What are the Australian values? Would defining them help us to overcome our current political impasse? What might a future Australia look like that we could all value? How did housing affordability get to this point? Why has the ‘great Australian dream’ turned into a nightmare for younger and poorer Australians? What is the history of this moment? What insights will future historians discover as they reflect on our times? How did it become so easy and so acceptable to fake news, policy and leadership? What might the collapse of traditional media models trigger? How will that impact on Australian society and culture? What is the future for a democracy premised on the open exchange of information? And how can political power be called to account? How has our literature created and critiqued the identities that make this city thrive? What role does artistic practice play in challenging the foundations of our culture? Do we recognise what’s most powerful about creative ambition? How does art illuminate, problematise and create the complexities of Australian identity? What are the cultural histories from which the diverse Australia of today has emerged? What was in the news this week, or last week, or the week before, and what time has there been to give it some really good thought?
The good people at Neapoli Wine Bar invited me to consider curating a Sunday afternoon program in their beautiful space, and so the Sunday Salons were born, in collaboration with Ben Eltham and Tasneem Chopra. The 2017 Winter Season runs from Sunday 7 May to Sunday 18 June. Our ticket price of $15 goes entirely towards the fee for our guest speaker. Each Salon discussion is recorded and podcasts will soon be available.
ESTHER ANATOLITIS 