AILA FESTIVAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR ANNOUNCED

The festival organised by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) is titled “The Expanding Field: Charting the Future of Practice” and is to be held on the Gold Coast in Queensland from 11-14 October 2018. Led by Directors Kate Cullity and Perry Lethlean, Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL) is an Australian design studio, working both nationally and internationally on projects. The company has a focus on contemporary urban life and global culture, the elemental power of site and landscape, artistic practice and a range of disciplines involved in the creation of a sustainable future.

TCL’s festival theme, “The Expanding Field”, intends to explore connections and overlaps in practice around landscapes, both within and beyond the profession. With the aim to identify progressive avenues of enquiry, discovering new territory for design, and inspiring innovative forms of practice, the festival will promote diversity within landscape architecture.  

“Our discipline is evolving, forming creative relationships with new allied fields, continually adapting to a time of rapid change. We see a case therefore to no longer look inward, but to push out to the edges and ‘un-define the defined,’” said TCL.  “We will hear from landscape architects, urban designers, anthropologists, authors, scientists, artists and others about themes and topics that surround us, and by expanding our gaze, we hope to illuminate possible pathways forward that enable landscape architecture to grow its relevance and ability to confront and significantly contribute to the challenges of the coming century”. 

The 2018 Festival will be held at the newly redeveloped Gold Coast Arts Centre and will largely take place outside, in what will be AILA’s first al fresco Festival. The four-day festival will include presentations from leading international and domestic landscape architects, and a full program of Fringe events, public talks, activations, industry tours and more, with all details to be announced in the coming months. 

Perry Lethlean is an internationally recognised contemporary landscape architect and urban designer. Lethlean’s work has been widely published, particularly for his successful entries for major national and international design competitions. Perry has led the successful implementation of complex landscape and urban projects, including the National Arboretum in Canberra, awarded “World Landscape Project of the Year” in 2014, and The Australian Garden, Cranbourne, which was also awarded “World Landscape of the Year” in 2013. Having experience in the education sector, Lethlean has lectured and critiqued at leading universities and has been a juror for professional practice awards and advisory design bodies.

Kate Cullity is a nationally and internationally recognised and awarded landscape architect and environmental artist, having worked as both artist and designer for a number of international art and garden festivals. Cullity has proven particular skills in the integration of public art with landscape and urban design and has been a core member of the design team in many of TCL’s award-winning projects. Cullity was an inaugural recipient of the AILA National Edna Walling Award for Residential Design in 2006. Having been involved in the education sector, Cullity has taught at secondary and tertiary levels, while also recently having completed a PhD, which reflected on the 25 years of TCL’s practice, as well as her interest in beauty, aesthetics and care in creating sustainable landscapes. 

Tickets will go on sale in April 2018 via the AILA website.