Our animal companions take centre stage in this big-hearted storytelling event from the brilliant minds of Marieke Hardy and Emilie Zoey Baker, presented in partnership with The Wheeler Centre to mark the closing weekend of the Cats & Dogs exhibition.
In this special edition of the much-loved spoken word series Better Off Said, a menagerie of writers come together to pay tribute to two of the world’s most popular domesticated animals: cats and dogs.
From Edgar Allen Poe’s sinister black cat to Homer’s faithful dog Argos, felines and canines have long wandered the realms of storytelling.
In this session, beloved Melbourne writer Tony Birch, author and broadcaster Mimi Kwa, award-winning novelist Laura Jean McKay, and proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman and sports journalist Shelley Ware will reflect on the cats and dogs that have left an impression on their lives.
Following these responses, Robert Skinner, winner of the 2025 John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing, will deliver a Living Eulogy to a beloved creature, celebrating life while we’re still here to appreciate it.
Witty, reflective, joyful or irreverent, these tributes to our non-human companions promise to delight cat people and dog people alike. Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker and curated by Marieke Hardy.
Tony Birch is the author of four novels, five short fiction collections, and two poetry books. His most recent book is the novel, Women and Children (UQP).
Mimi Kwa has been a TV journalist and media personality for 25 years. She is an author, and her memoir House of Kwa is being developed for screen.
Laura Jean McKay is the author of The Animals in That Country (Scribe 2020) – winner of the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award, The Victorian Prize for Literature, the ABIA Small Publishers Adult Book of the Year and co-winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel 2021.
Robert Skinner was born and raised in South Australia. His first book, “I’d Rather Not”, won the inaugural John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing after the judges profoundly misunderstood his finely wrought work of tragedy. He currently lives in Melbourne where he works in a bookshop and plays football at the lowest level.
Shelley Ware is a proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman from Tarntanya/Adelaide, South Australia, who currently lives in Naarm/ Melbourne. For the past two decades, Shelley has worked in the media as a radio and television presenter on both local and national AFL shows. She writes an opinion and AFL column fortnightly for the Koori Mail.
Emilie Zoey Baker is an award-winning Australian poet and performer who has toured nationally and internationally performing, writing and producing. She was a Fellow at the State Library of Victoria, and has previously been poet-in-residence for Museums Victoria and the winner of the Berlin International Poetry Slam.
Marieke Hardy is a curator, screenwriter, artist, and producer. She has penned columns for The Age, The Drum, and Frankie magazine, and written for many television shows, including Laid, Barons, The Family Law, Heartbreak High, and Seven Types of Ambiguity.
When booking, pre-purchase a copy of Cats and Dogs in Art & Design to collect on the night. Published alongside the Cats & Dogs exhibition, this richly illustrated book showcases more than 100 works of art and design depicting loyal dogs and spirited cats selected from the NGV Collection.
Please note this event will take place at NGV International and does not include entry to the Cats & Dogs exhibition.
Cats & Dogs is on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Fed Square until 20 July. Exhibition tickets sold separately.
PROGRAM PARTNER
