2004 Ideas Program

Open cardboard free-for-all, Synaesthetic Headache, SOOB 2003

Below is the Ideas Program for the 2004 Straight Out of Brisbane festival. Everything in this program is free. There's a lot on – why not plan ahead so you can attend the whole thing!

Bios of all speakers will be published shortly. If you'd like to receive updates on the program, please sign up to the email list using the form on the right. If you have any questions, please email

Day One - Thursday 2nd

11am-1pm :: The New TO ::

It's December 2014 & the WTO has spontaneously combusted. You have been given the power to create the body that will take its place to regulate global trade. What does the new world trade organisation look like?

This hands-on 'hypothetical' session will give participants a chance to learn about the latest ideas on how to redesign the global economy, & to throw in a few ideas of their own. No background in economics is needed.

With James Arvanitakis (UTS Research Initiative on International Activism).

1pm-3pm :: The future of ideas online ::

Part 1: “You can't govern a nation by Google” – or can you?

How will new technologies affect the way we produce and distribute ideas? In the 90s the rise of email & indymedia paved the way for campaigns without consensus (like the anti-globalisation movement), and conferences without conclusions (like the world social forum). What will new web applications, P2P programs, & the rise of peer-edited websites bring? How might universities, NGOs, activists and think-tanks react?

With Tim Parish (Undergrowth digizine), Mark Pesce (Internet guru, runs the graduate program at AFTRS, currently writing a book called ‘The Death of Television and the Rise of Personal Media Culture’ ), Sohail Inayatullah (futurist and author), Alex Burns (Senior Researcher with the Smart Internet Technology CRC), and Damien Lewis (webmaster of Generate, currently building ‘communities of interest’ online).

Part 2: A showcase of independent online media.

With high costs and small markets, independent print media has always been short-lived in Australia. These projects have bypassed the buyers market by putting ideas online. Some of them are even making a buck. Meet the makers, & find out how you too can be an online journo/commentator - the cheap-ass way!

With Jim Nyland (Griffith Review), Sarah Jansen (Vibewire.net), Wayne Sanderson (The Daily Briefing), Kitty Carra & Andrea Fox (Brisbane Feminism Online), Joanne Jacobs (On Line Opinion) and Tim Parish (Undergrowth).

3pm-5pm :: Super hands-on media skills (pre-booked) ::

Submit a summary beforehand of an idea or cause you would like to promote through the media, & then take part in a 2-hour workshop with 'experts' helping you develop a media strategy. The workshop leaders will then be available for follow-up email feedback on press releases, op-ed pieces, etc. This is a pretty unique opportunity - there will be one workshop leader for every three to four people attending - giving you a chance to access tailored advice & assistance on communicating your message to a wider audience. To express interest in attending this workshop, please email with 100 words on the idea/issue/cause/project you would like to work on. Only 15 places available, so book now. Submissions close the week before SOOB.

With Wayne Sanderson (former journalist with the 7:30 Report & the Courier Mail, and producer/editor of The Daily Briefing), Neil Haslem & Keith Deverell (RMIT Communications Design and www.dearjohn.org), Mark Fallu (former media advisor to the QLD state treasurer), and Marni Cordell (co-editor of Spinach7).

Day Two - Friday 3rd

11am-1pm :: Oz Organicz: slim pickings at nature’s table? ::

Is sustainable food a low-hanging fruit or a bitter (and expensive) pill to swallow?  How many spoonfuls of sugar will it take to make ‘going organic’ go down the gullets of Average Australia?  Will food politics ever mean anything if it’s stays only on the plates of activists? Or could mainstream production and marketing kill organic principles at the roots? 

With Dr Kristen Lyons (Griffith University lecturer on food politics), Robert Kenken (farmer and farm advisor on Community Supported Agriculture), and Andrew Monk (CEO of the Biological Farmers Federation).

