Art Works — Season 1

Aired 5 May 2021 • 27 min

In the very first episode of Art Works, host Namila Benson throws a pot with actor Uncle Jack Charles and interviews artist Atong Atem, while sculptor Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran explains his unusual sources of inspiration.

Namila Benson has a much-needed conversation about race and representation with Indigenous hip hop artist Ziggy Ramo and attempts to master the garamut drum with Airi Ingram.

Aired 19 May 2021 • 28 min

Deni Todorovic looks at the career of fashion designer Mary Quant, developer Siobhan Reddy talks about the storytelling potential of video games and Soprano Natalie Aroyan offers a peek behind the scenes of Opera Australia.

Aired 26 May 2021 • 27 min

Two perfect strangers go on a blind date to the MCA, Curator Kimberley Moulton and director Bruce Gladwin talk about how collaboration enhances creativity and presenter Alice Keath on ABC Classic's annual countdown.

Aired 2 June 2021 • 29 min

We head backstage at Miss First Nation, the national competition for Indigenous drag queens. Musician Eric Avery talks about playing the violin for self-expression and we go behind the scenes of the Ramsay Art Prize.

Aired 9 June 2021 • 30 min

Art Works deep dives into the 2021 Archibald Prize. We meet 1985 Archibald winner and the subject of Peter Wegner's winning entry, Guy Warren - who turns 100 this year, just like the prize itself.

Aired 16 June 2021 • 28 min

Artist Kate Just teaches Namila Benson how to knit while explaining her feminist art practice, before we visit the Great Woy Woy Tea Cosy Showcase. We also head to Bendigo to go looking for junk with sculptor Andre Sardone.

Aired 23 June 2021 • 31 min

Artist Katy B. Plummer takes us to the Hilma af Klint exhibition where she and co-curators Sue Cramer and Nicholas Chambers explain the Swedish artist's work and influence. We also visit the Incognito Art Show in Sydney.

Aired 30 June 2021 • 26 min

Art Works heads to Dark Mofo festival to hear from Tasmanian First Nations artists about the Union Flag controversy and how the fallout shaped the 2021 festival.

Aired 7 July 2021 • 31 min

We meet the creators of documentaries Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra and My Name Is Gulpilil; plus Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual artists including Megan Cope, Richard Bell, Brian Robinson and Toby Cedar.

Aired 14 July 2021 • 28 min

Art Works explores the impact of the film and drama industry moving into Byron Bay. Artists Fiona Foley and Abdul Abdullah speak about the touring exhibition Just Not Australian.

Aired 21 July 2021 • 27 min

Street artist Heesco shares the ethos behind the large-scale mural project Heesco Town in regional Victoria; and we meet the musicians and artists from Arts Access Victoria's Amplify festival.

Aired 28 July 2021 • 28 min

We meet Maree Clarke, the first living Victorian Aboriginal artist to have a solo exhibition at the NGV, before Namila Benson visits the newly opened Science Gallery in Melbourne.

Aired 4 August 2021 • 29 min

Ngugi artist Elisa Jane Carmichael introduces us to the revived traditional art of weaving and Brisbane Comedy Festival continues despite lockdowns and border closures.

Aired 11 August 2021 • 29 min

Namila Benson talks to Yorta Yorta soprano, composer and educator (and national treasure) Deborah Cheetham and we wander through Malthouse Theatre's Because the Night, an ambitious theatre work based on Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Aired 18 August 2021 • 30 min

We meet with award-winning Wiradjuri and Filipino musician Mo'Ju, before going foraging for driftwood with artist Pete Rush. Artist Vipoo Srivilasa turns a design from Namila Benson into a porcelain wellness deity.

Aired 25 August 2021 • 27 min

We visit writer Maxine Beneba Clarke in her studio; get to know the New Writers Collective for teen women, trans and non-binary playwrights; and meet musician Alex Lahey, whose call for industry funding made headlines.

Aired 1 September 2021 • 27 min

We check out the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards; a space-age reimagining of Moby-Dick; wearable art from Lorraine Kabbindi White; and the durational work of performance artist Ida Sophia.

