Design Agency 2: Unfinished Business

Marking the start of Reconciliation Week, in a time when justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remains unfinished business, Design Agency 2 confronts the imperative to continue the work of ‘conciliation’.

Design Agency invites you to hear about how First Nations peoples are designing the worlds they want, how non-Indigenous designers are listening and actively contributing, and ways our industry can, and needs to, operate with more intelligence on unceded lands.

Presented by RMIT University Communication Design program, in partnership with Solid Lines and AGDA, this event builds upon the momentum of the inaugural panel held at the time of the Referendum, calling upon emerging and existing designers to engage with responsible practice, now more than ever.

There won’t be any lemon myrtle garnish at this event. But there will be wholehearted, clever designers and creatives sharing their stories.

This is unfinished business. Join us to keep working on it.

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Design Agency is a forum for sharing work, conversations, and provocations, tackling the connections of communication design with community, culture and Country.

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

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Tickets are free for First Nations peoples, RMIT students and staff.
General Admission: $40
AGDA Members: $20
Students: $5

Team Prices:
Groups of 4-7: $30 each
Groups of 8-11: $25 each
Groups of 12+: $20 each

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Presented by RMIT University School of Design, Solid Lines and AGDA

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Speakers:

ENOKi (they/them) is a proud Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta Blak Fulla based on Wurundjeri Country (Melbourne). They are a multimedia artist with a focus on digital media. ENOKi has been commissioned by RISING and Apple and has also contributed to ‘Solid Lines’ (2022), an RMIT sponsored report on fostering First Nations involvement in the design and commercial art industries.

Philippa Abbott (she/her), Director of And Projects, specialises in design-led transformation and tackling large-scale system challenges. With over 15 years of experience across the Global South, she leads collaborative efforts for societal and ecological resilience. Philippa is dedicated to exposing and dismantling systems of Indigenous discrimination and oppression in Australia.

Laura Cornhill (she/her), Creative Director and founder of Studio Binocular, offers vision for how design can be used to engage audiences and contribute towards more connected and resilient communities. Her studio's award-winning work includes the new signage system at Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, which has been celebrated as First Nations determined, socially-engaged placemaking.

Co-moderators:

Emrhan Tjapanangka Sultan (he/him), a distinguished Aboriginal artist from Mparntwe (Alice Springs), blends ancestral traditions with contemporary expression. He was granted permission by his Elders to paint in the traditional Western and Central Desert art style from a young age. In 2022, Emrhan co-founded Solid Lines, a First Nations agency supporting Indigenous illustrators.

Rebecca Ailís Nally (Bec/she/her), Industry Fellow in the Communication Design program at RMIT University, is committed to responding to First Nations sovereignty through design, as a non-Indigenous designer with familial connection to lutruwita/Trouwanna/Tasmania and Irish citizenship. Bec is also the Creative Director of Public Journal, a communication design practice in Yálla-birr-ang/Collingwood.

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Venue:

The Capitol

113 Swanston Street, Birrarung-ga (Melbourne) VIC 3000

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Capitol, 113 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Australia