📅 Friday 19 September 2025
⏱️ 9:15am - 5pm
📍 Canberra Museum + Gallery
🎟️ Tickets and Packages
Save 5-10% when booking multiple sessions
All tickets include catering. Discounts applied automatically during checkout process
Single Session
$90 - General Admission | $81 - CMAG Member | $45 - Student
Any two Sessions (save 5%)
$171 - General Admission | $153.90- CMAG Member | $85.50 - Student
Full Day Pass (save 10%)
$243 - General Admission | $218.70 - CMAG Member | $121.50- Student
(plus booking fees)
Image credit:
Sidney Nolan, Costume for The Male (The Lyrebird) The Display, Director Robert Helpmann, Australian Ballet, 1964, Performing Arts Centre Melbourne
Rochelle Halley, Sun Dance, 2023, National Gallery of Australia
Dean Cross, Sometimes I Miss the Applause, 2022, Collection Heide Museum of Modern Art
Explore the rich intersection between visual art and stage design in Australia.
Join leading artists, designers and curators for a one-day forum that reveals how visual art and performance collide to shape Australia’s cultural landscape.
Book Now
Forum Highlights
The Mid-Century Moment | 9:15-11:45am | Includes morning tea
How Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and Robert Helpmann brought powerful new expression to stage design. With Emily Collett (VCA), Virginia Rigney (CMAG) and Sophie O’Brien (Bundanon). Includes Where is Joy?Performed reading by Emma Louise Pursey.
Contemporary Crossovers | 11:45am-1:45pm | Includes lunch
Dean Cross and Dale Ferguson share how contemporary art and theatre collide, from Ferguson’s Broadway designs to Cross’s groundbreaking multidisciplinary works.
Past, Present & Futures | 2-5pm | Includes post program drinks + nibbles
Featuring Rochelle Haley, Elspeth Pitt, Aislinn King, Alison Plevey, Ella Barclay and keynote Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman AM.
Exclusive Extras
- Nolan Gallery tour with senior curator
- Where is Joy? live performance reading
- Networking drinks with speakers and attendees
- Discounted Duck Pond tickets at Canberra Theatre Centre
Speakers
- Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman AM - Founder, Australian Dance Theatre
- Dean Cross – Worimi multidisciplinary artist
- Dale Ferguson – Tony-nominated set & costume designer
- Dr Rochelle Haley – Artist and researcher, UNSW Sydney
- Elspeth Pitt – Senior Curator, National Gallery of Australia
- Virginia Rigney – Senior Curator Visual Art, CMAG
- Emma Louise Pursey – Actor and writer , Where is Joy?
- Sophie O’Brien - Head of Curatorial and Learning, Bundanon
- Dr Emily Collett – Costume designer, Victorian College of the Arts
- Aislinn King – Designer, Australian Dance Party
- Alison Plevey – Party Leader/ Director, Australian Dance Party
- Dr Ella Barclay – Artist and Lecturer ANU School of Art and Design
Looking for more? You can explore the full program and read speaker bios online.
Explore Full ProgramThis project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
📅 Friday 19 September 2025
⏱️ 9:15am - 5pm
📍 Canberra Museum + Gallery
🎟️ Tickets and Packages
Save 5-10% when booking multiple sessions
All tickets include catering. Discounts applied automatically during checkout process
Single Session
$90 - General Admission | $81 - CMAG Member | $45 - Student
Any two Sessions (save 5%)
$171 - General Admission | $153.90- CMAG Member | $85.50 - Student
Full Day Pass (save 10%)
$243 - General Admission | $218.70 - CMAG Member | $121.50- Student
(plus booking fees)
Image credit:
Sidney Nolan, Costume for The Male (The Lyrebird) The Display, Director Robert Helpmann, Australian Ballet, 1964, Performing Arts Centre Melbourne
Rochelle Halley, Sun Dance, 2023, National Gallery of Australia
Dean Cross, Sometimes I Miss the Applause, 2022, Collection Heide Museum of Modern Art
