The Wheeler Centre

"We do, we sing gospel, we sing country, we sing rock, reggae, we sing ballads. If we could, we'd do opera. You know, we just like all sorts of music. Our sound has been our harmony. That's our thing. You know, we just enjoy harmonising together." - Vika Bull Whether at church in suburban Melbourne; with The Black Sorrows; alongside artists including Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers and John Farnham; or on one of their seven studio albums, singer-songwriters Vika & Linda have been performing together since childhood. Their new collaborative memoir No Bull sees the sisters recount the highs and lows of their three-decade long career with honesty and humour. As part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas, Vika & Linda joined us for an afternoon of music and conversation. The duo spoke with journalist and broadcaster Namila Benson about their lifelong connection to music, their experience of releasing three albums in the last three years, and the significance of their Tongan heritage within their creative practice. This event was recorded at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling in September 2022. Featured music is Tellsonic - I See You Out ThereSupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'I don't start a novel thinking I have things to show you or tell you. I always start a novel because there are things I want to discover." - Kamila Shamsie. The author of seven novels, Kamila Shamsie has built an acclaimed career crafting explorations of the personal impacts of political, cultural and historical shadows. Now, the multi-award-winning writer turns her attention to the everchanging nature of female friendship, and the forces that bring people together, or tear them apart. Following the story of two best friends from Karachi to London, Best of Friends is Shamsie’s first novel since Home Fire, for which she won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, was shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize. In this episode, Kamila Shamsie speaks with Love and Virtue author Diana Reid about her latest work and explores our shifting perspectives on friendships, from fickle flings to the fiercely faithful. With thanks to UNSW Centre for Ideas Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture This event was recorded on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling program. Featured music is Johannes Bornlöf - Friend of Mine.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Content warning: The Wheeler Centre wishes to advise this recording includes discussion about human bodies in collections, which were taken from their cultural places against the wishes of First Nations communities. Repatriation is an issue at the heart of many cultural institutions, as museums and galleries reckon with the violent colonial histories that underpin significant portions of their collections. Once sought and traded as aesthetic trophies and scientific evidence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects and ancestral remains, housed and hidden in institutions across the world are thought to number in the many thousands. Malthouse Theatre’s production of The Return which premiered as part of RISING in 2022, engaged with the importance of returning these items and remains back to Country. This epic theatre experience spanned 250 years and explored the untold perspectives of these macabre true histories and the false justifications behind them. In this episode, hear from The Return’s writer John Harvey and co-director Jason Tamiru, along with senior curator Kimberley Moulton. With host Daniel James, the panel consider the play’s themes, alongside Moulton’s insights into alternative models of collection and display that prioritise community access and situate these cultural belongings within a continuous flow of history. At the intersection of creative exploration and institutional knowledge, they discuss how the repatriation of Ancestors can bring us closer to truth-telling and First Peoples agency in museums. Presented in partnership with RISING and Malthouse Theatre. This event was recorded on Tuesday 31 May 2022 at the Wheeler Centre. Featured music is DEX 1200 - The Chakra MovementSupport the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sophie Cunningham is one of Australian literature’s most influential figures. She is the author of seven books, a former editor of Meanjin, co-founder of the Stella Prize, and is currently an adjunct professor at RMIT University’s non/fiction Lab. Her novel This Devastating Fever, her first work of fiction in fourteen years, was the Melbourne City Reads pick for September 2022. Weaving together the life of Leonard Woolf, the turn of the millennium and environmental collapse, Cunningham examines questions about colonial history, the return of fascism, living through disaster and what it means to cultivate a full, loving and creative life. Join Cunningham and host Emily Bitto for an intimate conversation as they discuss this exhilarating new novel. This event was recorded on Tuesday 22 September 2022 at the Wheeler Centre. The Melbourne City Reads series is generously supported by George and Rosa Morstyn. The bookseller for this event was The Paperback Bookshop. Featured music is Golden Hour by Sarah, the Illstrumentalist.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For American novelist Andrew Sean Greer, the search for joy is a continued source of creative inspiration – as evidenced in his international bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Less, and now again in its humorously honest new sequel, Less is Lost. Warm, witty and profound, Less is Lost sees the lovable Arthur Less return for an unforgettable road trip across America as he confronts his personal demons and attempts to decipher the riddle of love. As part of the Wheeler Centre’s 2022 Spring Fling program, Andrew Sean Greer made his own journey to Australia to join writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law in-conversation. Together they waded through ageing, grief and unavoidable change to find creativity, friendship and love. This event was recorded on Wednesday 9 November 2022 at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas program. Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture. Andrew Sean Greer’s appearance was made possible with the generous support of Hachette Australia. Featured music is Tape Machines, Le June, Nbhd Nick - Br1ghter (Instrumental Version)Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What better way to celebrate Stephanie Alexander’s latest cookbook, Home, than with an intimate conversation at award-winning restaurant and winery Montalto. Hear Alexander reflect on her unparalleled five-decade career as a cook, writer and restaurateur, and the legacy she has built for generations of professionals and amateurs in kitchens around the country. This event was recorded on Thursday 21 April 2022. Presented in partnership with Montalto. The bookseller for this event was Antipodes Bookshop and Gallery Featured music is Living in a Fantasy by Pulsed.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we are what we eat, then who are we in the twenty-first century? Whether in our home kitchens, at the hottest new restaurant, in a bestselling cookbook, or on a fast-paced reality TV show, the ways we consume food and the narratives surrounding cuisine are inextricably linked to our cultural histories and personal identities. Over a seasonal shared lunch prepared with Indigenous Australian ingredients, a panel of culinary superstars met at Big Esso to discuss their approaches to cooking and sharing food, and the intersections and impact of multiculturalism, immigration and First Nations cuisine on Australian food culture. Inspired by Griffith Review 78: A Matter of Taste, the event featured Mabu Mabu owner and head chef Nornie Bero and award-winning author and broadcaster Alice Zaslavsky with host Jaclyn Crupi. This event was recorded on Friday 4 Nov 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas program. Presented in partnership with Griffith Review and Blak & Bright. Featured music is In a Little While by Lofive.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shaun Micallef has been a near constant in Australian comedy and television for almost three decades. His new memoir Tripping Over Myself: A Memoir of a Life in Comedy charts his journey from suburban Adelaide to national TV stardom, offering insight into a career of curiosity, reinvention and humour. As part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling program, Micallef joined presenter and RocKwiz host Julia Zemiro at The Capitol for a funny and fascinating conversation about life, satire, politics and television, from Full Frontal to Mad As Hell – and beyond. This conversation was recorded on Saturday 5 November 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre's Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas. Featured music is Midnight Set by Dusty Decks.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this panel event, voices from different generations and First Nations backgrounds came together to explore First Nations community and family networks, and how they relate to conceptions of motherhood, parenting and the transmission of First Nations knowledge systems. Ali Cobby Eckermann is the Windham Campbell Prize-winning author of memoir, poetry and verse novels, including Inside My Mother, and a survivor of the Stolen Generations. Dr Jackie Huggins’ decades of work as an author, historian and academic have focused on First Nations identity, activism and the question of feminism’s relevance for Indigenous women. An education academic and frequent media commentator, Dr Amy Thunig’s forthcoming memoir Tell Me Again explores the shaping of identity amidst intergenerational trauma and poverty – and deep familial love. For this wide-ranging conversation in partnership with Blak and Bright, they joined host Bridget Caldwell-Bright for an insightful conversation about the women they have known, loved and learned from, and the women they are. The event opened with a Yarn Bomb from emerging Kamilaroi artist Emily Wells. Presented in partnership with Blak and Bright. Featured music is City Phases by John Abbot.  This event was recorded on Monday 7 November 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre's Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas program. Spring Fling was supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the lead singer of Midnight Oil, one of Australia’s most successful and politically engaged bands, to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & the Arts in the Rudd/Gillard Labor governments, Peter Garrett has been a long-time campaigner on a range of local and global issues. Through all his work, Garrett has exemplified the power of arts and activism in fighting for positive environmental change; whether performing in protest and benefit shows globally or steering the Australian Conservation Foundation as its youngest ever president. During Spring Fling, the Wheeler Centre went to Macedon for a thought-provoking conversation between Garrett and award-winning author and journalist Anna Krien presented in partnership with the inaugural Mountain Writers Festival. Together they reflect on Garrett’s incredible life of environmental activism, and the role art, politics and campaigning can play in creating positive, lasting change. Presented in partnership with Mountain Writers Festival. This audio recording of this event was produced by motion media students from Alice Miller School in Macedon. Featured music is Golden Hour by Sarah, The Illstrumentalist This event was part of the Wheeler Centre's Spring Fling: A Short Series of Big Ideas program – supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership.Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.