The Forum & Comedy Club
+ Splendour adds The Science Tent
The Forum is back for another stimulating stint at North Byron Parklands in 2017, serving up three jam-packed days of brain-broadening entertainment.
Drop by The Forum tent between 10am-4pm and prepare to rub shoulders (and minds) with some of the coolest and most remarkable personalities to hit Australia, as they tackle topics from all corners of the social spectrum.
From computer worms called WannaCry and election hacking, to understanding indigenous youth and deciphering what really matters in life… or is it all just #FakeNews? Ponder all this and more at the Forum!
This year you can calm your qualms in-between sessions with our newly appointed Splendour Forum Artist-in-Residence, Shannon Doyle, who’ll be painting up street art panels on stage daily. You’re welcome!
THE FORUM
10.00am -10.45am FUTURE CRUNCH: Why The Future Is Better Than You Think
Incredible things are happening on our planet. Diseases are being eradicated, war is decreasing, millions are being lifted out of poverty and billions are gaining access to the greatest information resource humanity has ever known. Join Future Crunch founders Dr Angus Hervey and Tane Hunter as they share stories about how science and technology are bringing about a world that is more peaceful, transparent and abundant.
11.00am-12.30pm CYBERSECURE YOURSELF Panel & Workshop hosted by Dr Karl
Computer worms called WannaCry. Cyber attacks that start in a Ukrainian accounting program – and end up shutting down Cadbury’s chocolate factory in Tasmania. Is everyone just hacking the shit out of everyone else these days?
A panel of leading cybersec experts reveal how little cyber privacy we really have. Ethical hacker Chris Gatford from Hacklabs, security architect Barry Anderson and hacking academic Dr Suelette Dreyfus may freak you out about what a digitally risky world we now live in. But a team of tech-sec specialists can show you how to step up your own cyber security.
1.00pm-2.00pm APRA AMCOS Presents: SONGWRITERS SPEAK
Australian songwriters Julia Jacklin, Airling, Luca Brasi’s Tyler Richardson and Patrick Marshall chat to beloved ABC broadcaster Robbie Buck about their musical influences, lyrical inspirations and the songwriting craft.
2.30pm-4.00pm ELECTION HACKING: Are We Really Getting The Governments We Voted For?
Are we getting the governments we elected? Or is another country secretly giving us something else? Should voters believe in the integrity of the election system? Will it be any better if we all start voting via our mobile phones?
Join leading US analyst Marcy Wheeler, ABC’s election analyst Anthony Green, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and host Dr Suelette Dreyfus to hear what’s in store for the future of democracy.
SATURDAY 22 JULY
10.00am-11.00am WOMEN OF LETTERS: Splendour Edition VIII: A Letter To the Song I Wish I’d Written
Writer, broadcaster and actor Marieke Hardy is back for a glorious eighth year running, this time with Angie Hart, to celebrate the lost art of letter writing. Join artists including Julien Baker (US), Joanna Syme (Big Scary), Parissa Tosif (Vallis Alps), Kalyani (Willow Beats), writer Renata Singer and comedians Michelle Brasier, Jenna Owen and Victoria Zerbst for our annual special festival edition of the literary salon.
12.00pm-1.30pm SBS VICELAND Presents: YOUNG AND BLACK
It’s been 50 years since the 1967 Referendum. This Constitutional change gave birth to the hope that young Indigenous people would inherit a very different Australia to that experienced by previous generations. But what is life really like if you’re young and black in 2017?
This panel of prominent Indigenous people with diverse perspectives explores what it means to be black in Australia today. Hosted by The Feed’s Marc Fennell and Laura Murphy-Oates, Young and Black will discuss racism, culture, pride, shame, politics, dating and everything in between with Hunter Page-Lochard, Geoffrey Winters and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. International guest Sarain Carson Fox, will weigh in on what life is like for Indigenous communities in North America, as they mark the first anniversary of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
2.30pm-4.00pm GREAT MOMENTS IN SCIENCE WITH DR KARL
Join doctor, physicist, mathematician and Harvard University Ig Nobel Prize-winner (for his ground-breaking research into belly button fluff and why it is almost always blue) Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki, as he talks about extra-terrestrial life, the goodness of coffee and other substances, just who did build a nuclear reactor on Earth 2 billion years ago, autism and vaccines, and the right way to kiss!
SUNDAY 23 JULY
10.00pm-11.30am Film & Conversation: THE GO-BETWEENS – ‘RIGHT HERE’
This new documentary uncovers the intensely passionate, creative and fraught relationships that formed one of the most loved and influential bands in Australian rock history. After the film join The Go-Betweens founder Robert Forster in conversation with ABC broadcaster Richard Fidler, host of Conversations, Australia’s most popular podcast.
