Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Join us as we explore the principles and the practices needed to design and deliver truly wonderful public play spaces for all.
Over two days we present an exciting national line up of experts in play space design, place making, the arts, and ecology,
who will help us imagine a play space where everyone can (and wants to) play, a truly wondrous place - the World’s Most
Amazing Play Space!
PROGRAM DAY ONE
CANBERRA, PLAY SPACES AND POSSIBILITY
9.15 - 9.45 Welcome and Possibilities of Play Cathy Hope, Coordinator, Play Creativity and Wellbeing Project, Centre for Creative and Cultural
Research, University of Canberra
9.45 - 10.15 Urban Renewal for a Playful Canberra
Andy Sharp, Director, Design and Place, City Renewal Authority
10.15. – 10.30 Morning tea
IMAGINE IF: AMAZING PLAY SPACES FOR ALL!
10.30 - 11.15 Making public play spaces Kate Luckraft, Studio Director, Aspect Studios, Sydney
11.15 – 12.00 Intergenerational Play Kate Bishop, Senior Lecturer, School Of Built Environment, UNSW, Sydney
12.00 - 12.45 Youth Play Jason Geralis, Design Manager, Convic, Melbourne
12.45 – 2.00 Lunch and West Basin Challenge
PLAY FOR A VITAL AND SUSTAINABLE CITY22 + 23 November 2018 The National Museum of Australia, Lawson Cres, Acton
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
PLAY SPACES AS SENSORY EXPERIENCE 2.00 – 2.45 Play, the Senses and Inclusion Mary Jeavons, Director, Jeavons Landscape Architects, Sydney
2.45. – 3.30 Nature, Wellbeing and Play Zoe Myers, Lecturer, Australian Urban Design Research Centre, University of
Western Australia
3.30 - 4.15 Adapting to Urban Stress: Parkour and Playing the City Alex Pavlotski, Professional Teaching Fellow, University of Auckland, Auckland
4.15 – 4.45 Afternoon tea
5.00 – 7.00 Pop Inn Bar, Museum of Possibilities, Daily Tous Les Jours, City Hill (c/-Design Canberra)
DAY TWO
PLACE MAKING AND PLAY SPACE
9.15 – 10.00 Successful place making in urban public spaces Annelise Safstrom, Director Urban Design, Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority, Perth
10.00 – 10.45 Streets as play spaces for all Valli Morphett, CEO, CoDesign Studio, Melbourne
10.45 – 11.30 Night and Safe Play Spaces for All Anne Malloch, Team Leader, City Issues, City of Melbourne, Melbourne
11.30 – 11.45 Morning tea
NEW MODES OF ENGAGEMENT IN PLAY SPACES
11.45 – 12.30 Playable cities and hacking urban public space Troy Innocent, Senior Lecturer (Games and Interactivity), Smart Cities
Research Institute, Swinburne University, Melbourne
12.30 – 1.15 Urban Ecology and Play Space Benjamin Cooke, Lecturer, Sustainability and Planning, RMIT, Melbourne
1.15 – 2.30 Lunch and West Basin Challenge
ART IN PLAY: CREATIVE PUBLIC PLAY SPACES
2.30 - 3.15 Arts, the Fringe and Play Space Simon Abrahams, Creative Director/CEO, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Melbourne
3.15 – 4.00 Play, Performance and Public Space Sue Giles, Artistic Director/Co-CEO, Polyglot Theatre, Melbourne
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Dr Cathy Hope, Coordinator, Play Creativity and Culture Project, Centre for Creative and Cultural Research, University of Canberra9.15 - 9.45
SPEAKERS: DAY ONE
Cathy Hope is the Coordinator of
the Play, Creativity and Wellbeing
Project in the Centre for Creative and
Cultural Research at the University
of Canberra. This applied research
project critically examines the role and
capability of play as a form cultural
practice across the lifespan. The
Project is currently investigating the
potential of play in enlivening cities and
enhancing wellbeing in partnership
with the ACT Government to inform
urban renewal in Canberra.
Cathy is the founder of the Play
Activation Network ACT - an
interdisciplinary and collaborative
collective of over 70 local professionals
with an interest in making Canberra
a more playful city, and in improving
quality of life.
