Hannah Fox

I have spent my whole adult life curating, producing and creating artistic and cultural experiences for and with many different communities. I am driven by the basic principle that art shepherds change, in ourselves and in society. It's one of the greatest tools we have to make sense of our world, empathise with the other, and foster a sense of belonging.

My time working as an Artistic Director of a large-scale arts festival in Melbourne has coincided with some major ruptures and shifts in our culture. My tenure began in 2020 with the pandemic which accelerated existing issues of social isolation, tribal politics and individualism. In response, my work as a curator has been informed by finding ways to reimagine the encounter between artist and audience and offer opportunities for social connection.

A core element of the programs I have developed are participatory projects that engage parts of the community often under served by cultural institutions. One example is a music project called Communitas that invited 1000 people to become one giant music ensemble of singers, dancers, percussionists and musicians. After months of workshops and rehearsals the group performed in St Pauls Cathedral but there was no audience, the 1000 people in the room were all shoulder to shoulder in the task of collective singing, playing and moving.

The divide between performer and audience and art as a commodity is a relatively modern thing, projects like this remind us that art is fundamentally about communion and transformation.

After many years of working in festival direction, I am now interested in how I can sharpen and deepen my understanding of the leading examples of cultural programs around the world that address social isolation and turn my focus to fostering greater collaboration between health and arts sectors.