New Horizons: QMM in Conversation with Hannie Rayson

"Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore! Dream! Discover!” – Mark Twain

The Queenscliffe Maritime Museum is trimming its sails. With a mission to reinvigorate our cultural programming and audience engagement, we invite you to get to know the skipper at the helm of these changes: Museum Manager and Curator Valentina Bydanova.

Enjoy a superb dinner at 360Q, as Valentina and award-winning playwright Hannie Rayson discuss why museums matter and how our maritime museum might sail into a new creative future. Hear how water has inspired both Hannie and Valentina in their creative work, and ponder why maritime stories are so fascinating and how they shape culture and place.

Tickets for this event include drinks upon arrival, a two-course meal and cheese spread.

Tickets and the proceeds from a silent auction of marine treasures, held during the event, will support the Museum to chart its new course as a creative centre for marine cultural research, artmaking and public engagement.

In conversation

Valentina Bydanova

With a background in museum education, development and maritime curatorial projects, Valentina is driven by a passion to explore and implement innovative ways of communicating, experiencing and learning in the arts. While taking on the role of Queenscliffe Maritime Museum Manager, Valentina is also undertaking a PhD in experimental maritime curatorship, designing projects that aim to position waterways as creative theatres in which to generate art, engage diverse audiences, and reconnect Victorians to the marine fabric of our state.

Hannie Rayson

Hannie is a playwright and screenwriter. She is the author of 16 plays, which have been performed throughout Australia and around the world. Event details 1 of 2 She is best known for Hotel Sorrento which was made into a feature film. She is the only playwright ever to be nominated for The Miles Franklin award for a play. Her memoir, Hello, Beautiful! was adapted to a stage show which she performed in 37 theatres around Australia. Last year, Hannie co-directed Hello, Queenscliff with her husband Michael Cathcart at the Town Hall