/calendar 2010-09-02T00:00:00Z wheelercentre.com /calendar/event/film-criticism/ 2010-09-02T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Criticism is as essential to the industry as choc tops and popcorn, but if a bad word on Twitter can kill the box office what role do our critics have in the future of film? With thousands of movies released every year, film reviewers form opinion and can push a production from indie to international but can they be swayed by Hollywood? Our film panel look at the machinations behind the camera.</p> <p>This session will be chaired by Peter Mares.</p> /calendar/event/meanland-copyright-vs-creativty/ 2010-09-02T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>In this Meanland lecture, Cory Doctorow discusses how writers can seize the possibilities of the digital future.</p> <p>The internet and digital technology is challenging traditional notions of copyright, but many authors are finding new and innovative ways to circulate their work — and to make a living while doing so. Acclaimed SF writer, blogger and commentator Cory Doctorow looks at the perils and opportunities of this brave new world.</p> <p>This event is in partnership with the <a href="http://www.mwf.com.au/2010/content/mwf-2010-home.asp?">Melbourne Writers Festival</a> and <a href="http://meanland.com.au/">Meanland</a>.</p> /calendar/event/critical-failure-unconference/ 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Who reviews the reviewers? While staff critics are an endangered species, there&rsquo;s a flourishing critical culture online. With thriving comments and discussion around their reviews and interviews, blogs are variously the great hope for criticism or the reason for its demise. And while online pundits are becoming influential their pay packets online remain more virtual rather than actual.</p> <p>Following our week of Critical Failure, this unconference of bloggers and online writers looks at the discussion of books, film, theatre and visual arts that is creating a new world of cultural commentators. In this invitation-only event, we&rsquo;re bringing together independent bloggers to swap stories from the new frontier of critical culture.</p> /calendar/event/why-so-frightened/ 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Asylum seekers have no connection to population boom, unemployment, debt, terrorism or interest rates, but you wouldn’t know it watching the nightly news. We receive so few refugees compared to the global community yet time and again we are told to be scared. Why do so many Australians feel a sense of entitlement to turn back people fleeing for their lives? What does it mean to be Australian if we offer no just sanctuary for refugees? Why have we allowed a moral issue to become a political one?</p> /calendar/event/debut-mondays-gretchen-shirm-lisa-reece-lane-kristel-thornell-and-ingrid-laguna/ 2010-08-24T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Readers are spoilt for choice: bookshops are overflowing with the great, the good (and the rest), and it could not be harder to choose what to read next.</p> <p>Every fortnight, let Debut Mondays be your guide. Come and have a glass of wine and discover the best new writers around.</p> <p><strong>This week we feature:</strong></p> <p>Gretchen Shirm, <em>Having Cried Wolf</em></p> <p>Lisa Reece-Lane, <em>Milk Fever</em></p> <p>Kristel Thornell, <em>Night Street</em></p> <p>Ingrid Laguna,<em> Serenade for a Small Family</em></p> /calendar/event/george-megalogenis-makes-sense-of-the-election/ 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Hot on the heels of the most bemusing Federal election in history, this very special post-election edition of Lunchbox/Soapbox features veteran of the Canberra press gallery George Megalogenis. He&rsquo;ll be looking at how the polls fell, the impact of marginal seats and independents, and work out how effective government can be in this new political landscape.</p> <p>And if you&rsquo;re still puzzling over the constitutional ins and outs or wondering how the preferences fell, Megalogenis will answer questions from the floor.</p> /calendar/event/quarterly-essay-china-america-australia-s-future-in-asia/ 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>In the September <em>Quarterly Essay</em>, Hugh White considers Australia’s place between Beijing and Washington. As the power balance shifts, and China’s influence grows, what might this mean for the nation? In conversation with journalist Rafael Epstein, White considers the shape of the world to come and the implications for Australia as it seeks to carve out a place in the new world order.</p> <p>This event is in partnership with <em>Quarterly Essay</em>.