1pm-3pm :: The art & politics of terror ::

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, seminal avant-garde composer Karl Stockhausen infamously declared “Now you must adjust your brain – what happened there is the biggest artwork of all times”. With three years of hindsight can politics and destruction be art? Is culture jamming cultural terrorism? Did the events of 9/11 fundamentally shift the barriers of art and expression? What is the relationship between art and politics in the post-9/11 environment?

With Roland Bleiker (reader in Peace Studies at UQ), Mickie Quick (culture-jammer, founding member of Squatspace and the Network of Uncollectable Artists), Arlene Texta Queen (artist and zinester), and Sarah Nicholson (author and PhD candidate in Women’s Studies and Mythology at UWS).

3-5pm :: The importance of not being earnest ::

When is it ok to be serious? How do writers, campaigners, and the terminally enraged cope with Australia's suspicion of sincerity? We flee news programs to take refuge in reality TV, and use comedy as a news source - how much of this comes from not wanting to face serious issues head-on? Is comedy the best way of getting ideas across to a nation of cynics?

With Merlin Luck (refugee protester from Big Brother), Marni Cordell (co-editor, Spinach7 Magazine), Charles Firth (The Chaser & CNNNN), Christian Kerr (Crikey) & Carmen Seaby (Spinstermag)

6-8pm :: The great ideas rant-off ::

Speakers OUT, Ranters IN.

Calling out to silver-tongued cynics, talk-back radio stalkers, political back seat drivers, and anyone who has ever yelled at their television. The SOOB Ideas Program hosts a showdown of 2 minute rants - judged on style, substance and quality of vitriol. Our 'harsh but fair' Judges will give combatants scores out of ten, as they make their way through a series of planned and impromptu heats, till a ranting champion is picked and crowned Prime Minister-in-waiting. Losers will be bought beer and sent to the backbenches. Brown-nosers welcome. Arse-lickers need not apply.

With Christian Kerr (Crikey), Charles Firth & Julian Morrow (CNNNN), as the masters of unceremonial ceremonies. Panel of demi-celebrity judges TBA. There will be cool prizes (sheep costumes, false eyebrows, and inflatable babies for all your photo-opportunity needs).

Day Three - Saturday 4th

11am-1pm :: Did truth matter in 2004? ::

Whose pants caught fire in the 'trust' election & who stood behind them dousing the flames? Who is winning Australia's (dis)information wars? Are all the media-watch shows, counterspinners, & independent media makers leading to a better-informed society, or will the pants keep burning til the world stops turning?

With Antony Loewenstein (SMH Webdiarist and editor with Znet), Reged Ahmad (Producer of ‘The Fourth Estate' on 2SER) David Margan (A Current Affair), Judith Ireland (Electiontracker.net) & Christian Kerr (Crikey)

11am-1pm :: How to be A Strayan: a guide for the rest of us ::

Struth! Never since Steve Erwin’s Crocodile Hunter has there been a more useful guide to comprehending what it means to be Australian. Two teams, one bright yellow kanga cricket trophy, and at least three times more ‘tokens’ than your typical marquee-gilded BWF panel. Recommended for New Zealanders, new migrants and anyone else who calls soccer 'Futbol'.

With Sandi Peel (Nunga artist, performer and story teller), Fiona Nicoll (academic and author of From Diggers to Drag Queens), Sinta Widarsito, Sammaneh Poursh, Indigo Williams Willing, Myron Kelvansky, Selvin Kwong, Amin Javanmard and Jen Tsen Kwok (the alien invader). The MC is Sam Watson (local Murri writer, film-maker, academic and activist).

1pm-3pm :: Howard's cultural legacy: "One day the times will suit me" ::

This panel will explore the changed face of the Australian cultural landscape under the Howard government. Is the Liberal Party responding to this change, or has it remade Australia in its own image? Speakers will discuss the past but focus on the future - what should be different in 10 years time and why?