1.00pm-2.30pm The School of Life Presents: PETER SINGER On What Really Matters
Every day we make ethical choices: what to eat, what to wear, how to get to work, where to shop, whether to give money to someone in need. How should we make these ethical choices? Do our choices matter?
Philosopher Peter Singer will guide us in a lively discussion of seven things that many of us believe really matter in our lives
2.30pm-4.00pm Q&A with TOM GLEESON
Our special festival edition of Australia’s favourite two-way show that brings punters, pollies and pundits together to thrash out the hot issues of the day, returns for a fourth year, this time hosted by The Weekly’s “Hard Chat” interrogator Tom Gleeson.
Experience democracy live in action when Tom is joined by Shadow Tourism, Infrastructure, Transport, Cities & Regional Development Minister Anthony Albanese (ALP), Greens Leader Senator Richard Di Natale, politics and tech blogger Marcy Wheeler (US) and more.
To ask a question, email qanda@splendourinthegrass.com or tweet using #qandasitg
Music? Check. Art? Check. Science. Check! Splendour in the Grass is excited to mix science into the festival experience this year! The inaugural Science Tent is set to go off in an explosion of imagination, curiosity and cool shit because #SCIENCE.
We’ve teamed up with Future Crunch, Inspiring Australia and some of the country’s best communicators to create the ultimate detour into the far reaches of the imagination. Connect with science in fresh ways through awesome presentations, musical performances and interactive experiences across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Think zombie outbreaks, the science behind BDSM, how to eat insects and avoid sharks, and so much more. Expect the unexpected and consider your mind = BLOWN at The Science Tent! Here’s just a few highlights…
SOLAR SUN POWERS MUSIC / SOLAR ACOUSTICS with Barry Hill
How mobile solar powered generators can be used to power sound systems at festivals and how festivals and artists have a role in educating the community about sustainable power systems.
THE INTANGIBLE INSTRUMENT with Celeste de Mezieres
The marriage of science and music marked the birth of the Theremin, the world’s first instrument that is capable of modifying intonation, all without making physical contact. So, when you’re done playing in the grass, come play the (electromagnetic) field.
SHARKS IN MY SWIMMING POOL with Danny Bucher
For marine biologist Danny Bucher, the biggest myth about the shark debate is that this is a people versus animal argument. There are more effective methods of reducing the risk to beachgoers that do not involve lethal approaches.
BEARDS ON! with James Stanton-Cooke
The beard represents a healthy thriving ecosystem – natural, organic, sustainable and healthy. Males and females are encouraged to go #HalfCut showing the devastating impacts of deforestation, with 48% of the world’s forests destroyed. A fun challenge highlighting the effects human activity is having on our planet.
ZOMBIE OUTBREAK AT SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS with Kelly Simpson
What would happen if there was an outbreak of a zombie virus at Splendour in the Grass? Help design your own zombie virus (or bacteria or fungus) and interact with a simulation to watch how the epidemic would spread. Then go back in time and use clues to find out which festival headliner is patient zero.
Plus so much more! Check the website [INSERT LINK TO PAGE] for the full program plus dates and times.
COMEDY CLUB
Before there were memes and gifs, there were real life funny people tasked purely with the job of bringing the lols to life! The Splendour Comedy Club is back in 2017 with the country’s finest comedic geniuses bringing you real, unadulterated and raucous rolling-on-the-floor moments across each evening in the Forum tent.
Start and finish your weekend right with the king of breakfast banter and triple j alumni Matt Okine. He’ll be jumping onstage both Thursday and Sunday nights with his award-winning stitch-inducing stand up!
International comedy phenomenon The Umbilical Brothers, known for their wicked mix of theatre, slapstick and stand-up will take on Friday night, with the likes of Mel Buttle, Dave Callan, Gen Fricker and Tom Gleeson keeping you in stitches across the weekend.
Get your recommended daily intake of lols at the Comedy Club:
Thursday 6.00pm-9.00pm COMEDY CLUB feat. MATT OKINE, MICHAEL HING, BECKY LUCAS & more
Friday 5.00pm-7.30pm COMEDY CLUB feat. UMBILICAL BROTHERS, DAVE CALLAN, FREUDIAN NIP & more
Saturday 5.00pm-7.30pm COMEDY CLUB feat. MEL BUTTLE, TOM GLEESON, AARON CHEN & more
Sunday 5.00pm-7.30pm COMEDY CLUB feat. MATT OKINE, GEN FRICKER, DAVE CALLAN & more
PLUS… SWINDAIL • DENA AMY • ANDY GARVEY • PLANÈTE • SAM WESTON • SUPER CRUEL • CHRISTOPHER PORT • LEWIS CANCUT • KINDER
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