Cathy has written extensively on
alternative cultures – including film
festivals, farmers’ markets and
Australian youth radio station Triple J.
Cathy programmed films for the early
Canberra International Film Festivals,
and co-directed the Canberra Short
Film Festival.
Andy Sharp, Director, Design and Place, City Renewal Authority 9.45 - 10.15
Andy Sharp is the City Renewal
Authority’s newly appointed Director of
Design and Place Strategy.
Having spent many years as a partner
in large international design practices
and more recently redeveloping
key Australian university campuses,
Andy brings impressive design
understanding to the City Renewal
Authority. At Curtin University he led
the redevelopment of the campus
into a major urban centre known as
Greater Curtin, and at the Australian
National University oversaw the
campus master plan renewal.
Andy is passionate about the design
and development of urban areas so
they are vibrant, connected, attractive
and sustainable. Having worked
across the world, including in Australia,
China, Hong Kong, Singapore and
Thailand, he has a proven track
record of making complex, city-scale
design decisions using experience-
backed judgement, strong design
understanding and project delivery
models.
Andy was recognised in 2007 as a
pre-eminent business leader by being
awarded the WA Business News 40
under 40 top business leader.
As Studio Director with over 20 years
experience, Kate has advocated for
high quality integrated play space
design and child friendly cities. Kate
possesses significant playground
expertise through her design and
oversight during construction of
multiple playgrounds including St
James Park, Yarriabillba Playground
and Parramatta Foreshore Playground.
Kate led the design of the Darling
Quarter playground and delivery
of the surrounding public domain.
This project was a catalyst for the
revitalisation of Darling Harbour with
the playground becoming Sydney’s
most visited children’s play space.
Most recently Kate oversaw
the design, documentation and
construction of The Ian Potter
Children’s WILD PLAY Garden at
Centennial Park. WILD PLAY is one
the park’s most popular attractions
with adventure play and water play set
amongst 6000m2 of garden space
containing over 15,000 plants.
Kate Luckraft, Studio Director, Aspect Studios, Sydney 10.30 - 11.15
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Jason Geralis, Design Manager, Convic, Melbourne12.00 - 12.45
Jason is a Landscape Architect who
over the last 24 years has accumulated
a wealth of experience across a broad
sector of the market. His project
background is varied and extensive
and includes the delivery of industrial,
commercial, urban design, zoological,
residential, educational, transport and
environmental projects.
The culmination of this experience
brought Jason to CONVIC, where in his
capacity as design manager he leads
a team of landscape architects and
specialist active recreation designers
who have over the company’s 20-
year history have delivered over 750
community-based youth facilities
across the globe.
What attracted Jason to CONVIC,
and what sets CONVIC apart is its
design approach where community
engagement and consultation are the
key drivers for the successful and
ongoing activation of public community
assets.
Mary as over 30 years of experience in
the planning and design of children’s
spaces of all kinds and those which
are accessible to children and
adults with disabilities, including the
Growing Wild Project at Melbourne
Zoo, Bollygum Park, Kinglake and
Merri Park Play Space. Mary has
carried out important research and
advocacy in the field and has written,
published and spoken widely in forums
in Australia and overseas. She is a
specialist in strategic planning for open
space, parks and play areas for local
government and developers, Australia
wide.
Mary Jeavons, Director, Jeavons Landscape Architects, Sydney2.00 - 2.45
Kate is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty
of Built Environment at the University of
New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Her background in environment
-behaviour research underpins her
teaching and research and her
particular area of interest: children,
youth and environments. She
specialises in the research and design
of environments for children with
special needs; paediatric facilities;
and participatory methodologies with
children and young people.
Kate is Director of the Built
Environment Interdisciplinary Learning
(BEIL) initiative, Faculty of Built
Environment; and Convenor of the new
interdisciplinary Children and Youth
Research Network (CYRN) at UNSW.
She is also Co-Chair of the CYE
Research Network for EDRA, USA.
Kate has also worked in government
and private practice before becoming
an academic
Kate Bishop, Senior Lecturer, School Of Built Environment, UNSW, Sydney 11.15 - 12.00
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Zoe Myers, Lecturer, Australian Urban Design Research Centre, University of Western Australia2.45 - 3.30
Dr Zoe Myers is a lecturer and
researcher at the Australian Urban
Design Research Centre (UWA), where
she teaches in the Master of Urban
Design, and contributes to research
projects and design communication for
State and local government authorities.