With Judith Ireland (Electiontracker.net), Tim Blair (timblair.spleenville.com), Seleneah More (Co-produced and hosted radioACTIVE, a national program on politics & black Australia), and Mary Zournazi (author of ‘Hope – New Philosophies for Change’ and ‘Foreign Dialogues’) 

1pm-3pm :: POP! Goes politics (joint with film program) ::

Can reality TV be used for good not evil? Why do so many people reject the combination of politics and pop culture? Does refugee activism sell mobile phones and could Howard's `relaxed and comfortable' Australians handle a dose of the radical in their favourite idol? If activists had the opportunity to make `Reclaim the Streets' a top forty hit and national past-time would they embrace it, or would they prefer to stay in the fringes? If activist culture and meaning is appropriated by advertainment corporations is it still revolutionary? With Arnie poised to become the leader of the free world, politainment looks here to stay. We ask how to stop preaching to the converted and find out how and if the mainstream (and prime time) should be infiltrated.

With Merlin Luck (refugee protestor from Big Brother), Antony Loewenstein (SMH webdiarist and editor with Znet), Julian Morrow (The Chaser & CNNNN), and Josh Walker (Big Brother production assistant)

3pm-5pm :: Copywrite/Copywrong (joint with film program) ::

Culture is a dynamic, evolving organism that should be freely interpreted and reconfigured.  How do exclusive rights on creativity effect the development of art and science? Has copyright become an instrument for censorship? This session will look at how ancient knowledge & new ideas get fenced-off, injected with growth hormones, & sold to the highest bidder. Our speakers will introduce the latest tactics for rescuing the warm & fluffy creatures of intellectual capital.

With James Arvanitakis (UTS Research Initiative on International Activism and The Commons Institute), Brian Fitzgerald (Head of Law at QUT, working on the QUT Creative Commons project), and Tim Parish (Undergrowth digizine).

6-8pm :: Double Happiness launch-fest: Spinach7 Magazine & the Interface anthology ::

Non-fiction strikes back! Two launches for the price (free) of one.

Spinach7 is a quarterly arts & current affairs magazine with an Asia Pacific focus. Come and celebrate the release of issue 5, the Summer edition. Meet contributors, schmooze with the editors, pick up a free copy of issue 4 and check out the art and ideas that make Spinach7 the alluring Fabio of intelligent magazines. 

Interface is an anthology of non-fiction produced by national youth website www.vibewire.net 

Eat, drink & be talkative, for tomorrow we take over the world. You'll also be able to pick up free copies of the Ideas Program zine (collated from our online forums). 

Day Four – alt.careers - Sunday 5 th

Whole Day :: Unearthed – Rare finds in rare fields ::

Talk with unique individuals from self-shaped walks of life, creative people making their own way, find out what motivates them and how they keep on keepin' on! Pick the person whose ‘job’ you want to steal & ask them how to do it. With fresh coffee and mingling.

11am – Media & IT: David Diggles (Elven Solutions), Eve Vincent & Marni Cordell (Spinach7), Damien Lewis (Youth Internet radio Network), Sarah Jansen (Vibewire) and more…

12:30pm – Arts: Rosemary Cameron (Director of the Brisbane Writers Festival), Deniz Turak (2004 West End Festival director), Sarah-Jane Woulahan & Sean Gilligan (Kill your Television/Squareyed Films) and more…

2:30pm – Social Change: Amelia Salmon (President of Spiral Community Hub), Rachel Funari (Lip Magazine), Andrea Fox & Kitty Carra (Brisbane Feminism Online) and more…

Whole Day :: Creative Opportunities Expo ::

Stalls & exhibits of kick-ass projects and initiatives around Brisbane. Think zine-fair with less paper.

11:30-1pm :: For love and money ::

Work – what is it good for? What sacrifices do you make when you start to get paid for doing the things you enjoy? Is it possible to hold on to the energy & freedom of being a volunteer when the love hearts turn into dollar signs?

This panel will also look at the pressures you face when money is the last consideration in how you spend your time: how do you avoid burnout, the sneaking suspicion that it's not 'a real job', & being stalked by centrelink? What do you think of concepts like ‘professionalism', the ‘work ethic' and ‘having a career'?

