Soundscapes and townscapes

We’re excited to welcome in 2022 with a great line up for our Yarn Night event, taking as its theme: Soundscapes and Townscapes. Tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/yarn-night-tickets-163818179585

The night kicks off with an introduction from Soundfair, after which we give the floor to our four storytellers, who will share their personal stories relating to the night’s theme. After the stories, audience and speakers will have the chance to have a conversation to share thoughts, ideas, and questions. On Thursday 20 January, we will be joined by the following storytellers:

1. Maxine Parker

As a business owner and operator of Access Ability Australia, Maxine refers to her work as a privilege, with a passion and just cause having a primary benefit to others. Maxine’s work actively seeks to decrease barriers for people living with disability to access community and to support inclusion and capacity development. Her story will reflect on the challenges she has faced at a personal level and how she’s channeled that into how she operates her business and the products that they offer to help build more inclusive communities.

2. Margot Albrecht

Margot is a fifty-something wife of one and mother of two. She was diagnosed with hereditary sensorineural deafness at the age of six, however, she was not offered hearing aids and did not start wearing them until she took the initiative to purchase her own at the age of 25 – it was a life-changing decision. Thirty years later, Margot still wears hearing aids all day, every day. She cannot function without them. As a deaf person, navigating a hearing world, Margot’s faced with daily challenges but she tries, wherever possible, to not let her deafness hold her back. She’s currently working on her first novel, while also studying a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) at Flinders University.

3. Tracey McGeehan

Tracey lives in Wangaratta, Northeast Victoria. She is shy of 45 years young and has two beautiful girls, Alice (14) and Milly (10). Tracey was born profoundly deaf. She was diagnosed at 13 months of age and fitted with hearing aids shortly after. The Oral speaking and lipreading approach was chosen by her parents and she continues to embrace this since. Lipreading became her superpower and this has enabled her to attend mainstream schooling. She is very passionate about access and education for hard of hearing people. Tracey works part time at Northeast health Wangaratta as a Disability Support Officer, advocating for patients with all disabilities. Her interests are dancing and painting by numbers.

4. Nick Boulter

Nick has been working in Acoustics since leaving university in 1978. He joined Arup in 1987, working initially in Hong Kong, and moving to the UK in 1994, where he worked as an acoustic designer for performing arts buildings, airports, hospitals and convention centres. After spending 5 years in Singapore, Nick relocated to Arup’s office in Melbourne in 2014 and is currently working on several large performing arts projects around Australia. He also leads Arup’s Arts and Culture team in the region; a team whose projects include work at Sydney Opera House, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, Latrobe Arts Precinct, and Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide. At Yarn Night, Nick will talk about the differences between noise and sound and how soundscapes can change our perceptions of urban environments.

Yarn Night is held online and lasts an hour and a half. Live captioning and Auslan interpretation will be provided.

All funds raised will support Soundfair’s hearing equality programs.

Catch up on highlights from previous Yarn Nights via YouTube.