She holds a PhD in Australian cultural
history, in which she explored place
and belonging, and Master of Urban
Design, and has worked in both the
private and public sectors in policy,
planning, and communications. Zoe’s
current research is focused on how
evidence-based and creative urban
design can enhance mental health
and restoration through connection
to nature in our cities, suburbs, and
neighbourhoods.
Finish the day with a drink from Pop Inn
Bar and enjoy the chance participate in
Museum of Possibilities - a large scale,
interactive art installation inviting the
community to share their hopes and
dreams for Canberra’s city centre.
For one day only, as part of the 2018
DESIGN Canberra Festival, Montreal-
based artists Daily Tous Les Jours will
transform City Hill so that people of
all ages can have their say about the
future of their CBD.
Everyone is invited to participate in
this unique, creative and democratic
exercise, or to simply relax and enjoy
the spectacle.
Museum of Possibilities is supported
by the ACT Government through the
City Renewal Authority’s City Grants
Program.
Pop Inn Bar, Museum of Possibilities, Daily Tous Les Jours, City Hill (c/-Design Canberra)5.00 - 7.00
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Alex Pavlotski, Professional
Teaching Fellow, University of
Auckland, Auckland
3.30 - 4.15
Dr Alex Pavlotski is an illustrator,
comic maker and anthropologist. A
first generation migrant to Australia, he
found that pictures could sometimes
speak more effectively than words.
This became an interest in cross-
cultural communication, art and
embodiment and eventually a career
in anthropology. Alex has conducted
fieldwork with comic artists in Japan,
the LGBTQI community in Melbourne,
the ‘accounting tribe’ in Australia and
NZ and disability in Victoria. He is
currently teaching at the University
of Auckland and working on comics
based on his PhD research into the
international parkour. His research
interest are: play, movement
subcultures, neuroanthropology, visual
representation, masculinities, systems
design and reactionary identities. He
is affiliated with University of Auckland
in NZ and Latrobe University in
Melbourne.
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Anne Malloch, Team Leader, City Issues, City of Melbourne, Melbourne10.45 - 11.30
Anne has over 30 years’ experience
in social issues strategy. At the City of
Melbourne she developed strategies
to create and promote a positive late
night entertainment environment in the
Central Business District. Anne now
has responsibility for the analysis of
high profile social issues in the city,
including city safety, illegal drugs, anti-
social behaviour and neighbourhood
safety along with the development of
sustainable policies and strategies in
response to these issues.
From 2005 to 2007 Anne
managed the pilot program in Place
Management for the municipality.
The program’s focus was to facilitate
outcomes to make places better. The
team worked with complicated and
politically sensitive issues, developed
and maintained in-depth knowledge
of particular places, the people, the
environment and the networks. Anne
has previously worked at Australian
Drug Foundation, at Quit, and within
the state Education Department
in drug and alcohol related policy
development and program design and
delivery.
Annelise Safstrom, Director Urban
Design, Metropolitan Redevelopment
Authority, Perth
9.15 - 10.00
As Director Urban Design at the
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority,
Annelise plays a lead role in shaping
the design direction of exciting urban
renewal projects that are delivering
great places for the people of Perth.
Annelise has a background in
architecture, planning and urban
design with over 30 years of
experience across government and as
a consultant in the private sector on
projects across Australia.
Her focus on urban renewal began in
1984 with the East Perth Project and
continues today on such projects as
Elizabeth Quay, Perth City Link and the
Scarborough Beach Foreshore. There
are a number of bespoke play spaces
across these projects thanks in part to
Annelise’s continued passion for telling
the stories of places and its people
through urban landscape.
The MRA approach is about delivering
dynamic, authentic and sustainable
places for people of all ages and
abilities to enjoy. Annelise champions
the experience of the end user and
doesn’t believe that play is just for kids.
Valli Morphett, CEO, CoDesign Studio, Melbourne10.00 - 10.45
Valli is CEO of CoDesign Studio, a
social enterprise that specialises in
community led placemaking, creative
engagement and play streets.
