In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Theatre Royal Castlemaine
30 Hargraves St, Castlemaine
Castlemaine, Victoria, 3450
Australia

Basil Eliades

Winner of the World Vodka Awards in London

Basil Eliades has done a great many things, from setting up schools (Candlebark and Alice Miller, and Wesley Clunes Campus) to winning Gold at the World Vodka Awards in London. Twice. His written work is highly acclaimed by the likes of John Marsden, Phillip Adams, and Les Murray. And he painted the final portraits of Malcolm Fraser, Richard Pratt, and Margaret Carnegie. He is an accomplished author, artist, educator in everything from Art to Martial Arts and Chess. He is a Master Distiller, a Black belt, and he even studied classical ballet. Just don’t ask him to sing.

Caroline Bowditch

CEO, Arts Access Victoria

Caroline Bowditch enjoyed an acclaimed career in the UK for over 16 years as a performance maker and industry leader. Caroline was Scottish Dance Theatre’s Dance Agent for Change (2008-2012). She was a Director of Dance with Paragon Music (Glasgow), Dance4 (Nottingham) and Imaginate (Scotland), and was Visiting Professor at Coventry University. She has been a regular consultant on accessibility and inclusive practice to Skånes Dansteater, Sweden, and the British Council. Caroline returned to Australia in 2018 to lead Arts Access Victoria as CEO. During her tenure, Caroline developed strong partnerships with Arts Centre Melbourne, Regional Arts Victoria, MAV (formerly Multicultural Arts Victoria), Melbourne Fringe Festival, Music Victoria and many more. Caroline’s strong advocacy has resulted in significant reform of funding programs for Deaf and Disabled artists.

Dave Faulkner

Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Frontman for the Hoodoo Gurus

Dave Faulkner has been a professional musician since 1976. Born in Perth, he began his career there before moving to Sydney in late 1980. Shortly afterwards he formed the 'Hoodoo Gurus', the band with which he has been most closely identified, still performing with them to this day. He is their lead singer, rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter. Apart from the Gurus, Dave has written and recorded albums with 'Antenna' and 'The Persian Rugs' as well as composed the soundtrack for two feature films. He was a judge for the Australian Music Prize for 14 years and served as its judging chairperson for 7 years. He is passionate about music in general and songwriting in particular. Hoodoo Gurus were inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 2007, The Age Newspaper's E.G. Hall Of Fame in 2011 and Dave was personally inducted into the Western Australian Music Industry Hall Of Fame (WAM) in 2009.

David Bromley

World renowned artist

David Bromley is an Australian artist who has made a significant impact in the art world with his vibrant and expressive works. Born in 1960 in Sheffield, England, Bromley moved to Australia at a young age and has since become one of the country’s most prolific and renowned artists. Bromley’s work has gained international recognition, and his paintings can be found in galleries and private collections around the world. His portfolio encompasses a wide range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, furniture and fashion. More recently, David Bromley was the subject in the documentary, 'Bromley: Light After Dark' which has won many awards both in Australia, Asia and America. The film is touching, raw and real. Topics covered vary from family relationships to art as therapy, to creativity.

James Morrison

Musician, Australian Legend

James Morrison is a virtuoso and Australian music legend. He has been appointed a member of The Order of Australia, has won countless awards and has been inducted into the Australian Jazz Hall of Fame. Now 60, James Morrison’s career has included much more than just jazz... He has recorded with The London Symphony Orchestra, rock legends INXS and the European Brass Ensemble, performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms, written the opening fanfare for the Olympic Games, played for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and for US Presidents Bush, and Clinton. He has played classical trumpet at the Kremlin, broken a Guinness record conducting the World’s Largest Orchestra, was TV presenter on Top Gear Australia and in 2016 James was a guest of President Barack Obama at the White House. He’s a pilot, rally driver, sailor, author and even a builder of Tiny Houseboats.

