Symposium Program ‘The Art of Storytelling’
Symposium
Tickets & Pricing
Sunday 4th of May
Full Symposium | $75 (includes catered lunch) bookings essential
Concert Only | $40 Adult $35 Concession/VAS Member
‘imprint’ Supporter Package | $195 Adult Ticket to imprint symposium & Portraits in Song Concert
Descript by Jennifer Fyfe Hardcover Book
Prologue & Epilogue Events
An Evening with Kate Ceberano (reserved seat with rsvp required)
Entry r Lucy Feke ch Chan e original
And
I M P R I N T
s y m p o s i u m
9.45-10.15 Registration & coffee
10 15am Welcome & Acknowledgement of Country
Keynote: Charli English
Artist and CEO of Oaktree
Turning Trash into Treasure: how to be a sustainable artist
Richard Roberts
Set designer Stage Design as Storytelling
11.30am Break: Coffee and viewing of Descript with artist Jennifer Fyfe
Marnie Rose-Smith
12 00pm
Braille Librarian, Vision Australia
Storytelling Through Touch: Braille and Tactile Art
Tanya Duckworth
Artist, Activist & Neuroscientist
The Neuroscience of Creativity & Storytelling: how our brains shape the stories we tell’
1pm Lunch
2pm
Prof Dan Golding Music & the Moving Image
Megan Jane Johnstone AO
Nursing scholar, contemporary art practitioner
The Anaesthetics of Aesthetics: the role of art in managing chronic pain
3 15pm
3 30pm
Sammi Edeny Tattoo artist Stories on the Skin
Discussion, questions for any presenters
4pm Marketa Kemp: "Love You George" in the Cato Gallery
4 30pm Break
Ensemble Creatus
5pm
Led by Toni Lalich OAM and Liane Keegan
Recital presentation: Portraits in Song
Charli English CEO of Oaktree & Artist
Keynote speaker
Passionate about advancing youth education and environmental sustainability, Charli is an artist and the CEO of Oaktree. This passion is the foundation of her artistic practice giving new life to materials that would otherwise be discarded and minimising environmental waste.
‘The Art of Storytelling’ Symposium Keynote’ - Charli English will share her transformative journey from inheriting her great uncle's oil paints to pioneering sustainable art practices.
In this presentation, Charli explores the hidden environmental impact of traditional art-making from excessive plastic packaging to toxic materials while demonstrating practical alternatives that reduce our ecological footprint without compromising artistic vision.
Perfect for artists, environmentalists, and anyone interested in how creativity can drive positive change, this talk will challenge how we think about consumerism, waste, and the powerful role artists can play in preserving our natural world.
Richard Roberts Set Designer
‘Stage Design as Storytelling’
Richard is an award-winning freelance theatre designer and design teacher, based in Melbourne, Australia. His design experience has included designs for drama, dance, film, television and opera.
‘Stage Design as Storytelling’ - Richard Roberts, an accomplished freelance theatre designer and educator, explores the transformative role of stage design in narrative creation.
With extensive experience across drama, dance, film, television, and opera, Roberts will discuss how design elements sets, costumes, lighting serve not just as backdrops, but as integral parts of storytelling that enhance emotional resonance and deepen audience engagement.
Drawing on his vast experience with major Australian and international performing arts companies, Roberts will illustrate how effective stage design reflects and amplifies the themes and emotions of a performance.
Marnie Rose-Smith
Braille Librarian, Vision Australia
‘Storytelling Through Touch: Braille and Tactile Art’
Marnie is the Senior Librarian at Vision Australia
Information Library Service. The library supports people living with print disabilities to access information and recreational reading in print alternative formats, such as DAISY audio and Braille.
‘Storytelling Through Touch: Braille and Tactile Art’Marnie Rose-Smith explores the ways people living with blindness or low vision can learn about art and experience art firsthand.
She will delve into the braille format and learning to read it alongside a display of some different kinds of braille and tactile books.
Tanya Duckworth
Neuroscientist, Artist, Activist
The Neuroscience of Creativity & Storytelling: how our brains shape the stories we tell’
Tanya Duckworth is a neuroscientist and artist whose work focuses on the science behind creativity. With a background in Psychology and Neuroscience, her research has explored the mechanisms behind creative thought processes, as well as managing research projects at the intersections of space and neurophysiology.
‘The Neuroscience of Creativity & Storytelling’ - Tanya
Duckworth explores the cognitive processes behind storytelling and creativity. By examining how the brain forms narratives to connect information and spark new ideas, the talk illuminates the neuroscience that makes storytelling a powerful tool for learning and empathy.
Duckworth discusses how storytelling engages emotional and cognitive responses and provides practical strategies to enhance creativity. Drawing from insights in neuroscience, she explores how we can tell more compelling stories while promoting brain health through improved creative and divergent thinking.
Prof Dan Golding Professor, Composer
‘Music and the Moving Image’
Professor Dan Golding is Chair of Media and Communication at Swinburne University, the host of Screen Sounds on ABC Classic, and an awardwinning composer and writer. Dan co-hosts the popular film music podcast Art of the Score, and in 2018, Dan presented What Is Music for ABC iView and Triple J with Linda Marigliano.
