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Podcast

Marina Prior on Follies, Midsumma Festival 2025, Red Stitch 2025, TarraWarra's Intimate Imaginaries & ACCA’s new CEO and Artistic Director Myles Russell Cook

Join Richard Watts for his penultimate episode before he closes out 2024 with his 20th anniversary next week! Details for the live event happening on Thursday 19th can be found here: https://www.rrr.org.au/events/smartarts-20th-anniversary-special

Whether…

Podcast

Stuart Braithwaite, Women's Circus annual showcase, art & music therapy and the NDIS, My Brilliant Career, Skating in the Clouds

Malia Walsh, the guest director of Women’s Circus annual Member Cabaret, tells us all about the end of year showcase, Braver than a Bear.

Music therapist Paul Byrnes joins discusses the federal…

Podcast

ANAM's Sounds of Australia, La Mama & St Martins Youth Theatre fundraising, Adelaide Festival 2025 & PIECES

Tai Snaith is back with Art Attack! She checked out the latest exhibition at the new Ordinance Gallery, Cardboards by Darcey Bella Arnold.

The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) Head of Percussion…

Podcast

Final days of MQFF, Parched, Waves and Bubbles, Big Music, and a Dancehouse double feature

With MQFF closing on Sunday November 24th, filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay and actor Connor Pullinger join Richard to talk about the last few days of the festival. Alice’s film Carnage for Christmas screens…

Podcast

Asia Topa, Geelong Gallery, Benjamin Rivers, Glen Downey and Close Company

Jeff Khan previews the 2025 Asia Topa program, Katarina Paseta discusses two Geelong Gallery exhibitions (the Noel Counihan retrospective A People’s Press which is on display until March 10th 2025 and Social Studies

Podcast

The Poltergeist at La Mama, Gertrude Studios' 2024 exhibition, The Tina Turner Musical, Perth Festival 2025 & Your Name Means Dream at Red Stitch

Richard speaks to actor Tamblyn Lord on the Australian premiere of Philip Ridley's play The Poltergeist, at La Mama Theatre.

Gertrude Studios curator, Dr Amelia Winata, introduces the 2024 exhibition.

Giovanni Adams joins…

Podcast

MQFF, Dominic Kavanagh, Rhinoceros & Sydney Festival 2025

Buckle in for another ride of the SmartArts-coaster! Richard Watts OAM, is here to guide you through all the twists, turns and thrills of this weeks episode…

Kicking off with a Melbourne Queer…

Podcast

An Evening with Stephen Fry! Irish Film Festival, Adam Elliot, Victorian Opera 2025, The Rabble’s Wake AND Golden Blood

This week on SmartArts with Richard Watts,

As we all know, Melbourne is the most Irish city in Australia, and Dr Enda Murray, the Festival Director of the 2024 Irish Film Festival is…

Podcast

Malthouse 2025, Amanda Haskard on ACMI, plus MELBOURNE FRINGE MINI SPECIAL: Alix Kuijpers' Grim Grinning Ghosts, Mitch Jones' Apocrypha and choreographer Oli Mathiesen

Richard starts off this week's show with a Malthouse Theatre 2025 season overview with Artistic Director Matt Lutton.

Gunai/Kurnai woman and curator Amanda Haskard talks ACMI's major exhibition The Future and Other Fictions

Podcast

Dredge, Radiant Pavillion 2024, Rick Prackoff's Verdi's Requiem and Michael Fikaris

Welcome to another fabulous episode of SmartArts, where Richard Watts OAM is serving up a delightful platter of comic book chat, theatre and art.

First up, it’s Bernard Caleo’s monthly Drawn Out comic…

About this program

Visual art, theatre, film and literature. Segments include:

  • 'Art Attack' - fortnightly visual arts reviews with Ace Wagstaff and Tai Snaith.
  • 'Shoot the Messenger' - fortnightly theatre news & reviews with Fleur Kilpatrick.
  • 'Drawn Out' - monthly chat about comic books and graphic novels with Bernard Caleo.

Please email talks@rrr.org.au for all interview requests.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Richard Watts has many years experience working in the arts industry, including five years as the Artistic Director of the youth arts organisation Express Media, seven years on the Board of Melbourne Fringe (including three years as Chair), and six years on the Committee of Management at La Mama Theatre, where he currently serves as Chair. Richard has helped program a range of festivals including Next Wave, the National Young Writers' Festival, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival and the Emerging Writers' Festival (which he founded) and he has written for various broadsheets, journals, zines and magazines. Currently he pays the rent by working as the Performing Arts Editor at www.artshub.com.au. In his spare time he watches old Doctor Who episodes.


The podcast intro and outro theme is Soft Illusion and was generously provided by Andras.

https://andras.bandcamp.com/track/soft-illusion

Presenters