With Marcus Westbury (Next Wave Festival), Susan Kukucka (Brisbane City Council & SOOB), Mary Zournazi (author of ‘Hope' and ‘Foreign Dialogues'), and Rachel Funari (Lip magazine)

1pm-3pm :: The business of social change ::

What's the difference between lip service and community service; between companies that use corporate ethics as a PR gimmick and those that have social change as their bottom line?

With a limited number of ethical jobs out there – is it time we started creating our own? What can we learn from ‘social enterprises'? How could the law be changed to actively encourage companies to put ethics above (or at least alongside) profits?

With Michael Doneman (‘The Kitchen' project manager, QUT Creative Industries), Therese Williams (Corporations Law lecturer at Griffith University), Morrie O'Conner (President of Foresters ANA), Jacqui Katona (CEO of the Lumbu Indigenous Community Foundation) and James Grant (Inkahoots design).

1pm-3pm :: Does anyone know a union member? ::

Dishwasher/conference organiser. Freelance writer/activist/call-centre employee. Graphic artist/film-maker/checkout chick. Journalist/event manager. Dj/marketing consultant. How do you join a union when your job description changes twice a year – or twice a week?

This session looks at the long dark teatime of collective bargaining – and asks what it would take for a union to be relevant & useful to freelance artists, writers, & advocates? What kind of services would it provide, what kind of demands would it make?

With Marcus Westbury (Artistic Director of the Next Wave Festival), Jennifer Earl (Lead Negotiator/Organiser Australian Services Union) and Seamus Mee (Industrial Organiser, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance)

3pm-5pm :: Net_Doctor_Intensive Autonomous Online Cultures Workshop ::

In the face of an increasingly younger, more conservative; increasingly censorious, Liberal-minded, economically rationalized careerist and depoliticized culture, how is online communication vital to autonomy and radical politics? What is techno-utopia and why does it exist? Does international communication offer anything relevant to local creative cultural life? 

Learn tips for growing and sustaining online community amidst the shrinking public commons. Discuss challenges, threats and possibilities for online arts survival. Learn techniques for shaping and sustaining unique communities relevant to your interests. With experts and presentations of online art and political projects.

With Mickie Quick (NUCA, Squatspace) Sean Taylor (Quiz Cat), Jesse Sullivan (Detrivore/Backpack Nuke), Keg (Blacktown/Squatspace) and Erin Dolan (Do Not Be Quiet).

3pm-5pm :: What's on the cards? Long term agendas for change ::

With a royal flush of Liberals in both houses, Australian laws will be changing faster than you can say “fold”. Who has plans to change Australia over the next three years and beyond? How are they going to make it happen? How do political parties and lobby groups plan for the future? How can we look over the shoulders of the men who are holding all the cards - or even start dealing a few decks of our own? Is it time for the rest of us to start coming up with our own twenty-year plans?

With James Arvanitakis (UTS Research Initiative on International Activism and The Commons Institute), Christian Kerr (Crikey), Graham Young (Editor of Onlineopinion.com.au) and Reged Ahmad (2SER's ‘The Fourth Estate')

6pm :: Party Games ::

Fun & Games to wind down after four days of non-stop ideas action. Pin the tail on the donkey-vote, spin-doctor the bottle, backflip-gammon, pass-the-buck-parcel, and maybe some twister. That's what will happen if we can bothered. Otherwise it's a chance to sit around, drink beer, & put AVO orders out on those bloody stalkers who kept ‘accidentally’ turning up in the same workshops as you. Common interests? Potential life-partners? A likely story. Nick ‘em, guvnor.

And whatever you do, don't forget to check out:

The Urban Theory Program – Wednesday 8th December

Building on the introduction of Urban Theory as a content area to the 2003 program for SOOB, the program this year features a conference-style series of panel discussions, the launch of a global zine for urban culture and a live INVASION in Brisbane during the festival.