Valli has extensive experience in
delivering purposeful placemaking
strategies, locally owned activation
programs and meaningful place
outcomes for diverse sectors including
Government, greenfield development,
infrastructure projects, universities
and more. Valli is a gifted community
facilitator and broad reaching
experience running ‘face to face’ and
online engagement projects large and
small.
Valli has built placemaking industry
capacity through Victoria and South
Australia and has convened the Place
Invaders placemaking peer network
in both states 2015. In her spare time
Valli is a pavement chalk artist and has
delivered live demonstration chalk art
for prominent festivals and events.
SPEAKERS: DAY TWO
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Dr Troy Innocent is an artist, academic,
designer, coder and educator. His
public art practice combines street art,
game development, augmented reality,
and urban design to situate play as
central to the reimagination and co-
creation of cities. In 2017 Innocent was
awarded the Melbourne Knowledge
Fellowship to research playable cities
in the UK and Europe, developing
new projects in Bristol and Barcelona.
This approach is also central to ‘urban
codemaking’ – a methodology he
developed for situating play in cities
such as Melbourne, Istanbul, Sydney
and Hong Kong. Innocent’s visual
arts practice explores the language
of digital code in works of works of
design, sculpture, animation, sound
and installation and has 25 years’
experience in gallery-based exhibitions,
symposia and site-specific projects,
including participation in over 60
exhibitions.
Troy Innocent, Senior Lecturer (Games and Interactivity), Smart Cities Research Institute, Swinburne University, Melbourne 11.45 - 12.30
Benjamin Cooke is a lecturer in
Sustainability and Urban Planning
at RMIT University in Melbourne.
As a human geographer his
research interests centre on human-
environment relations, with a specific
interest on nature conservation in
the Anthropocene. Ben is exploring
questions of equity, justice and
politics when it comes to the greening
of Australian cities, which includes
the way humans and nonhumans
navigate urban green spaces. Ben
is also interested in the agency and
affordances of plants in the making of
urban green spaces, amidst questions
of what species belong, where and for
whom. Ben is keen to think critically
about the implications of play and
experimental governance for urban
ecologies.
Benjamin Cooke, Lecturer, Sustainability and Planning, RMIT, Melbourne 12.30 - 1.15
Centre for Creative and Cultural Research
Faculty of Arts and Design
Children and YouthResearch Network
Simon Abrahams is Creative Director
& CEO of Melbourne Fringe, where
he is recognised as one of Australia’s
arts and cultural leaders. Simon is a life
member of Theatre Network Australia,
an organisation he co-founded then
Chaired from 2010-2017. His work
has focused on developing artistic
programs which provide platforms
for the work of young people, brave
artists, emerging artforms and big
ideas.
Simon is best known for creating
transformational artistic and strategic
frameworks for organisations including
Polyglot Theatre, the Wheeler Centre,
Arts Centre Melbourne, and Gasworks
Arts Park. He currently sits on the
Victorian Government’s Ministerial
Council for Volunteering and the
Theatre Panel for the Helpmann
Awards, and is an Australian ISPA
Fellow (2017-19).
In 2014, Simon was awarded a
CHASS Australia Prize for leadership
and in 2016, Simon was hilariously and
inexplicably named as one of Executive
Style’s Best Dressed Men in Australia.
Simon Abrahams, Creative Director/CEO, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Melbourne2.30 - 3.15
Sue Giles has been Artistic Director of
Polyglot Theatre since 2000. Polyglot
has an international reputation for
contemporary art works that engage
in unique ways with children to create
experiences that combine theatre, play
and visual spectacle. Sue’s distinct
child-centred creative processes have
been the subject of masterclasses,
forums and discussions including
key industry events in in 8 countries.
Her works have been performed in
15 countries on five continents in five
different languages.
Sue has been an advocate and leader
in the TYA sector since 2003 and is
currently Vice President of ASSITEJ
International; the global association
of theatre for young audiences. Her
works have won 5 awards including
the Green Room Award for Innovation
in Contemporary Performance for
Young People in 2015. In 2018
she won the Green Room Lifetime
Achievement Award. Sue is the author
of Platform Paper 54 - Young People
and the Arts: an agenda for change.
Sue Giles, Artistic Director/Co-
CEO, Polyglot Theatre, Melbourne
3.15 - 4.00