Prestigious oration

In 2024 Professor Anne Pender gave the J C Bannon Oration at St Mark’s College, Adelaide, held annually in honour of the Hon Dr John Bannon AO.

Pender, as the Kidman Professor of Australian Studies and the Director of the J. M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at Adelaide University, spoke on the cultural influence of the arts in Australia, the power of comedy in shaping social dialogue, and the costs of comedy.

Pender argued: "Comedy and satire are central to our democracy and young people deserve to participate in an art form that allows them to venture into public debate through the arts. A nation without its own home-made comedy is a sad prospect. A country with no local television drama, writers who cannot make a living, and no music festivals is an impoverished country. We are at a perilous point in our national culture. Gough Whitlam and John Bannon supported the arts in Australia. I hope that current leaders will start paying attention to the broad risks of ignoring art and artists. As I have argued, comedy itself is a risky and costly business. But the costs of failing to support our performing artists, of failing to invest in art and artists, are far more expensive."

The full oration can be viewed on YouTube here and a written copy can be read here. The oration has also been printed as a book and is available from St Mark’s College.

Angela Bannon and Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee, pictured below with Anne Pender, were in attendance.

Anne Pender is a Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council project Comedy Country: Australian Performance Comedy as an Agent of Change.

Contact: Anne Pender

Email: Anne.Pender@adelaide.edu.au