MCA on the Rocks

Overview

Art exhibitions always point to ideas larger than themselves, and the discussion series MCA on the Rocks operates on the brilliant notion of exploring these ideas in a format inspired by the talk-show. A panel of thinkers from diverse backgrounds will weigh in on topics chosen by the host, teasing out the themes of exhibitions at the MCA as the catalyst to a wider conversation that promises to be both enlightening and raucous.

This summer the show everyone's been talking about is Anish Kapoor's (who could miss the gargantuan Sky Mirror standing outside the museum?), and it'll be the focal point when MCA on the Rocks' inaugural season debuts on March 21, with a panel aptly titled "Bigger is Better."

This first session is hosted by the fabulously-named Fenella Kernebone, homegrown journalist, radio and television presenter, who poses the questions: Why do we love to hate the suburbs? Is bigger always better? And is it okay not to like contemporary art?

Her selection of panelists will approach the topic with a broad range of perspectives, coming as they do from the disparate spheres of architecture, art and comedy: Jeff Khan (co-director of Performance Space), Tarsha Finney (senior lecturer at UTS School of Architecture), and Brendan Maclean (actor, musician, and radio host). Other exhibitions to be discussed in relation to this issue are the group show South of No North and Canadian artist Jeff Wall's photographs.