ACCA Podcast

Join us for artist talks with curators Dr Shelley McSpedden and Sophie Prince, alongside NEW26 artists Amanda Bell, Amanda Bennetts, Nicholas Currie, Naveed Farro, Diego Ramírez and EJ Son.

An engaging panel discussion exploring the relationship between art, emotion, and how creative practices can help young people to navigate complex emotional states. Featuring ACCA Artist Educator Lauren Simmonds, Community Psychologist Trisnasari Fraser, The Torch First People's Mentor Flick Chafer-Smith and Secondary Teacher and Art Therapist Mary Utter.

Join exhibition curators Sophie Prince and Myles Russell-Cook for a tour of 'Are you lonely tonight? I’m so lonesome I could cry.', and hear directly from artists Polly Borland, Kayla Mattes, Callum McGrath, Nick Mullaly, Melissa Nguyen and Patrick Pound as they speak to directly to their work in the show.

Join artists Patrick Pound and Kayla Mattes, in conversation with ACCA Artistic Director and CEO Myles Russell-Cook, as they discuss their new commissions for the show. Collecting and working with digital and physical materials, respectively, the artists share their unique approaches to making new work out of archives.

ACCA and Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) celebrate the launch of collaborative publication, The Second Studio: Drawing on Contemporary Art in the Gallery. Featuring a panel discussion between ACCA Artist Educator Lauren Simmonds; Amélie Scalercio – Lecturer, Coordinator of Drawing, MADA, Monash University; Andrew Atchison – Artist and educator at Monash, RMIT and Swinburne Universities and Dr Rosslynd Piggott – Artist and tutor, MADA, Monash.

Join artist Julius von Bismarck and ACCA's Senior Curator and Head of Exhibitions Shelley McSpedden as they take a tour of 'This is not the storm', on show at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

*Please note this podcast contains coarse language ACCA presents Labels: Fashion and Identity, a panel discussion exploring the role of fashion in expressing identity. Featuring ACCA Curator Sophie Prince, Shauna Toohey (P.A.M), Jackie Wu (Wackie Ju) and Ricarda Bigolin (RMIT), the panel considers unisex and gender nonconforming fashion branding, including designing for diverse bodies and identities.

‘We need to talk’, is a bold new series of free public conversations that bring together artists, thinkers, and cultural leaders to explore the art world from every angle. For our latest event, acclaimed American artist, filmmaker and writer, Tourmaline joins ACCA curator Sophie Prince for a conversation on her exhibition Tourmaline: Transcendent. ‘We need to talk’ is a space for spirited exchange, fresh ideas, and unexpected connections.

Listen to our talk with artist r e a, Myes Russell-Cook and Judith Ryan AM on their latest exhibition 'r e a : c l a i m e d'. r e a : c l a i m e d is a focused survey of Gamilaraay, Wailwan and Biripi digital media artist, r e a, highlighting some of their most significant works from a career spanning more than three decades. r e a first exhibited at ACCA as part of the landmark group exhibition Blakness: Blak City Culture! in 1994, curated by Hetti Perkins and Clare Williamson. Now, more than thirty years later, r e a returns to ACCA with a solo exhibition that includes digital media art, sculpture, installation, and video. This podcast was recorded as part of an Artist Talk at ACCA on Saturday 13 December 2025. Image: Artist talk and book launch event, 'r e a : c l a i m e d' 2025/2026, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne 2026. Photograph: Astrid Mulder

*CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast includes discussions of genocide. Support is always available: Lifeline 13 11 14, Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 ‘We need talk’, is a bold new series of free public conversations that bring together artists, thinkers, and cultural leaders to explore the art world from every angle. For our first event, acclaimed artist Tschabalala Self joined ACCA’s Artistic Director & CEO Myles Russell-Cook for a conversation on art, identity, and the future. A new ACCA initiative, ‘We need to talk’ is a space for spirited exchange, fresh ideas, and unexpected connections.