Culture

Neha Kale For Amala Groom, making art is a collaboration between herself and her Wiradyuri ancestors. Drawing on her history and culture, as well as her legal training, she seeks to subvert the colonial project. “Colonialism affects all of us … To be change agents we have to be inclusive, and Aboriginal culture is inclusive.”

Steve Dow Since becoming the deputy lord mayor of Sydney, Jess Scully has continued her fight for social equality. As she pushes for affordable housing and investment in the ‘caring economy’, she remains hopeful of instituting long-lasting change. “I think there’s an opportunity for us right now to make sure that participatory democracy and the care economy and affordable housing are some of the things that become practical, real projects.”

Winnie Siulolovao Dunn After a whirlwind 2019, in which three of her plays debuted around the world, Anchuli Felicia King is showing no signs of slowing down. The Thai–Australian playwright and multidisciplinary artist speaks about language, learning from other Asian women and how storytelling can make a difference. “I’m drawn towards muscular political storytelling, art that has a clear politics and an ethical framework it’s trying to impart. That feels especially vital in a world lacking humane moral leadership.”

Steve Dow Actress Essie Davis made her name inhabiting charismatic women, from detective Phryne Fisher to The Babadook’s Amelia Vanek. She speaks about being born to act, breaking her ribs on set and learning piano for her new film, Babyteeth. “I do love going to the cinema and having a really good cry. It can be a really profound experience to be that moved in the darkness … It’s very hard not to feel sentimental about every scene [in Babyteeth] because they’re quite moving.”

Isabella Trimboli More than 40 years after starting the iconic band Pulp, Jarvis Cocker continues to evolve as an artist. He speaks about the raves of the late ’80s, his concerns about the growing costs of humanities degrees, and his latest album, Beyond the Pale.

Brodie Lancaster As a dark comedy about self-absorbed millennial killers, Search Party focuses heavily on the lies that bind. In doing so, it also tells a lot of insightful truths.

Peter Craven Audiences salivating over the impending arrival of Hamilton to the Sydney stage in 2021 can get an early, small-screen taste of the hit musical, courtesy of the Covid-19 disruptions and Disney.

Shaad D’Souza The artists formerly known as Dixie Chicks are back with a long-awaited album that eschews their usual truth-speaking on politics and power for much more personal, and poppy, reflection.

Elliot Perlman A new short story from an award-winning author of The Street Sweeper.

DBC Pierre New short fiction from South Australian-born award-winning author DBC Pierre.

Ceridwen Dovey A new short story by Ceridwen Dovey, winner of the 2014 Queensland Literary Award for her collection Only the Animals.

Reviewer: Linda Jaivin Watching the news of the 2018 climate strike, Rebecca Huntley suddenly understood that when the young people demanded action from the older generation, they were talking to her. She had, she says, a visceral reaction to this realisation. As a lawyer and …

Reviewer: Anna Thwaites Matthew Baker seems to have a tireless capacity for invention. His new collection of stories gives us 12 alternative versions of the United States, or projections for its future. Among them are worlds where citizens over 70 are expected to voluntarily …

Reviewer: Andrew Fuhrmann Towards the end of Utopia Avenue, the latest novel by English author David Mitchell, we find Jerry Garcia sitting on a couch at his home in San Francisco, holding forth on the power of great music to make things happen in the world. It’s …