In Conversation: Ashley Hay and Sophie Cunningham
A conversation about gums, their history and their future
Join us for a conversation between leading environmental writers, Ashley Hay and Sophie Cunningham.
Ashley is the author of Gum: The History of Eucalypts and their Champions while Sophie has written many books including City of Trees: Essays on Life, Death and the Need for a Forest. Both have been Dahl Fellows with Eucalypt Australia and both contributed creative responses to the book Ngarn Wa'ngal: Art of the Gum Trees. This will be a thoughtful talk about gums, their history and their future by these two important writers.
Presented as part of Readings' A Day in Carlton, spend a day exploring the stories, ideas and creative practices at the heart of Ngarn Wa'ngal: Art of the Gum Tree.
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Image credit: [tbc]
Speakers
Ashley Hay
Ashley Hay is a novelist, essayist and editor whose books include Gum: The Story of Eucalypts and Their Champions (2021). Her awards include the Bragg/UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing, the Australian Society for Literature’s Colin Roderick Prize and Eucalypt Australia’s Dahl Medal. She currently works as the establishing editor for Meanjin at QUT in Brisbane, where she lives and works on Yugara and Turrbal land.
Sophie Cunningham
Sophie Cunningham is a non-fiction writer, novelist and teacher of creative writing. She has written eleven books, as well as editing one and appeared in anthologies. Her most recent novel is This Devastating Fever (Ultimo Press) and her fourth book for children,The Platypus of Christmas Creek - The True Story of a Miracle Rescue (Albert Street Books) has just been published. Her essay collection City of Trees (Text Publishing) was published in 2019. She received a Miegunayah Creative Fellowship in 2023– 24 and a Dahl Fellowship in 2026 to continue the resulting work: ‘Eucalyptus: A Story in Twenty Trees’ . As well as writing about eucalyptus she is working on her next novel,The Whole Earth Catalogue, and collating a second essay collection, 'Hope Less (Do More)'.
Event info and access
Bookings are required, with capacity limits applying to the event.
This event will take place in the Primrose Potter Studio on Level 1 of the Potter Museum of Art.
This event is fully seated with infrared hearing assistance available in this space.
Please visit our accessibility page for additional information about the Potter Museum of Art.
For further access requests or queries regarding this event contact mc-publicprograms@unimelb.edu.au.
Readings' A Day in Carlton
Enjoy a series of talks inspired by the exhibition's companion publication, published by Melbourne University Press, and join a drop-in weaving workshop with the Australian Tapestry Workshop exploring the rich colours of eucalyptus dyes. Come for a conversation, stay to create, and discover the many stories woven through the gum tree.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