Aired 8 September 2021 • 27 min

Learn about the first feature film to be dubbed in an Australian Aboriginal language; Canberra-based Scottish sculptor Lucy Irvine; Hobart artist and fundraiser Janelle McMillan; and feminist performance-makers Polytoxic.

Aired 15 September 2021 • 28 min

Meet the creators of the theatre adaptation of award-winning novel Boy Swallows Universe, the Yolngu artists from the remote Northern Territory repurposing abandoned metal into art, and R&B singer-songwriter Ngaiire.

Aired 22 September 2021 • 27 min

Daniel Lafferty fires up his kiln for the first time since the 2019/20 bushfires; Deborah Cheetham reflects on The Rivers Sing; Sami Shah speaks about confronting racism; and a mum and daughter solve a terrazzo tile mystery.

Aired 29 September 2021 • 29 min

Brenton E. McKenna shares his lifelong love of comics; Mick Turner from the Dirty Three talks about the art of the album cover; the migrant community art project Bukjeh; and a virtual show at Melbourne's Comedy Republic.

Aired 6 October 2021 • 26 min

Claire McArdle takes jewellery making into the streets; meet the Voices of Colour arts collective; David Moran shows us unconventional ways to play a cello; and head to Adelaide Zoo for an illuminating animal installation.

Aired 13 October 2021 • 30 min

Meet artists Lisa Waup, Sally Rees and Yhonnie Scarce, as well as the artistic directors of some of Australia's most celebrated major performing arts companies, Nicolette Fraillon, Lee Lewis, Dalisa Pigram and Rachael Swain.

Aired 20 October 2021 • 27 min

Watch participatory dance work Muster; marvel at the craftsmanship of Terrapin; meet 13-year-old Bronte as she auditions for Ballet Theatre Queensland; and hear from "Kamilaroi cowboy", acrobat Dale Woodbridge-Brown.

Aired 27 October 2021 • 29 min

Strut the catwalk with First Nations Fashion and Design; have a stickybeak inside Sam Leighton-Dore's home; share a cuppa with latte art champ Caleb Cha; and meet a few artists exhibiting at the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial.

Aired 3 November 2021 • 31 min

Art Works celebrates Ausmusic Month by talking to musicians, Bukhu Ganburged, and Vika and Linda Bull; and artist and graphic designer Jonathan Zawada, the creator of a number of iconic Australian album covers.

Aired 10 November 2021 • 25 min

Art Works visits the new Art in the Vines sculpture exhibition at a winery in regional Victoria. Also meet artist Patricia Piccinini; musicians Jackie and Dean Newcomb; and the artists behind Dungarri Nya Nya Ngarri Bi Nya.

Aired 17 November 2021 • 28 min

Art Works heads to OzAsia Festival in Adelaide; Maclagan Squeezebox Festival in regional Queensland; and to see West Australian Opera's world-first opera in Noongar language. We check out a youth circus program in Broome.

Aired 24 November 2021 • 29 min

Teens curate a bimonthly event at AGSA; Papua New Guinean artist Wendy Mocke talks about empowered Black womanhood; how Fiona Lee turned the remnants of her bushfire-ravaged home into art; and the books to read this summer.

Aired 1 December 2021 • 28 min

Meet poet/artist Jazz Money and artist Serwah Attafuah and see how the first interrogates colonial spaces, and the latter toys with digital reality. We head to two exhibitions, Tarnanthi in Adelaide and SOUL fury in Bendigo.

Aired 8 December 2021 • 29 min

Hear from young people reclaiming their own narratives: by celebrating South Sudanese culture; and creating work by and about the queer and disabled communities. Plus, check out exhibitions Transformation and Time Pass.

Aired 15 December 2021 • 32 min

We visit the newly reopened La Mama Theatre in Melbourne; see how Aboriginal artists are using a colonial statue as a canvas in Hobart; meet past winners of the Stella Prize; and talk to artist and choreographer Amrita Hepi.