A creative interplay between three contemporary creatives who share with the audience a project in which water was the central topic of investigation – whether visual, performative or musical. Hear from pianist and composer Sophie Hutchings, First Nations filmmaker and public artist Jake Nash, and multi-disciplinary artist Shaun Gladwell, in conversation with ArtsHub Visual Arts Editor Gina Fairley.

Presented as part of the 2025 Sydney Festival, the event coincides with The Water Understands, an interdisciplinary exhibition bringing together eleven artists who respond to water’s metaphorical ability to imbue us with knowledge – knowledge of the past, cultural knowledge, traditional knowledge, poetic knowledge, political knowledge, and aesthetic knowledge.

Enjoy a welcome drink, private viewing of the exhibition, and immerse yourself in The Water Understands! 

Speakers' Biographies 
 

Shaun Gladwell

Shaun is an Aus­tralian con­tem­po­rary artist who works in the fields of paint­ing, draw­ing, pho­tog­ra­phy, mov­ing image, per­for­mance, and extend­ed real­i­ty. He uses dis­ci­plines of human move­ment to inves­ti­gate func­tion and mean­ing with­in urban, nat­ur­al, and extend­ed real­i­ty envi­ron­ments. His oeu­vre is con­sid­ered an impor­tant con­tri­bu­tion to the cat­a­logu­ing and cel­e­bra­tion of move­ment-based sub-cul­tures that have emerged with­in his gen­er­a­tion. The artist has also been rec­og­nized for pio­neer­ing work with immer­sive, extend­ed real­i­ty tech­nolo­gies. Shaun has represented Australia at the Venice Biennale, was an official war artist in Afghanistan, and is represented in most major public collections in Australia.

Sophie Hutchings

Sophie is an avid surfer, deep lover of the outdoors, pianist and composer who draws inspiration from the beauty of the natural world and the expansive landscape of Australia. She’s known for compositions that sway from the disarmingly spare and elegant to the romantic and epic – all expressing a distinct, exquisite fragility and intimacy. With two nominations for the Australian Music Prize and the National Live Music Awards’ top five live instrumentalists of the year, glowing praise from MOJO, The Guardian, and Wonderland and the release of eight highly acclaimed albums, Sophie continues her incredible musical journey.

Jacob Nash

Jacob’s ancestral land on his Mother’s side is in the Daly River, and he also has Chinese and Scottish heritages. He grew up on Quandamooka Country but has spent the last 20 years living all across the Sydney Basin. His work crosses over between theatre, film, TV, visual art, and public art, using all these experiences to create iconic images that talk about the stories, people and country we all share, from a First Nations perspective. 

Gina Fairley

Gina is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.