TALK: PERTH: Creating a 21st Century City of Culture

Presentation Synopsis

What will it take to make Perth a centre of culture in the 21st Century? It is possible, indeed it is vital, for Perth to become a centre of cultural life for our region if it is to maintain it’s affluence and grow to become the powerhouse it has the potential to be. Sharing the same time zone as 60% of the world's population and in close proximity to what will become the major economies of our time, we are perfectly poised to become a major international centre of cultural activity, but it will take vision and commitment!

About the Speaker

W/Prof Ted Snell AM, CitWA was born in 1949, at Geraldton, Western Australia. After completing an Associateship in Art Teaching he travelled to England to undertake postgraduate study in Birmingham. He returned to Australia and began teaching part-time at WAIT (now Curtin University), where he was Professor of Contemporary Art and Dean of Art, John Curtin Gallery. In 2009 he was appointed as Winthrop Professor and Director of the Cultural Precinct at The University of Western Australia.

Over the past two decades W/Prof Snell has contributed to the national arts agenda through his role as Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council, Chair of the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools, Chair of Artbank, Chair of the Asialink Visual Arts Advisory Committee and as a Board member of the National Association for the Visual Arts. He has been a commentator on the arts for ABC radio and television and is currently Perth art reviewer for The Australian and a regular contributor to local and national journals. He has published several books and has curated numerous exhibitions, many of which document the visual culture of Western Australia.