SYDNEY.- Sydney Contemporary announced the full speaker line-up for the Fair’s Talk Contemporary series of free panel discussions presented from Wednesday 9 September to Sunday 13 September 2015 at Carriageworks. The talks explore topical and controversial themes in contemporary art with leading figures across a range of fields including actresses Rachel Griffiths and Claudia Karvan; Art Gallery of NSW Director Dr Michael Brand; chef Adriano Zumbo; Romance Was Born designers Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett; and international gallerist Pearl Lam of Pearl Lam Galleries.

In addition to the Talk Contemporary series of discussions, Sydney Contemporary will present the debut and a screening of two short artistic films. Acclaimed Australian artist Tracey Moffatt will premiere her new short film and comedic montage, titled ‘The Art’ and created with experimental filmmaker and music video producer Gary Hillberg on Wednesday 9 September. Sydney Contemporary also presents ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, a collaborative effort between Del Kathryn Barton and Brendan Fletcher, to be screened at Carriageworks on Saturday 12 September, followed by a conversation with Brendan Fletcher and composer Sarah Blasko.

Talk Contemporary topics touch on fashion, gender, food and technology as they relate to contemporary art with highlights including:

· Actress and philanthropist Rachel Griffiths, speaking alongside Alexie Glass-Kantor (Director of Artspace), Liam Benson (artist), Emma Price (artist and curator) and Jarrod Rawlins (MONA Curator) will present ‘Does Gender Matter in Art?’ to answer the question of whether gender matters in art on Thursday 10 September.

· ‘Meet The Creatives’, a talk that will explore the life of invention beginning with points of inspiration through to the final realization of a vision. Claudia Karvan (actress), Sam Marshall (architect), James Valentine (broadcaster, musician and writer), Michael Zavros (artist), Adriano Zumbo (patissier and chef) will explore the creative process of art, architecture, acting, fashion and cuisine on Sunday 13 September.

· Deputy editor of Vogue Australia Sophie Tedmanson will present ‘The Fashion Forums’ on Thursday 10 September with Romance Was Born designers Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett, Romance Was Born and Alison Kubler (art and fashion writer and curator), a look at how fashion and art have the power to predict cultural trends and communicate a moment in time.

· Pearl Lam, Director of Pearl Lam Galleries (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore) will be speaking on Saturday 12 September, about Australian identity and how Australian culture has been represented in art practice. Artists Fiona Hall, Christian Thompson and Abdul Abdullah join her.

· Director of Art Gallery of NSW Dr Michael Brand will present the ‘Sydney Modern’ project on Wednesday 9 September.

· Tom Uglow, Creative Director of Google Creative Lab, will be joined by Andrew Frost (art critic), Clinton Ng (art collector and philanthropist) and Melissa Loughnan (art consultant, curator and public art advisor) on Friday 11 September to present ‘Post-Internet Art: Understanding The New Art Movement).

· Director of Collections at the Art Gallery of NSW Suhanya Raffel presents ‘Leading From The Edge’, a discussion on how emergent economies have provided new collectors, institutions and philanthropists that support new networks of creative growth. Joining her on Friday 11 September will be Director Leo Silitonga (Sydney Contemporary South East Asian VIP Liaison, director of Art Jakarta), Mathew Nache Clarke (Director of PAULNACHE Gallery New Zealand) and Dr. Gene Sherman, Chairman and Executive Director of Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation.

· Imperial Slacks Presents The Slackers, a discussion jointly presented by Campbelltown Arts Centre and Sydney College of the Arts Galleries. The artist-run collective Imperial Slacks was formed in 2000 as a social and cultural experiment that functioned as the home, studio and gallery space for a number of emerging artists. Speaking on Thursday 10 September will be artists Simon Cooper, Chris Fox, Emma Price, Melody Willis, curator Nicholas Tsoutas and Director of Campbelltown Arts Centre Michael Dagostino.

· Habitus and Living Edge present ‘Art, Design & Architecture’ Gina Mobayed (Artbank), Roslyn Oxley (Founder and Director of Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery), Nick Tobias (architect), Steven Pozel (Director of Object: Australian Design Centre) Hosted by Editor of Habitus, Nicky Lobo on Thursday 10 September. Habitus will also present a talk on selecting art for interiors on Saturday 12 September.

· ‘Point of Connection’, by Print Council of Australia will be presented by Trent Walter (Negative Press), Theo Tremblay (Editions Tremblay), artist Belinda Fox and Anne Virgo OAM, Director of the Australian Print Workshop on Friday 11 September.

· ‘Talent Borrows, Genius Steals’, a discussion about appropriation in art’ will be presented on Friday 11 September by academic and author Rex Butler in conjunction with artists Sam Leach and Joan Ross.

The Talk Contemporary program is free entry upon entry to the Fair, however bookings are essential given limited spaces.