Episode 3: Talking Festivals with Vernon Guest
Here Goes Nothing Podcast
Way back in 2003, I got my first full time job in the arts industry as Marketing Assistant at Perth Festival. My manager at the time, Grant, told me I got an interview as he thought I had a great name that could be bellowed across the office with great affect. He was right. Thanks mum and dad.
Lindy Hume was the new Artistic Director and it was an amazing brave new world of entering the Festival machine. I’ve always said that working in a Festival either makes you or breaks you, and it made me - the intense workload and time pressures made the work fun and I thrived. I was there for all four of Lindy’s Festivals until 2007.
I was 23, very much behaving like 23 year olds do and in production was Vern - another 23 year old doing amazing things with the production team. Since then, Vern and I have worked in various orgs and always had lively debates.
Over the years our debates have gone from whose football team is better to the intrinsic value of contemporary dance in society. Vern is one of the smartest and genuine people there are and seemed like the obvious choice to have this conversation.
Now, over 20 years later, Vern has the very grown up job as CEO of Ten Days on the Island. A small but mighty Festival in Tasmania. I worked with Vern at Ten Days during COVID for the 2021 festival (a pandemic wasn’t great for my event business), again with Lindy Hume as Artistic Director. Now, the incomparable Marnie Karmelita (who was also at Perth Festival during Lindy’s years) is Artistic Director and I can’t wait to see where she takes it.
We had a great chat! and if you’re in Tasmania in 21-30 March - make sure you go to Ten Days on the Island!
Vern and I had this conversation in December 2024 and we discuss the National Cultural Policy and Creative Australia. It’s important to note this timing as it was before any of the recent controversy around Creative Australia and their poor decision making process which has led to the very thing they were trying to avoid.
Links to what we talk about…
Vernon Guest, CEO Ten Days on the Island
“I’m serious about this” blog post
Vern and I started working together in 2003 at Perth Festival
Other festivals Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival
Major events - Festival First Night:
Vern’s home town, Ravensthorpe, Western Australia
Good music teachers make a BIG difference for primary school children
Not the same production of Marriage of Figaro at WAAPA, but more recent
Starter for Ten Podcast with Marnie Karmelita:
Artistic Director, Marnie Karmelita
Valuing the arts in Australia and New Zealand
The arts is more than entertainment…
David Throsby, “Artists as Workers” Creative Australia
Creative WA 10 Year Vision of Arts and Culture in WA
Theatre history in Sydney of activists and working class and unions…
Vogue promoting Dumb phones
What is Generative AI
North West Coast of Tasmania
Creative Australia’s First Nations Board
Block Chain potential for ticketing
WA Opera’s Wundig Wer Wilura by Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse
Dancer in the Dark:
Productions of Cameron Macintosh