Join me, Jane Raffan, on Arts Monday 12 December 2016 for a program exploring Needs and Wants specifically related to the development of shopping as a leisure activity in Sydney.
You’ll here interviews with Margot Riley, curator at the State Library, on research undertaken on the emergence and development of shopping from the early days of the colony through the boom associated with the gold rush, and on to contemporary times where the destination has become a significant attraction in and of itself.
And this is a world phenomenon, and not new … For example, in the 19th century shopping arcades were identified by philosopher Walter Benjamin as a locale of significance for the flâneur. Charles Beaudelaire’s famous literary flâneur was a person who walks the city in order to experience it. The idea of the flâneur has accumulated significant meaning over time and has come to be a referent for understanding urban phenomena and modernity. As an example of the contemporary phenomenon, people are still attracted to shopping precincts simply to engage with other humans amid the bustle of city life …
Margot Riley’s research was undertaken for a 2011 exhibition – archived here: On Sale! Shops & Shopping
The program’s music will be a mix of jazz, blues, R&B and a dose of rock … with vocalists expressing a range of wants.
I look forward to your company.
Jane