Reconstruction, Adaptation and the Creative Sector: An exploration of the creative sector’s role in reimagining and reconstructing Lismore after the 2022 floods.

Date: Monday, 21st October 2024

Time: 11:00pm—12:00pm

Location: Lismore Regional Gallery

This special panel discussion explores the vital role played by the creative sector in helping communities navigate an uncertain future. In this case the uncertain future is made obvious by the unprecedented floods of 2022 and the clear need for a substantial change in how we prepare for and manage floods and other hazards in the Northern Rivers. Lismore is in the midst of a massive reconstruction effort, and this includes the major cultural institutions based there. This panel will explore how these organisations see their role in this moment in this community and will look at the decisions they have made regarding their own programs, infrastructure and future plans.

Panel

Betty Russ, Co-founder, Elevator Artist Run Initiative

Libby Lincoln, Executive Director, NORPA

Jane Fuller, Executive Director, Arts Northern Rivers

Cherine Fahd, Associate Professor, School of Design, UTS

Introduction

Ashleigh Ralph, Director, Lismore Regional Gallery.

Festival of Public Urbanism 2024

Great cities are defined by the quality of their public realm. From parks to civic architecture, well designed public infrastructure supports and enables the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of urban life. But are these public assets, along with public processes of urban governance and planning, under attack? Over the past fifty years key legacies of the modern urban project – such as publicly funded housing and urban infrastructure; or comprehensive planning for new development – have been eroded by waves of political and economic reform. Faith in market based ‘solutions’ has reduced public planning processes to ‘red tape’ and replaced public investment in rental housing with subsidies for private investors and households. At the same time, digital transformation under ‘platformisation’ has seen private corporations able to evade domestic regulations, disrupting every facet of urban life and governance.

The Festival of Public Urbanism will debate these topics and more. Join us to engage with academics, activists, politicians, industry leaders through our program of panel discussions, walking tours, and podcasts across Sydney and Australia.