</p> <p><img alt="QE_Headline" class="size2" src="http://wheelercentre.com:80/static/files/assets/6eae8662/QE_Headline_Size2.jpg" title="QE_Headline" /></p> /calendar/event/disco-the-vinyl-solution/ 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Why does Melbourne, the classiest city in Australia, have such a problem with street violence? Is it the licensing laws? Is it the parents? No and no. Is it the rise of house music at the expense of disco? Hell yes.</p> <p>Not every club plays loud, joyless, repetitive, electronically generated sausage-meat music that drives you to kill, kill, and kill again. But let&rsquo;s put it this way: no-one who has just danced to The Weather Girls' <em>It&rsquo;s Raining Men</em> has ever gone on to glass someone in the face.</p> <p>Fiona Scott-Norman, satirist and DJ, argues that street violence can be solved not by sending in the cops, but by sending in the disco police.</p> /calendar/event/the-happiest-refugee-anh-do/ 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Anh Do nearly didn&rsquo;t make it to Australia. His entire family came close to losing their lives on the sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat. Anh Do talks about the tragedy, humour and heartache of life in Australia and the path that lead him to become of Australia’s best loved comedians.</p> /calendar/event/poetry-from-the-east/ 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Ian Johnston is the eminent translator of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy, published in Hobart, Hong Kong and New York. Barry Hill is the celebrated poet and historian who has won numerous awards, most recently the ACT’s 2008 Judith Wright Award. Ian will be reading from his new book, <em>Waiting for the Owl: Poems and Songs from Ancient China</em>, and Barry from his <em>Four Lines East</em>, his responses to India, Thailand and Japan.</p> <p>In this night of reading and discussion, they come together to celebrate and share memorable poetry with a mind to the enterprise of translation.</p> <p>Supported by the <a href="http://www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au/">Australian Poetry Centre</a>.</p> <p><img alt="APC-black-web" class="size2" src="http://wheelercentre.com:80/static/files/assets/54f0821b/APC-black-web_Size2.jpg" title="APC-black-web" /></p> <hr /> /calendar/event/the-boy-in-the-moon-ian-brown/ 2010-08-23T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Ian Brown’s son, Walker, was born with a genetic mutation so rare that doctors call it an orphan syndrome: perhaps one hundred people around the world live with it. In his moving account, <em>The Boy in the Moon: A Father’s Search for His Disabled Son</em>, Brown describes Walker’s life and how his family help him live it.</p> <p>The Canadian author and journalist will be in conversation with Hilary Harper.</p> /calendar/event/ezra-bixs-art-fix-election-day-special/ 2010-08-16T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>It’s part Hooray The Mind-Numbing Election Campaign Is Finally Over Party, part art happening &ndash; with plenty of fun distractions for kids.</p> <p>Politicians can act like big kids, so we’re celebrating their immaturity and the start of Children&rsquo;s Book Week with illustrators creating pictures before your very eyes and live on the big screen in The Atrium. Artists include author and illustrator Roland Harvey (R.Har) and celebrated illustrator and co-creator of Books Illustrated, Ann James.</p> <p>Any people too young to vote are invited to enter the Thirty Second Soapbox segment, where kids have half a minute to tell us what they would do if they were Prime Minister. There will be selected poems about the election from The Australian Poetry Centre.</p> <p>Our ace feature spot is a massive set of nectar-sweet singing from Eliza Hull and super smooth grooves from keyboardist Jonathan Steer. Plus a Shakespearean soliloquy on Julia Gillard by E Bix Esq and music for the kids from the all new singing and dancing children&rsquo;s entertainment duo, Pumpernickel Pop &ndash; apparently the best thing since sliced bread.</p> /calendar/event/state-of-the-arts-lecture/ 2010-08-12T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>The Wheeler Centre, in partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria and the Harold Mitchell Foundation, is establishing an annual State of the Arts Lecture. How are our cultural industries in Australia performing? How should they be performing? The inaugural lecture will be presented by Jonathan Mills, current director of the Edinburgh International Festival.</p> <p><a href="http://wheelercentre.com:80/static/files/assets/a6b8ed24/State_of_the_Arts_Lecture_Transcript.pdf">Full transcript of the Jonathan Mills' speech (pdf 158kb)</a></p> <p>In response to this lecture, arts critic Alison Croggon wrote the essay <a href="http://wheelercentre.com/dailies/day/2010/8/10#post-c624a41d0141">Ways of Meaning</a>, looking at how we respond to art.