‘Music and the Moving Image’ - In this presentation, Dan Golding will talk about the power of music and vision combined, and give an insight into his own practice of composing for media.
From the very beginning, the moving image had music. Even the earliest films shown in Australia were often accompanied by musicians, a practice that not only continues to this day but that tapped into older traditions of combining visual art and sound together.
Megan-Jane Johnstone AO Nursing Scholar, Artist
‘The Anaesthetics of Aesthetics: the role of art in managing chronic pain’
Megan-Jane Johnstone AO is a Melbourne-based abstract artist, author and ethicist. A retired professor of nursing, she has had an enduring interest in the relationship between art, health and well-being and the role art can play in helping people live with illness and injury.
‘The Anaesthetics
of Aesthetics’ - Megan-Jane
Johnstone explores the potential of active, engaged art to alleviate chronic pain. Despite chronic pain affecting approximately 20% of people, and remaining challenging to treat, emerging evidence suggests that art can play a significant role in pain management.
Through processes like distraction analgesia and the positive emotional impact of beauty, art offers a unique form of relief. Drawing on the experiences of renowned artists like Frida Kahlo, Michelangelo, and Renoir, this presentation will highlight how art can serve as an adjunct to traditional pain treatments, providing both distraction and aesthetic comfort.
Sammi Edney
Tattoo
‘Stories
on the Skin’
Artist, Artist
Sammi Edney is a tattoo artist using electric machines and an Acrylic/oil painter exploring romantic, imaginative realism. She capture moments of beauty in simple interactions using the figure, subtlety of expression and body language, poetic linework and a warm, rich palette across both disciplines. Sammi’s works are atmospheric and dynamic with an inquisitive and evocative nature.
‘Stories on the Skin’ - Sammi Edney explores the personal and cultural significance of tattoos as an evolving narrative, rooted in tradition yet shaped by individual experiences. This presentation will cover the historical role of tattoos, how the act of getting tattooed becomes a profound part of the client's story, and how it transcends the physical to forge deeper connections.
Sammi will discuss cover-up tattoos as a blend of old and new stories, and examine the perceived limits people place on themselves, ultimately illustrating how tattoos serve as a medium for personal transformation and storytelling across generations.
Ensemble Creatus Concert with Liane Keegan & Toni Lalich OAM
‘Portraits in Song’ | from 5pm
Ensemble Creatus join the Imprint program to present Portraits in Song, a captivating recital exploring the intersection of poetry and music. The theme of the portrait takes center stage, reflecting how the same face can be portrayed in vastly different ways by multiple artists much like how the same poem can inspire a variety of musical interpretations. his program features Australian dramatic contralto Liane Keegan and pianist Toni Lalich.
I M P R I N T
Exhibitions
Jennifer Fyfe: descript Upper Galleries April 16 - May 12
Charli English Mackley Room
April 30 - May 11
Erica Wagner: The Colt from Old Regret
Cato Gallery | April 16 - 27
Marketa Kemp: Love you, George
Cato Gallery
April 30 - May 11
April15 April16 12pm: Prologue 630pm: EggsLibris trivia
April21
10am:Live portrait paintingin thegallery
April22
LucyFekete workshop: Illustrating Children’s books April23
JenniferFyfe workshop: Findinga Likenessin Negative Space
April28 April29 1pm conversation:Prof PeterTregear OAM&DrJulie CotterwithAnne ScottPendlebury April30
JenniferFyfe Masterclass: Messing Aroundin Portraits
April24
EricaWagner workshop: PoeticCollage
Lucy Fekete: Unconventional Beauty
Cato Annex | April 16 - 27
Melbourne PolytechnicIllustration Student Artists
Mackley Room | April 16 - 27
Closedfor GoodFriday April19 April20
April25
JenniferFyfe workshop: Findinga Likenessin NegativeSpace
May1 May2
Anevening withKate Ceberano
in conversation with Desiree Crossing
April26
MarketaKemp workshop(day 1/2):Monotype: Landscape Reimagined
April27
MarketaKemp workshop(day 2/2) ---------------Booklaunch TheColtfrom OldRegret
May3 May4
Imprint Symposium -----------Portraitsin Song
May5
10am:Live portrait paintingwith VASHansen LittleCoterie May6 May7
Bookbinding workshopwith ZettaFlorence May8
Artistdemo: Marketa Kemp May9 May10 4pm
Epilogue: Portrait& poetryand SundayStone May11
Unreserved free access events
feature exhibition by Jennifer Fyfe
Supported by the City of Melbourne, Jennifer Fyfe presents a body of work created over five years These artworks are a combination of vintage texts, oil paintings and community stories told in oil paint, ink, and braille
Displayed with accessibility in mind, the artworks are complemented by two installations designed to inspire visitor interaction and discussion.
10am - 4pm Weekdays 11am - 4pm Weekends & Holidays