Art and culture can be a light guiding us through dark and troubling times. Whether in a gallery, at home with music, or in a library leafing between pages, art enlivens memories, sparks recognition, and engenders a sense of belonging with friends, family and neighbours. These experiences are also difficult to capture, communicate, or measure. In our digitised world where impact is evaluated in numbers and dollars, how can we sustain the value of culture, and communicate why it matters?

Join Jade Lillie and Heather Robinson, two cultural writers and thinkers, while they explore what cultural value means to communities and our way of life. Heather will be launching her new book Beyond the Books: Culture, Value, and Why Libraries Matter.

Includes a glass of bubbles and nibbles.

Jade Lillie is a facilitator, advisor and specialist in community and stakeholder engagement. She is the Chief of Staff for Original Power, a First Nations organisation focused on self-determination and clean energy, and works as a consultant and advisor specialising in strategy, co-design, governance and organisational culture. Jade is the curator and editor for The Relationship is the Project, a go-to resource for working better with communities. She lives on Dja Dja Wurrung country.

Heather Robinson is a writer and researcher specialising in the cultural history of the twentieth century. She is also a creative producer with thirty years of experience across the Australian GLAM sector and public service. Robinson completed a PhD at Flinders University, exploring the creative industries policy impacts on cultural institutions and their communities. She lives in Daylesford, is an avid reader, Darwinian gardener and passionate motorcyclist.