</p> /calendar/event/ezra-bixs-art-fix-at-federation-square-book-market/ 2010-08-06T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Come along to readings of poetry and prose, a literary quiz, music, interviews, prizes with Ezra Bix.</p> <p>Among this week’s guests at our massive opening show are featured superstar multiple slam champs Maxine Beneba Clarke from the UK via Jamaica and IQ (Benjamin Theolonius Sanders) from the US, 8 times Memphis Slam winner. In the Smorgasbord section top shelf Melbourne poets Michael Reynolds, Koraly Dimitriadis, Di Cousens, Geoff Fox and Uncle Reg Blow on the didgeridoo.</p> /calendar/event/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards-dinner1/ 2010-08-06T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>The culmination of the <a href="http://wheelercentre.com/projects/victorian-premier-s-literary-awards">Victorian Premier&rsquo;s Literary Awards</a> is the announcement of the winners and this year promises to be one of the best years yet.</p> <p>This year <a href="http://www.zincfedsq.com.au/">Zinc at Federation Square</a> is hosting the event with a very special guest MC for this evening celebrating Victoria&rsquo;s best writing.</p> /calendar/event/readings-from-victorian-premier-s-literary-awards-shortlist/ 2010-08-03T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are in their 26th year and to celebrate the <strong>shortlist announcement</strong>, the Wheeler Centre presents a very special MWF event. Six of the shortlisted writers across the award’s twelve categories read from their work. This is your chance to see the shortlist live and maybe work out the winner.</p> <p>This event is held in <a href="http://www.mwf.com.au/2010/content/mwf-2010-standard.asp?name=venues-fed-square">Festival Club, ACMI</a>.</p> <p>This event is presented in partnership with the <a href="http://www.mwf.com.au/2010/content/mwf-2010-home.asp?">Melbourne Writers Festival</a>.</p> <p><img alt="MWF_2010_Final" class="size2" src="http://wheelercentre.com:80/static/files/assets/dd796846/MWF_2010_Final_Size2.jpg" title="MWF_2010_Final" /></p> /calendar/event/visual-arts-criticism/ 2010-08-02T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but criticism lies in the pens and hard drives of our finest minds. This panel discussion draws on some of our leading arts writers as they ask what’s wrong with visual arts reviewing?</p> <p>This session will be chaired by Peter Mares.</p> /calendar/event/theatre-criticism/ 2010-08-02T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>As production values soar and audiences are becoming more discerning, stage criticism should be enjoying a golden age. Our collection of theatre critics lift the curtain on the contemporary scene to ask what’s wrong with theatre reviewing?</p> <p>This session will be chaired by Peter Mares.</p> /calendar/event/book-criticism/ 2010-08-02T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>Between the covers of our literary journals and weekend newspapers, reviewers shape what we read and buy. But as Gideon Haigh recently opined book reviewing is in trouble in Australia as reviewers &ldquo;are the lowliest of contributors&rdquo; at most media outlets. Our panel looks at how we can create a vibrant critical culture around literature that is both independent and professional.</p> <p>This session will be chaired by Peter Mares.</p> /calendar/event/feminism-has-failed/ 2010-07-30T00:00:00Z The Wheeler Centre <p>After generations of effort, women still bear a disproportionate burden of domestic labour. Women are under-represented in the senior ranks of politics, business and the professions.</p> <p>Women continue to be denied equal pay for equal work.</p> <p>Perhaps more troubling still is the fact that the basic structures of power and influence bear the cultural marks of masculinity. In all significant ways, it remains a man’s world.</p> <p>However, it could be argued that If feminism has failed, then it is because it has failed to mobilise women and that female acquiescence rather than male determination has preserved the status quo.</p> <p>Or should feminists be celebrating a deeper victory in which a new generation of young men and women take equality for granted thanks to feminists who ushered in a deeper concern for justice – irrespective of gender?</p> <p><strong>Partners</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.iq2oz.com/events/event-details/2010-series-melbourne/02-june.php" title="intelligence_squared" > <img alt="intelligence_squared" src="http://wheelercentre.com:80/static/files/assets/5d39cbdd/intelligence_squared_Size4.gif" title="intelligence_squared" /> </a></p> <p><a href="http://www.ethics.org.au/" title="logo-sjec-small" > <img alt="logo-sjec-small" src="http://wheelercentre.com:80/static/files/assets/1211ac11/logo-sjec-small_Size2.gif" title="logo-sjec-small" /> </a></p>