People & Safety in Public

Listen to our talk with artists Kim Ah Sam, Teelah George, Joel Sherwood Spring and Salote Tawale on their new works presented as part of 'Future Remains: The 2024 Macfarlane Commissions'.

This podcast was recorded as part of an Artist Talk at ACCA on Saturday 29 June 2024. Please note the quality of this podcast is interrupted towards the end of this recording. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Read more: https://acca.melbourne/program/artist-talks-kim-ah-sam-joel-sherwood-spring-and-salote-tawale/

Artist Talks: Kim Ah Sam, Teelah George, Joel Sherwood Spring and Salote Tawale

Listen to our talk with artists Andy Butler and Nicholas Smith on their new works presented as part of 'Future Remains: The 2024 Macfarlane Commissions'.

This podcast was recorded as part of an Artist Talk at ACCA on Saturday 13 July 2024.

Artist Talks: Andy Butler and Nicholas Smith

Listen to our panel discussion focusing on the lineages of queer histories on the present. Featuring the research and practices of three speakers, Angela Hesson, Patrice Sharkey and Elyssia Wilson-Heti, who variously engage with queer subcultures, aesthetics and histories, the panel will consider how these legacies have shaped or reshaped the diverse range of LGBTQI+ representation today.

This podcast was recorded at ACCA on Wednesday 21 August 2024. Read more about the program here: https://acca.melbourne/program/panel-discussion-living-queer-histories/

Image: Nicholas Smith, 'chris' 2024, installation view, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy the artist and Haydens Gallery, Melbourne. Photograph: Andrew Curtis

Panel discussion: Living Queer Histories

Listen to Yhonnie Scarce and Lisa Radford in conversation with Vikki McInnes, discussing their artistic practice and publication 'The image is not nothing (Concrete Archives)'..

'Concrete Archives' is the culmination of Radford and Scarce’s fieldwork to local and international sites of nuclear colonisation, genocide and memorialisation. Published by Person Books, 2024

The podcast was recorded at the book launch of 'The image is not nothing (Concrete Archives)' at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art on Thursday 17 October.

Concrete Archives Book Launch | Panel Discussion: Yhonnie Scarce & Lisa Radford with Vikki McInnes

Toilets

Listen to our talk with artist Tina Stefanou, curator Elyse Goldfinch (and special guests) on her new exhibition 'You Can't See Speed'. This podcast was recorded as part of an Artist Talk at ACCA on Saturday 05 April 2025.

'Tina Stefanou: You Can’t See Speed' attends to the interconnected and multisensory experience of film beyond vision. The exhibition continues Stefanou’s interest in the voice as medium, from spoken sonic soundscapes to vocal techniques such as humming.

It also expands on her methodology of deep, long-term, co-creative collaboration and socially engaged practice involving interspecies-communal-performance making. Her diasporic, working-class ethic and approach to making challenges institutions of power and capitalistic logics, embedding the commons – from the planetary to the everyday – within her life and work.  

Image: Tina Stefanou and Matthew Cassar, artist talk, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne 2025. Photograph: Sarah Walker

Artist Talk: with Tina Stefanou

Moderated by exhibition curator Elyse Goldfinch, join us as we hear from designer Lloyd Mist, and contributing writers Azza Zein, Fayen d’Evie, Tara Heffernan and Tessa Laird.

The talk includes a tour of the interactive digital publication site, and readings from the writers, followed by conversations around Stefanou’s work and ideas that have been explored through the different texts.

'Tina Stefanou: You Can't See Speed' - Digital Publication Launch

*CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast includes discussions of suicide and genocide. Support is always available: Lifeline 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636


Listen to our latest talk with artists Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Megan Cope, Khaled Sabsabi and Ali Tahayori, from our current exhibition 'Five Acts of Love'. Take a deep dive into the discussions on their works, their practice and the ideas presented as part of the exhibition. This podcast was recorded as part of an Artist Talk at ACCA on Saturday 28 June 2025.

Image: Opening night, 'Five Acts of Love' 2025, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne 2025. Photograph: Carmen Zammit

Artist Talks: with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Megan Cope, Khaled Sabsabi and Ali Tahayori

*CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast includes discussions of genocide. Support is always available: Lifeline 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

‘We need talk’, is a bold new series of free public conversations that bring together artists, thinkers, and cultural leaders to explore the art world from every angle.

For our first event, acclaimed artist Tschabalala Self joined ACCA’s Artistic Director & CEO Myles Russell-Cook for a conversation on art, identity, and the future. 

A new ACCA initiative, ‘We need to talk’ is a space for spirited exchange, fresh ideas, and unexpected connections.

We Need to Talk: Artist Talk with Tschabalala Self and Myles Russell-Cook

Conversations and events from Melbourne's flagship contemporary art space

MTalks—Who’s Afraid of Public Space? Think Tank #4: Movement of People & Safety in Public

ACCA (Australian Centre for Contemporary Art)

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