Jens Altheimer

Quirkologist

Jens Altheimer is a multi-disciplinary and fiercely independent artist who has been making and presenting work for audiences in Australia and Europe for 35 years. He is a director, performer, inventor, tinkerer, producer and mentor, with a strong interest in creating participatory and empowering art experiences. Jens incorporates elements of puppetry, interactive mechanical sculptures, video, circus, robotics and music into his highly visual theatre productions that explore human relationships through the world of animated objects. He is the uncontested frontman of his one-man shows, quirkologist, established collector, inventor and transformer of thingamabobs and other wondrous oddities of day to day life. His unusual, visual and contraption- loaded theatre productions are touring extensively in metropolitan, regional and remote areas. His body of work includes family theatre, multidisciplinary community art projects, playful kinetic installations, and circus productions.

Julie Lovett

Established Irish Visual Artist

Julie Lovett (b. 1984, Co. Kerry) is a visual artist living and working in Castlemaine, Co. Kerry, Ireland. She completed a degree in Painting at The Limerick School of Art and Design (’03-’07). She went on to earn a Masters of Fine Art at The University of Ulster, Belfast (’09-’11). Recent artistic achievements include being awarded a residency at Triangle Astèrides, Marseille, France (2021). Previous achievements include being one of five artists to represent Northern Ireland, selected for The Freelands Artist Programme (2018-2020). This creative and professional development programme includes symposia (Sheffield, 2019) exhibitions The Freelands Gallery, London, (2021) The Mac Belfast (2024) and a solo exhibition at PS2, Belfast (2019). After spending ten years working as an artist in Belfast, she returned home to Kerry where she now works and resides. Much of her influences are derived from her rural upbringing, experiences and sense of place.

Karen Bryant

Chief Executive & Creative Director at Midsumma

Karen is a recipient of Deloitte's 50 LGBTQ Leaders 2020 to 2022 (National), has contributed to the arts nationally for more than 30 years, with extensive experience and networks which she has built as a performer, director, Artistic Director, programmer, producer, artistic consultant, venue manager (including asset management), and festival manager. She was Chief Executive at the Adelaide International Festival of Arts and Associate Director & Head of Programming at the Adelaide Festival Centre, where she was responsible for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Karen has also served on numerous federal and state arts advisory boards, including several board and committee appointments for the Commonwealth Government and Australia Council for the Arts. She is currently Chief Executive & Creative Director at Midsumma, one of the largest-attended festivals in Victoria, and is also on the Victorian State Government’s LGBTQ Task Force.

Kate Larsen

Consultant, Writer, Arts Leader

Kate Larsen (she/her) is an arts, cultural and non-profit consultant and writer with more than 25 years’ experience as a sector leader and rabble-rouser working across Australia, Asia and the UK. Currently based on Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung Country in Naarm/Melbourne, Kate has particular expertise in arts governance and cultural leadership, workplace culture and wellbeing, digital and community-engaged practice. Her debut collection of poetry, Public. Open. Space., was published by Fremantle Press in 2023. @KateLarsenKeys

Kristen Retallick

Director Shepparton Arts Festival

Kristen Retallick lives and works on Yorta Yorta land both as an arts worker and a visual artist. Hands-on and deeply committed to the local community, Kristen has worked in the arts for over two decades and possesses a breadth and depth of well-rounded experience. She is an inspiring creative leader with a deep understanding of the region’s needs, and what is required to deliver quality arts programs, events and exhibitions. Kristen is a multidisciplinary artist who works predominantly in drawing and painting in inks, charcoal and acrylic. Her minimal approach to the figure and landscape explores complex human relationships with land, water and each other. As Director of the Shepparton Festival, Kristen is dedicated to working with the Greater Shepparton community and beyond. She also works alongside First Nations creatives at Kaiela Arts, assisting the delivery of their education program - Galnyatj.

Ky-ya Nicholson Ward

Artist and Activist

Ky-ya is a 21 year old Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngurai illum Wurrung, German and Irish woman. She is based in Naarm (Melbourne). Ky-ya is a passionate First Nations artist who tells the stories of her ancestors, family and Country. Ky-ya is also an activist, mentor, educator and dancer with Djirri Djirri Cultural Services. Ky-ya's inspirations are Country, animals, stories, waterways and her ancestors. Ky-ya is inspired to use her art to showcase her culture in a positive way, to advocate for justice around the world and to educate others.