Although there are cross-overs with many of the other content areas of the festival, the Urban Theory content focuses its attention of the impact of the work of artists and creativity on the city and the impact of the city on the work of artists. This year the panel discussions are organised around a theme of INFRASTRUCTURES. In this series, particular aspects of the physical, social and economic situation of Australian cities that contribute to a city’s creative culture and identity will be addressed. For further information please contact anna@www.straightoutofbrisbane.com


:: Urban Invasions Episode 2 – Infrastructure ::

Following the theme of the Urban Content section, this sequel to last year’s panel of urban artists will discuss the specific infrastructures of cities that provide the medium and opportunity for their work.

Facilitator: Anna Tweeddale
Speakers: Mickie Quick, Emile Zile, James Dodds 

:: Infrastructures of Identity: Documenting Cities ::

What is it that drives someone to document the often ephemeral “happenings” of a city and its culture? What will remain of our current experiences of Australian cities when it passes out of living memory? How can the decision of what is recorded affect a city’s collective memory, and should we be more actively engaged in creating those memories? Would this give us a tool to forge an idea of a new Brisbane in years to come? How much does a city draw on past documentation to define its sense of identity? This panel will investigate these questions through looking at a number of projects documenting different aspects of cities and urban culture.

Facilitator:  Sally Brand
Speakers: Ricardo Felipe,  David Franzke, & Andy Mac

:: Cities, Culture and Infrastructure ::

This panel will investigate the specificities of cities that create the conditions for creative culture. Avoiding the discussion traps of arts funding, gentrification and the spread of consumer culture in our cities, this panel will instead focus on circumstances of creative cities in their most banal form: rent prices and structures, availability of space, access to urban infrastructure, negotiating government policy and local demographics. The aim of the panel is to discuss constructive ways to put these conditions to a creative purpose.

Facilitator:  Anna Tweeddale
Speakers: Peter Browning, Andy Mac, & Mickie Quick

And also:
 

VI Ideas Program - Create:Concieve:Believe

In partnership with the Straight Out Of Brisbane Festival, Visible Ink will host a series of Ideas Programs at Indooroopilly and Inala. A Showcase in Fortitude Valley will provide an opportunity to celebrate and show off creations from the VI Ideas Program.

The Ideas Program is a series of discussions, ‘rant offs’, workshops and chilled activities that generate exploration into current issues.

Workshops provide interactive ways to create, express and explore issues through stencil art, hip hop, dancing, recycled art and zines.

The ‘rant offs’ and chat/chill sessions are a great way to open up a discussion and debate on anything that young people want to talk about and get their ideas and opinions out there.

The issues explored in the ideas program include public space, media, environment, art, music, and career pathways. 

VI:Ideas @ Indooroopilly
3-6 pm
Wednesday the 8th December
Keating Park, Cnr Belgrave Rd and Stamford Rd (opposite Indooroopilly Shopping Centre)

• Workshops: recycled art, badge making, t-shirt design, dance poi, dj workshops and make up races
• Rant Offs: learn how to rant about your passion.  Rant to cool beats.
• Chat and Chill: local performers, good tunes and short films

VI:Ideas @ Inala
2-5 pm
Thursday 9th December
Inala Civic Centre

• Workshops: Hip Hop/ song writing workshop, DJ workshop, or R’n’B dance workshop
• Rant offs: learn how to rant about your passion.  Rant to cool beats.
• Chat and Chill: talk to some awesome local bands/performers and listen to good tunes.

VI:Ideas Showcase @ Valley
2-6 pm
Sunday 12th December
Café Jugglers, 103 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley

Workshops: stencil art, recycled art
Rant Offs: the best of the best ranters will be on
Chat and Chill: Dj and live music, screening room: films from the VI 24 hour Film Fest, Digital Stories, check out some awesome piccies from the Recreate Homelessness Project

All of these events celebrate young people, and showcase local talent, passions and interests. With hands on workshops, performances and interactive art, it will be easy to become immersed in the celebration, so come along and play with us!

For More Details:
www.visible-ink.org  or (07) 34030138