UQ ChangeMakers: can you separate the art from the artist?

In an age when the actions and beliefs of creators are under closer scrutiny, we're faced with the question: can you separate the art from the artist?

 

Our panel of ChangeMakers experts will explore whether our appreciation of art tacitly endorses the behaviours or beliefs of its maker, or if there exists a pathway to reclaiming these creations for ourselves.

 

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain fresh insights, challenge your beliefs and join a community of engaged thinkers grappling with the nuances of contemporary culture.

 

Why not tune in on your commute home?

 

Date: Thursday 27 June

Time: 5:30–6:30pm (AEST)

Event format: online

 

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If you're unable to join us live, register below to receive a unique link to watch it on catch-up after the event.

 

Vice-Chancellor and President
The University of Queensland

She was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in January 2024 for “eminent service to tertiary education as an institutional leader and academic, to the strengthening of higher education through collaboration and innovation, and to the community”.

 

 

Vice-President, Head of Logistics, Christie's New York

 

Nikki Iacovella is a fine arts professional with nearly 25 years working in the arts business. Nikki was born in Brisbane and completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Queensland. She moved to Melbourne in 2004 where she worked at some of the city’s most highly respected art institutions – namely as Gallery Manager at Alcaston Gallery. She also ran her own small (short lived!) gallery called Untitled. Driven to expand her career and make her mark in the art business, Nikki moved to NYC in 2010 where she lives today.

 

Nikki has a wealth of experience and expertise in navigating large scale fine art fairs, exhibitions and auctions. Nikki joined Christie’s in August 2022 and was recently promoted to VP, Head of Logistics in April 2024. Prior to joining Christie’s, Nikki was Director of the Outsider Art Fair. She has also held positions at Peter Freeman, Inc., (Managing Director), Art Basel (Gallery Project Manager) as well as directorial and managerial roles at Affordable Art Fair and PULSE Art Fair.

 

CEO and Artistic Director, Circa

 

Yaron Lifschitz is a graduate of the University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, and National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), where he was the youngest director ever accepted into its prestigious graduate director’s course. Since graduating, Yaron has directed over 80 productions including large-scale events, opera, theatre, physical theatre, and circus.

 

His work has been seen in over forty-five countries and across six continents by nearly two million people and has won numerous awards including six Helpmann awards and the Australia Council Theatre Award. His productions have been presented at major festivals and venues around the world including Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Barbican, Les Nuits de Fourvière, Chamaleon and all the major Australian festivals. His film work was selected for the Berlin and Melbourne Film Festivals. He was founding Artistic Director of the Australian Museum’s Theatre Unit, Head Tutor in Directing at Australian Theatre for Young People and has been a regular guest tutor in directing at NIDA.

 

He is currently Artistic Director and CEO of Circa and was Creative Director of Festival 2018: the arts and cultural program of the 21st Commonwealth Games.

 

Lecturer, UQ School of Psychology

 

Dr Michael Thai is a lecturer in psychology at The University of Queensland. He graduated from a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) at UQ as Valedictorian and completed his PhD in Social Psychology in 2016. He is a previous winner of the UQ Three Minus Thesis Competition, and is an award-winning teacher, having been recognised for his teaching excellence, both nationally and internationally.

 

Michael's research examines the factors that affect how people respond to different moral violations. Within the domain of close interpersonal relationships, he has investigated the barriers that can hinder relationship repair and prevent reconciliation after a wrongdoing. At the broader societal level, he has examined how impressions of a person can be tainted by any conceivably prejudiced and immoral behaviour that person has previously engaged in.

 

Author, Lecturer in Writing, Publishing and 21st Century Book Culture, Deputy Associate Dean (Research),

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, UQ

 

Kim Wilkins is a recognised expert on storytelling, popular literature, and the publishing industry. She is the author of more than 30 full-length works of fiction, and her work is translated into more than 20 languages globally. Her scholarly research centres on creative communities, such as writing groups and fan cultures. She is most recently the author of Genre Worlds: Popular Fiction and 21st-Century Book Culture (with Beth Driscoll and Lisa Fletcher), which outlines a new theory for understanding popular fiction through its related industrial, social, and textual pleasures and processes. Kim is in the top 100 notable alumni of UQ, and heads up the Humanities, Arts and Social Science faculty’s new research centre Creative Arts and Human Flourishing.

 

Enquiries:

Alumni and Community Engagement

Telephone: +61 7 3346 3166

Email: uqchangemakers@uq.edu.au