Lauren Mullings

CEO, Multicultural Arts Victoria

Lauren Mullings is a writer, creative producer and multi-disciplinary artist, who is passionate about people enhancing their lives through art and artmaking. She derives joy from short storywriting, photography, sound system culture, and finding tangible ways to critically examine the subtleties of power. As an arts leader she has designed and led numerous arts and cultural projects, advocating for practices that are strength-based and unapologetically prioritise care, kindness and sisterhood. She is a contributor to Growing Up African in Australia edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke, a current mentee of Creative Australia’s Leadership Program, an active participant in the THIS IS WHO WE ARE (TIWWA) UK-Australian movement of intergenerational and intersectional female creatives of colour and the CEO of MAV, an organisation that advocates for “Arts as diverse as our people”.

Paul Grabowsky

Iconic Australian Pianist, Arranger, Conductor, Composer

Paul Grabowsky is a pianist, composer, arranger, conductor – and is one Australia’s most distinguished artists. He became prominent in the music scene in Melbourne in the 1970s, lived and worked in Europe and the US from 1980-85 and returned to Australia in 1986 establishing a reputation as one of Australia's leading jazz musicians. He was musical director of Tonight Live with Steve Vizard from 1990-1992 and Commissioning Editor (Arts and Entertainment) for ABC Television 1995-98. He has written the scores for over twenty feature films and has a long list of television and theatre credits. He has won eight ARIA awards has been Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival, Adelaide Festival of Arts and other festivals and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to music and arts administration. In 2019 he was appointed Artist in Residence for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for which he composed 4 symphonic works.

Rachael Maza

Artistic Director, Ilbijerri Theatre Company

Rachael Maza is Yidinji from North Queensland, Meriam from the Torres Strait Island of Mer, and Dutch on her mother’s side. Rachael is Artistic Director of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company (2008 – present) and brings with her a wealth of acting, directing and dramaturgical experience, a significant profile, and a passionate vision for Indigenous theatre. Rachael is widely known for her wealth of acting, directing, and dramaturgical experience across the Australian film, television and theatre industry, most notably, the AFI (Australian Film Institute) award-winning Radiance, the stage production of The Sapphires and as acting coach on films such as the multi-award-winning Rabbit Proof Fence. Rachael’s considerable contribution to the cultural landscape has been recognised through multiple awards, including the Touring Legend Drover Award, 2017, the Australia Council of the Arts Award for Theatre (2019), and as a recipient of an Order of Australia medal (2020).

Richard Frankland

Gunditjmara Playwright, Musician

Richard Frankland is a well-loved Australian playwright, scriptwriter and musician. He is an Aboriginal Australian of Gunditjmara origin from Victoria.

Richard Sowada

Director, St Kilda Film Festival

Richard Sowada is founder and director of the Revelation Perth International Film Festival and was Head of Film Programs at the ACMI from 2007-2016. He currently directs the St Kilda Film Festival, co-directed the Brisbane International Film Festival in 2018, completed a Masters at UTS examining the WWII films of Frank Capra. He has also recently completed a PhD at Melbourne University researching the cycles of Australian film distribution and exhibition and continues to be a passionate advocate for Screen Culture in Australia and really, really enjoys restoring and flipping analogue film technology.

Rod Quantock

Pioneer of Australian Comedy

Rod Quantock OAM is a Melbourne-born pioneer of contemporary Australian comedy. His comic voice is uniquely and remarkably relevant, critical and enlightening. And, as a bonus, funny. Always the passionate, meticulously well-informed, fearless comedian he challenges the corruptions of the world with a uniquely wise yet wonderfully ridiculous brand of stand-up subversion. Rod first strolled on stage in the 1968 Melbourne University Architect’s Revue and walked away with his first and favourite review - ‘Quantock is an amiable buffoon' - in Herald Sun. Fifty-plus years later he is still on stage. Along the way he established the art of stand-up and ensemble comedy and helped lay the foundations of an industry. He was an inaugural Board Member of The Melbourne International Comedy Festival and, as of 2020, the only performer to have appeared in all 33 Festivals.

Sally Richardson

Award Winning Writer, Director, Creative Producer

Sally is an award-winning writer, director, and creative producer and has worked with diverse artists, groups and organisations across Australia and Asia. Sally is highly respected for her commitment to new Australian work, artist development and advocacy. Sally has created and produced over 30 productions for theatre, dance, circus and film, touring works regionally, nationally, and internationally through her company Steamworks Arts. She was a Board Director for the Australia Council Theatre Board and Deputy Chair of Community Arts Network and Spare Parts Puppet Theatre amongst other advocacy roles. She is passionate about the creation and development of new Australian work, with a focus on contemporary First Nations culture, the development of a distinctive regional identity and celebration of local communities. She is an explorer, idealist, activator and optimist and believes that art and artists are vital and that in creativity lies the solution to so many of our challenges.

