TEDxNewy Speaker Julie Baird: “We do impossible things, but do not tell”

by Skye on November 10, 2011

TED is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to ‘ideas worth spreading’ and culminates in 2 annual conferences that feature an array of amazing speakers. In the past, this has included Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Google’s Larry Page & Sergey Brin & Bono. TEDx events capture the enthusiasm, passion and knowledge of the TED philosophy and transport them to communities all over the world, presenting independent events often featuring local presenters & projects.

Newcastle is hosting its first TEDx event this weekend, TEDxNewy. The day will cover topics such as how schools are killing creativity in children and dying in the 21st century - a new experience for all of us, and feature a selection of speakers with a special connection to Newcastle.

Urban Insider spoke with Julie Baird, Acting Deputy Director of the Newcastle Museum, ahead of her presentation at TEDxNewy this Saturday…

What prompted your move from SA to Newcastle?

There were lots of reasons that prompted my move to Newcastle but primarily the opportunity for creativity and accessibility. The breadth of Newcastle Museum’s collection allowed greater possibilities for telling interesting and inclusive stories in contrast to the specialist museum I was working in at the time. I love a challenge and there is no greater challenge for a museum curator than a move and redevelopment. Newcastle Museum was free which I believe is the way all museums should be. I had been at my past museum for five years which according to my old career plan was the right amount of time before moving on. Plus the deal clincher was that I was offered an ocean view from my new office.

Nine years later, I have no windows at all.

What did you enjoy most about redeveloping Newcastle’s museum?

Redeveloping a new museum is exciting. The opportunity to sit back and develop an exhibition from start to finish is exhausting but one of the most personally enriching experiences. Learning about the people and great stories of Newcastle was amazing. I see the museum as a canvas or a song where you can create emotion, knowledge and vision through words, objects and images. That creative process was my biggest joy.

What was the biggest challenge?

This is the only project I have worked on where money wasn’t the biggest challenge. The hardest element was getting the community to share in the vision. We battled community and political opposition right up until the last couple of months when the tide turned as the vision became a concrete reality.

What excites you most about the potential of the new museum? How does this relate to your TEDxNewy topic?

We are all potential. The building being done is just the beginning of what we can do. We have the potential to change people’s preconceptions about what a museum is. We are school kids and zombie marches, creative writing seminars and travelling dinosaurs, our own exhibitions and a great place for a date, we are a view of the past and a wide open road to the future. My TEDxNewy talk is about how the museum which in the past was a noun that people attended but didn’t affect is now a moving force of belonging, learning and emotion.

What is your favourite quote?

One of my dads, “The more I know, the more I realise the less I know…and that some bastard out there knows more than me.”

What is your favourite thing about Newcastle?

The combination of creativity and humility in a self-reliant hands-on community. We do impossible things but don’t tell.

What do you think events like TEDxNewy mean for Newcastle?

We are starting to tell. I think that TEDxNewy is acknowledgement of this remarkable and distinctive city. By acknowledging the creativity and passion, hopefully it can inspire more people to dare to be foolish and brave because that is when wonderful thing happen.

Tickets to TEDxNewy, being held this Saturday, 12 November at The Playhouse at Civic Theatre,  have sold out. You don’t have to miss out on the action however, with overflow seating and a live screening of the talks in City Hall’s Mulubinba Room from 9am till 5.30pm. Alternatively anyone can watch the talks live via webstream at the TEDxNewy website.