Know My Name Conference

Delivered virtually over four days, the Know My Name Virtual Conference celebrated all women as artists, activists, researchers, intellectuals and mentors.

Foregrounding First Nations perspectives and diverse voices, the event brought together leading and emerging Australian and international presenters from arts and academia to share ideas, insights and creative practice. Through keynotes, performances, panels, discussions and artist-led approaches, the conference considered historical and contemporary experiences of gender and feminism in the arts.

Accessible, inclusive and participatory, conference sessions included options for live captions, Auslan interpretation and audio description while enabling simultaneous shared dialogue and discussion with presenters and the delegate community on the conference platform.

The conference was presented in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts, Australian National University School of Art& Design, University of Melbourne and UNSW Art & Design.

Client

National Gallery of Australia

Delivery

Virtual

Date

November 2020

The Challenge

Pyrus was contracted to post a ‘best practice’ accessible virtual event during COVID-19 with enough appeal to secure paying delegates, delivered on budget and in the creative space that upholds the NGA’s reputation was challenging.

NGA required a supplier with excellent technical capabilities, with proven event management and production expertise and the ability to lead when necessary as well as work in tandem with the complementary skills of the internal team.

Pyrus first came to the attention of the NGA following Director Adam Bannister’s participation in a panel presentation on the logistics and technology required to deliver an accessible virtual event/festival with multiple presenters and audience with disability impressed and inspired the Gallery. Initially a project consultant to NGA, it soon became evident that Pyrus was the right supplier to take the lead to deliver the conference to NGA’s high standard.

Our Solution

With many years of project and event production experience in Australia and overseas, Adam and his talent team were engaged to advise on and deliver the KMN Virtual Conference. This included:

Guidance on best practice for structure and considerations for online and accessible events
Production schedule development
Engagement of a digital platform provider and event management company who could deliver complex best practice accessibility requirements
Pre-recording and editing of all presentations and panel discussions
Editing of the highlights package
On-site technical direction and management of live broadcast of conference over fours days and two evenings including seamless delivery of live and pre-recorded content over three simultaneous digital streams
Leveraging of Pyrus’ extensive network of contacts to include live captions, Auslan interpretation and audio description over the four days of live streaming
Working closely with NGA producers and technical team as well as internal and external stakeholders throughout the development and delivery process
Participation in a wrap-up with stakeholders and reporting

Working with us

Working with Pyrus resulted in the NGA being able to deliver a high quality accessible online conference that other providers had not been able to delivery technically or within the Gallery's parameters.

Key to the seamless execution of the conference was Pyrus’ understanding of potential audience challenges including internet connectivity and technical know-how and their attention to detail across every facet of the conference, including co-ordinating all the speakers on the day and in pre-event rehearsals.

Pyrus set up a broadcast studio onsite, supplying the equipment and knowledge in order to work collaboratively with the Gallery’s technical staff, providing valuable professional development to maintain a high level of accessibility for future events. allowing them to learn in the process too.

Co-Producers of the Know My Name Conference, Jessi England and Adriane Boag reported extremely positively on the impact of working with Pyrus commenting that “Pyrus brought a number of core attributes to the outcome of the conference, including an understanding and passion for artists and audiences with disabilities, an openness to engage with the visual arts, a generosity in their working processes and interaction with Gallery staff, delegates and presenters, and an understanding of all aspects of online events and audience needs.

“Pyrus has the technical ability to fill a void in our internal resourcing, they have an amazing reputation within the sector. The team are highly professional and being regionally based made Adam and his team important allies for the Gallery’s national agenda. The industry feedback we received post-conference on the inclusiveness and high standard achieved through Pyrus’ delivery, was that this needs to become the norm for conferencing in Australia. Together we have set the bar very high within the industry.”

'The National Gallery’s Know My Name gender equity initiative aims to increase the representation of all women artist and enhance understanding of the contributions they have made and continue to make to Australia’s cultural life.

The Know My Name Virtual Conference was a key event in the Know My Name program of activities and was held in the lead up to the opening of the major exhibition Know My Name: Australian women artists 1900 to Now.

To ensure maximum reach and impact, the Conference was conceived as a digital offering with a commitment to best practice principle of accessibility. Adam Bannister and his company Pyrus enabled this ambition to be realised. His technical expertise in accessible online event production and his drive to help innovate and drive technology solutions were fundamental to the success of our offering.

Adam took a leading role in defining our technical requirements and advising on the selection of the platform provider (Evise) and evolving the software to achieve best practice standards inaccessible delivery. We are grateful to Adam and Pyrus for supporting the National Gallery in our continued efforts to provide access to art for all.

Heather Whitely Robertson
Tim Fairfax Assistant Director, Learning and Digital, National Gallery of Australia