PANEL TALKS ARE BORING LETS TRY SOMETHING NEW!

Seren Seren
Jun 30
2 min read

At Joy Festival by Acrylicize, we decided to ditch the usual panel discussion and try something different.

Instead of people on stage talking at you, we flipped the script with a game-style discussion format, where the audience led the conversation around class, art, and self-organisation.

Hosted by Sky Dair, the event featured a series of provocative questions posed by Sky and the WCCD founders. There was a line marked on the floor — participants stood along it to show whether they agreed or disagreed, sparking genuine, lively discussion.

We made sure to ease everyone in with light-hearted statements (like “Prawn cocktail is the best crisp flavour”) before getting into the real questions.

Here are a few of the topics we explored together:

Art that doesn’t try to change anything is pointless.
Working collectively is more valuable than working independently.
Success in the art world is more about who you know than what you make.
You’re only a ‘real’ artist if you’re making money from your work.
Having a second job makes you less of a ‘real’ artist.
Art school is a waste of money.
You should never work for free.
It’s okay to pay a submission fee if the opportunity is right.
Your social class determines your ability to succeed as a creative person.
I feel like I belong to a creative community.
I enjoy networking events.
People are more likely to critique a project than offer to help.
Self-organising often ends up being sustained by a few exhausted individuals.
I assume people running creative communities are being paid for their work.
I have skills I could share with others.