The lively evening discussion program GOMA Talks has made a triumphant return during Sugar Spin: you, me, art and everything for a discussion on pleasure, gratification and meaning in art and life. Across two exciting events, join special guest panellists and ABC Radio National hosts Sarah Kanowski (Books and Arts) and Paul Barclay (Big Ideas).

In Can art make us happy? hosted by Sarah Kanowski, presenter of ABC Radio National’s Books and Arts, guests ponder the question: can pleasure and meaning co-exist in art, and what does this mean for today’s art museum?

Contemporary art can be seen as a form of entertainment, yet our experience of art goes beyond simple delight. We can derive both great pleasure and great meaning from art but can these two things coexist?

Guests include:

• Michael Breakspear, Group Leader, Systems Neuroscience Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
• Prof. A. C. Grayling, Master of the New College of the Humanities, London (via Skype from London)
• Kylie Legge, Founding Director, Place Partners

The final speaker will be announced closer to the date, so keep an eye out here for updates. GOMA Talks sessions are free and no bookings are required to attend. Please arrive before 6:30 pm to secure your seat.

Image: Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir aka Shoplifter / Nervescape V 2016 / Installation view, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane / Commissioned for Sugar Spin: you, me, art and everything / Photograph: Natasha Harth, QAGOMA