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.
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?