Sam Jacob

CEO, CollArts

Sam Jacob is grateful to live in Naarm, on unceded Wurundjeri land, and tries to walk softly as a sign of respect to Elders past and present. In their professional realm, Sam brings more than 30 years’ experience in higher education in the UK and Australia, including senior roles at Charles Darwin, Torrens, Deakin, Monash and Adelaide universities. Sam’s current role is CEO at the Australian College of the Arts (Collarts), a dual-sector, independent provider, ranked #1 in Australia in student engagement for creative education. Sam is a specialist in conceptualising the future of higher education, inspiring organisations to meet customer needs. They believe that education transforms hope into agency, powering up the next generation of activists and changemakers. Sam has fallen in love with the staff and students of Collarts, seeing living proof every day that creativity is vital, difference is powerful and stories change the world.

Selene Bateman

CEO, Auspicious Arts

Selene Bateman has a deep passion for the arts, particularly the quirky, weird, and experimental. Although she doesn’t have an artistic practice herself, this passion has driven her career in the arts as an administrator, producer, and project manager, culminating in her current role as CEO of Auspicious Arts Projects Inc. Over the years, Selene has successfully produced animated TV series, queer cabarets, and comedy shows for children. She has collaborated with hundreds of artists across various art forms and career stages, offering invaluable support in navigating funding, refining budgets, and managing projects effectively. Selene is also highly esteemed for her expertise in grant writing, workshop facilitation, and financial management.

Simon Dow

Dancer, Photographer, Choreographer, Curator.

Simon Dow has been a Principal Dancer of international status having danced with The Australian Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet and as a frequent international guest artist with companies and festivals. He is a choreographer with over fifty original works which have been performed in Australia, Asia, Europe and the U.S. Simon has been the Artistic Director of West Australian Ballet, Washington Ballet and the Milwaukee Ballet and in this role has curated repertoire and special event / festival offerings for over fifteen years bringing together creative teams from diverse practices and nationalities. He has been a sought-after master teacher of dance for the past 30 years internationally. Simon is also a performance artist, a fine art and portrait photographer and has co-owned and run EDGE galleries as Director and Curator since 2021. Simon has acted as arts events organiser and has been MC for many projects, events and galas.

Sissy Austin

Writer, Runner, Activist

Sissy Austin is a Keerraay Woorroong, Djab Wurrung, Peek Woorroong, Gunditjmara woman. Sissy is a published author, featuring in Queer Literature’s publication ‘Inside Out’ and Monash Universities Museum of Art’s publication ‘Tree Story’. Sissy has written for IndigenousX, Common Ground, The Guardian, The Age, Mamma Mia and her personal blog ‘Silent No More’. Sissy is a human rights activist, advocating predominantly for ending the systematic removal of Aboriginal children from family and ending gendered violence against women. Sissy was a kinship carer for 10 years, raising multiple children for the entirety of her 20s, referring to them as “warrior children”. Sissy was key in the establishment of the Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy and in the extensive fight to protect Djab Wurrung Country from being destroyed. Sissy identifies as Queer and finds solace in long distance running, recently completing the New York City Marathon as a graduate of the Indigenous Marathon Project.

Veronica Pardo

Cultural Equity Leader, Consultant and Advocate

Veronica Pardo has been leading the work on cultural equity in Australia for more than 15 years, heading peak organisations such as Arts Access Victoria and Multicultural Arts Victoria, as champions of change in the arts towards greater equity and justice. She is a highly regarded leader, sought after by institutions to guide the development of interventions aimed at changing organisational culture, structure and practice. She is an experienced leadership and executive development coach, working with individuals to build capacity for culturally safe, high performing teams that enable diverse practice and lived experience. Veronica is a skilled workshop facilitator who brings both lived and professional experience of diversity to the creation of culturally safe learning and reflection spaces. She currently runs her own consulting practice and is Chair of Western Edge Youth Arts.