The Da Vinci Talks: Corinne Estrada talks to us

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Corinne Estrada is the director of Communicating the Arts, a marketing conference for museums but also organiser of The Da Vinci Talks which will take place in Sydney next week.

Corinne Estrada

We spoke to Corinne about the conferences, her love of art, the fire at Notre Dame de Paris and life in Australia.

 

Corinne Estrada, you are the director of the Communicating the Arts Conference, which is the most important museum marketing event in the world. Tell us about this conference.

It’s a conference that I created 20 years ago to share good practices on branding and communication strategies to my London clients: Tate, National Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum. They wanted to share with cultural leaders of other countries. Since 2000, 8000 professionals from all around the world have participated in our conferences.

 

The 24th Communicating the Arts conference took place in Sydney last week with 300 delegates from around the world.  

 

You have created and organised The Da Vinci Talks which are on in Sydney at the end of the month. Tell us about The Da Vinci Talks and why you created them.

The Da Vinci Talks are annual public conferences about European art history. We decided to start these conferences on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci and the wonderful exhibition at the Musée du Louvre. We have invited a great speaker from the Musée du Louvre to speak about Leonardo, Notre Dame and the greats of the Renaissance.

 

Since when and why are you interested in the arts. Is there a particular period of art which you prefer? And if so, what is your favourite piece?

Art brings a lot of beauty to life. I like artists as they have a strong sensibility and they help us to see the world sharply. My favourite art period is found between the two world wars as it is a very rich period, intellectually. It’s a period which gave birth to many artistic currents. It’s an explosion of genres. I very much like Diego Rivera and his very engaging mural paintings.

 

One of the presentations at The Da Vinci Talks is on the subject of the fire at Notre Dame and the effect it had on Parisians. Given that you were until recently a Parisian yourself, tell us about the effect the fire had on you. 

Notre Dame de Paris is like a mythical character. It’s a universal icon which spans more than 1200 years of history. Its image is collective and universal. Of course the fire was an enormous shock. It has served to show us that it is urgent to maintain our cultural heritage which is part of our identity.

 

Do you think that this conference will inspire people to travel to Paris?

I hope so!  We have invited children to participate for free so as to share our European history with younger generations.

 

You’ve recently moved from Paris to Sydney. How do you find Australian life? What do you miss most about France?

I’ve lived in Paris and New York and l love my life today in Sydney.

Nature is omnipresent and gives me a lot. I’m very lucky to live in a city like Sydney. The indigenous culture is very rich and meetings are very eclectic.

Café terraces and bookshops are what I miss.  

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The Da Vinci Talks, organised by Corinne Estrada, will take place from 6-8pm in Sydney on the following dates next week:

26 November – Leonardo Talk, humanist & visionary

27 November – Notre Dame Talk, the legend & the history

28 November – Renaissance Talk, three timeless geniuses

at National Art School of Sydney. Tickets can be purchased for $55 for adults, $45 seniors and $35 students (plus booking fees) and via this LINK.

 

You can also read our interview with Jacques Le Roux, speaker at The Da Vinci Talks.

 

What’s your favourite Renaissance work?

 

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Thomas Hubener, acrobat from Cirque du Soleil talks about KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Cirque du Soleil is currently in Australia with their show Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities. We spoke with Thomas Hubener, who plays a number of roles in the show.  

Have you always dreamt of joining the circus?

The circus was never my goal when I was doing gymnastics at a high level, I dreamed of the Olympic Games but in the end the Cirque du Soleil crossed my path and I let myself be carried into its universe.

 

Do you have other family members who are also part of the circus?

Yes, my oldest brother Mathieu Hubener who is also an acrobat in Kurios.

 

Is it difficult to enter the circus at a young age and to travel overseas for such a long time?

I started the Cirque when I was 22 years old. In the beginning, it’s not easy to travel around the world alone all year long but after a while you get used to it and you adapt to life’s rhythm.

 

What’s your favourite career moment with Cirque du Soleil so far?

My favourite memory is the first time that I was on stage in 2011 with the show Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour. It was my first stage appearance in Montréal at Centre Bell in front of 15,000 people!

 

What are your favourite acrobatic practices?

I love the very aerial acrobatics where you feel like you are flying like on the “acronet” from Kurios.

 

What is a typical day in your life?

Wake late at about 11am, a good breakfast with lots of fruit, training at the Big Top from early afternoon, 2 shows in the evening and back to the hotel at 11pm.

 

What countries have you travelled to with Cirque du Soleil?

With the Cirque du Soleil, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Canada, Mexico, Japan, Singapore and the USA (80 cities in the USA).

 

Tell us about the show and your role in KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities.

I embody a number of characters throughout the show but my favourite is when I play the role of the fish flying on the giant trampoline. It’s an act which is very acrobatic and pleases audiences a lot!

 

How is KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities different to the other Cirque du Soleil shows?

KURIOS is a very human show which is set in ancient times, which is different to the other shows which are in imaginary worlds.

 

Why should people come to see KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities?

KURIOS has already been very successful over the last 5 years and like I said previously, it really has a different ambiance with a perfect mixture of poetry, acrobatics and travel with wonderful music which everyone enjoys.

 

Tell us about the AcroNet troupe and your role in it?

The Acronet team is really great. We are all more or less from the same gymastics origins but from the 4 corners of the world, so it’s really cool to be able to share the same passion while coming from a different culture.

You can see KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities in the following cities on the following dates:

SYDNEY : 2 October to 29 December 2019: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/australia/sydney/kurios/buy-tickets

BRISBANE: 10 January to 23 February 2020: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/australia/brisbane/kurios/buy-tickets

MELBOURNE: 12 March to 26 April 2020: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/australia/melbourne/kurios/buy-tickets

ADELAIDE : 29 May to 7 June 2020: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/australia/adelaide/kurios/buy-tickets

PERTH: 15 July to 2 August 2020: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/australia/perth/kurios/buy-tickets

 

Experience KURIOS like a VIP:

The ultimate Cirque du Soleil experience which gives you the best seats and access to the VIP suite for an hour before the show and during interval for wine and hors d’œuvres. You will also receive take-home souvenirs from the show and free parking.

Forfait VIP EXPERIENCE: à partir de $325

 

Sign up for free membership to the Cirque Club via this link www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueclub Members get early access to the best seats as well as discounts and promotional offers. You can also see never-before-seen content from Cirque du Soleil.

 

Have you already seen a Cirque du Soleil show?

 

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