Megan Cope In Conversation
3 October 2023
In the Utzon Room
Talks & Ideas
Free event, registrations essential
Join artist Megan Cope, creator of the monumental public artwork, Whispers, along with guests Matt Poll, Dakota Dixon and Daniel Browning as they discuss ecology, collectivity, First Nations culture and the role of artists.
Date |
Time |
Tuesday 3 October 2023 |
6:30pm-7:30pm |
Unreserved seating |
Price |
---|---|
Registration (max 2pp) |
Free |
General Public tickets available
Tuesday 19 September 2023, 9am
In English
Wheelchair accessible
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House
Run time
This performance will run for approximately 90 minutes
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Age
All ages.
A panel discussion with Quandamooka Artist Megan Cope
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sydney Opera House, Quandamooka artist Megan Cope has created Whispers, a melding of First Nations history and environmental consciousness. Over the past year, Cope has engaged over 3000 volunteers, in over 100 workshops to create a series of sculptures that reimagine the architectural framework of the Opera House itself, evoking the ancestral midden sites that were used on this site for Aboriginal celebrations and gatherings for thousands of years.
Join Megan, with respected curator and writer Matt Poll (Head of Indigenous Programs, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney), Dakota Dixon (cultural producer) and Daniel Browning (Indigenous Radio Editor, ABC) as they unpack the world of artist-activists, discussing ecology, collectivity and First Nations culture. The talk will be moderated by Sydney Opera House’s Curator, Contemporary Art, Micheal Do.
Whispers continues until 31 October 2023
Presented by Sydney Opera House
This program is proudly supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW Blockbusters Funding initiative
Meet the panel
Megan Cope is a Quandamooka Artist. Her site-specific sculptural installations, video work, paintings and public art investigate issues relating to colonial histories, the environment and mapping practices.
In 2022 her work was featured in We, On The Rising Wave, Busan Biennale, South Korea, Reclaim the Earth, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, Embodied Knowledge: Queensland Contemporary Art, Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane as well as The NGV Triennial (2020), Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Monster Theatres at the Art Gallery of South Australia, The TarraWarra Biennial (2021): Slow Moving Waters, The National, Art Gallery of NSW (2017), and Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial (2017). In 2017-19 Cope was the Official Australian War Artist.
Her work is held in Australian and International collections. She is a member of Aboriginal art collective proppaNOW and is represented by Milani Gallery, Brisbane.

Micheal Do is a curator, programmer and writer working across Australia and New Zealand and Asia with a record of developing immersive exhibitions that bridge research practices into contemporary contexts.
His recent curatorial projects include ‘Primavera: Young Australian Artists’ (2022) for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia. Recently, his exhibition ‘Soft Core’, exploring soft and inflatable sculptures developed for Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney, recently concluded its tour of twelve regional and rural galleries throughout New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Micheal curated ‘Not Niwe, Not Nieuw, Not Neu’ (2017) and ‘The Invisible Hand’ (2019) for 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and among other exhibitions curated ‘5X5: The Artist and The Patron’ (2018), a survey of 5 artist/collector relationships for Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest and ‘A Proxy for a Thousand Eyes’ (2020) for Sydney Opera House.
He was the recipient of The Freedman Foundation’s Travelling Scholarship for Curators, the recipient Museums and Galleries NSW Artist and Curator Residency Grant and the Gordon Darling Travelling Scholarship for Curators . His writing appears in publications including 4A Papers; Art Collector Australia; Art Monthly, Australasia; Art Review Asia, Artist Profile Magazine, S+S Magazine, VAULT Magazine, and 10 Magazine, along with artists’ catalogues.

Matt Poll works as the Manager of Indigenous Programs at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Matts curatorial and publications work is centred on prioritising contemporary First Nations voice across collections and exhibitions development.
Matt has participated in international collections engagement projects in Helsinki, France, China and the United States. He is currently a member of the Reimagining the British Museum working group and in Australia has previously worked as the Artistic Director of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative, as well as curatorial positions at the Macleay Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Wollongong City Gallery.

Dakota is a proud Dharawal – Dhunghatti – Yuin woman. She lives and works on Gadigal land, Sydney.
As a young designer and artist, I like to experiment with all styles and methods of creative making. I enjoy tradition styles of dot painting with acrylic paint and combining mixing media and manipulating the designs digitally. My artist style would be a mix between tradition Aboriginal stories as well as my own experience as a modern day Aboriginal woman, told and created in a contemporary way.
Since completing a diploma of design at TAFENSW in 2017, I have worked in the arts for the past five years. Working on public artworks with artists and designers, Alison Page & Brenda L. Croft. Graphic design works for companies such as Lendlease and Spirit Creative. Currently working as First Nations creative producer at Australian Design Centre and Art Gallery NSW as Programs Assistant.

Daniel Browning is an Aboriginal journalist, broadcaster, documentary maker, sound artist and writer. Currently, he is Editor Indigenous Radio with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) overseeing the long standing flagship programs Speaking Out and Awaye, the latter of which he produced and presented from 2005 until 2021. One of the ABC's handful of Indigenous executives, he has spent almost three decades working across the news and radio divisions of the national broadcaster. He also presents The Art Show on ABC RN, the specialist arts and journalism network and on podcast. He was executive producer of the investigative podcast Thin Black Line and more recently, the five-part series Song With No Boss, and established the much-loved language revival podcast Word Up.
A visual arts graduate, Daniel is also a widely-published freelance arts writer. He is a former and inaugural guest editor of Artlink Indigenous, an occasional series of the quarterly Australian contemporary arts journal and his critical essays on Indigenous art have been published by the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery/ Gallery of Modern Art as well as magazines including Art Collector, Art Monthly, Artlines, The Saturday Paper and Condé Nast Traveller. His anthology of collected writing, 'Close to the Subject' is published by the Indigenous-owned Magabala Books. He is the inaugural curator of Blak Box, a specially-designed sound pavilion commissioned by Utp to amplify the voices of First Nations storytellers, language custodians and artists working in spoken word, performance and music.
Daniel is a descendant of the Bundjalung people of far northern New South Wales on his father’s side and the Kullilli people of south-western Queensland through his mother.

Other information
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars. Please remember to maintain physical distancing whilst consuming drinks in our foyers.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see their website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel and COVID-19 safety measures. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six min walk to the Opera House.
Covid-safe information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage you to wear a mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained, and please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of everyone on site, and we are closely following NSW Health guidelines and advice. The Sydney Opera House is registered as a COVID Safe business with the NSW Government. For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you when visiting, please see our plan your visit page.
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
As you move around the Opera House, practise physical distancing (1.5 metres whenever possible) and follow the guidance provided by our staff and signage.
Within venues, always take your allocated seat.
For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you, please see our plan your visit page.
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
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Whispers: A Monumental Public Artwork by Quandamooka artist Megan Cope
During October, to mark the occasion of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary, Cope will install a series of monumental site specific sculptures that honour Tubowgule’s pre-settlement history while considering the environment’s fragility.

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