Advocate

Artist. Thinker. Advocate.

Publication: Arts Hub
Arts Hub commissioned features writer

Is the role of the university changing and is it enough?
What is the role of tertiary education in the arts, and how are universities and tertiary institutions reinventing themselves and realigning their values.
6 October 2022

How do we stop losing artists from the sector?
Arts leaders Zainab Syed, Emma Porteus and Dr Georgie McClean discuss the urgent matter of why artists and arts workers are leaving the arts sector.
15 September 2022

Joining the dots: What the Albanese Government should do next for the arts
Arts leaders Rhoda Roberts, Louise Bezzina, Lena Nahlous and Tea Uglow reflect on priority areas they’d like to see the Albanese Government address in the coming weeks and months.
27 June 2022

Chair & Panel Facilitator
The Country Air
Regional Arts NSW presents The Country Air facilitated and chaired by Dr Sally Blackwood.

The Country Air is a series of monthly online expert discussion panels exploring the key issues facing arts and culture in regional Australia. The Country Air aims to directly engage with people living and working in regional NSW and beyond across Australia.

Working on Country [The Country Air]
Living and working on Country is at the core of what we do and who we are. How do First Nations protocols guide and shape creative practice and help us to ensure we work collaboratively and respectfully on Country?
Chair/Facilitator: Dr Sally Blackwood
Panellists: Tasha James, Patricia Adjei CF, Aleshia Lonsdale.
Watch and listen here. Passcode: S4ng^ENa
Wednesday 16 November 2022

Arts and Cultural Recovery in a Time of Change [The Country Air]
Regional Australia has been at the forefront of coping with natural disasters and the effects of climate change. The arts sector is impacted by these events but also has a role in the recovery of communities. This panel will delve into what this can look like and why the arts needs to be more recognised for its part in being prepared for disaster and assisting communities to recover.
Chair/Facilitator: Dr Sally Blackwood
Panellists: Scotia Monkivitch, Jane Fuller, Sandy McNaughton.
Watch and listen here. Passcode: 7yWN?yd^
Wednesday 19 October 2022

The Role of Service Organisations in the Arts Ecology [The Country Air]
Service organisations rarely produce any arts product, so what is their value? What is their place in the arts ecology? Should they be competing with producing companies for precious arts funding dollars and what do they do to strengthen the arts sector?
Chair/Facilitator: Dr Sally Blackwood
Panellists: Brett Adlington; Margie Breen; Andrew Gray.
Watch and listen here. Passcode: 3Qh.uWMQ
Wednesday 7 September 2022

National Cultural Policy [The Country Air]
Regional arts leaders discuss what is key in the formation of a National Cultural Policy. Join the panel discussion to hear what regional arts leaders think the key priorities for our sector are, and how the National Cultural Policy might address them.
Chair/Facilitator: Dr Sally Blackwood
Panellists: Djon Mundine OAM; Dr Lindy Hume AM; Vic McEwan; Dr Tracey Callinan.
Watch and listen here. Passcode: 1v0iPs^d
Wednesday 3 August 2022

National Interview
Behind The Scenes with Chris Thompson
36min20sec: Dr Sally Blackwood interview
Listen here.
20 June 2022

Panel Speaker
Guildhouse ‘Tools for Advocacy’ Panel
Commissioned by Guildhouse to deliver a presentation as part of the information session ‘Tools for Advocacy’ for the 2021 Guildhouse reVision Winter Speaker Series Program.
Presenters: Esther Anatolitis, Kelli McCluskey, Makeda Duong and Sally Blackwood
Watch Panel Here
3 June 2021

Artist Mentor and Guest Facilitator
BREC Artist Retreat 2021
Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre (BREC) Western Australia
May 2021

Publication
Collaborative Creation across Borders and Art Forms: A Director’s Perspective on Opera and Internationalization (Chapter 5): Theatre and Internationalization Perspectives from Australia, Germany, and Beyond
Routledge UK, October 2020

Sector Consultation Participant
re-imagine: What Next? Australia Council
September 2020

Guest Presenter & Discussion Facilitator
Advocacy in the Arts
A discussion on strategy, collaboration, process and facilitation.
Australia Council Leaders Program 2019-2020
February 2020

Key instigator, leader and facilitator
Gender Equity and Diversity in Opera Summit
Australia Council, Australian Music Centre and APRA AMCOS.
This Summit was an opportunity for deeper discussion of the issues and challenges, and included participants from other sectors where positive shifts had taken place more recently. Moderated by Professor Julianne Schultz AM FAHA, there were 29 participants including composers, singers, producers, and administrators representing a wide range of expertise and organisations from across the country. It was acknowledged throughout the day that many other people, including those active in the discourse were keen to participate in the Summit, but a focused day of discussion was required to establish the best structures for moving forward.
Call-to-action: Opera and the Doing of women
Limelight in-depth Shifting the Opera Gaze
Summary of discussions
Opera Summit: Decolonising the High Arts, part A by Sonya Holowell
Opera Summit: Decolonising the High Arts, Part B by Sonya Holowell
Gender Equity and Diversity in Opera Summit: the listener’s account by Harriet Cunningham
Monday 2 December 2019

Writer/Thinker in Residence
HI-VIZ Practice Exchange 2019
Chamber Made at The Substation Newport Melbourne
Published reflection Hi-Viz leads by example — with generosity, openness and inclusivity.
2-3 September 2019

Host & Panel Facilitator
ArtState Tamworth
Panel facilitator and ArtsNW Board delegate
Panel: Weathering Change – the evolving landscape for independent artists
With much of the discourse concerning regional performing arts focussed on venues and organisations, what is the experience and role of the independent artists in our communities? How do they navigate continual changing arts policies yet maintain their careers and practice? Adam Deusien Artistic Director Lingua Franca; Sophie Jones Musician, Smith and Jones; Vic McEwan Artistic Director The CAD Factory.
31 October – 3 November 2019

Panel Speaker
Indy Theatre Forum Tamworth
Critical Stages and Theatre Network NSW
Panel included Adam Deusien Artistic Director Lingua Franca; Caroline Dunphy Co-Artistic Director Belloo Creative; and Host Chris Bendall Critical Stages Touring. Listen here.
Thursday 31 October 2019

Host & Panel Facilitator
Diversity in Australian Literature
Scone Literary Festival
Saturday 10 November 2018