Venus Vinifera and Subject Matters Presents
This year, we want to get back to our roots and rediscover our ‘why’ – why we do this, and why people seem to like it? Why is hospitality important? We want to address this question anthropologically to understand: Hospitality’s role in the fabric of society and culture.
We’re exploring how hospitality is a crucial part of how our society connects, finds balance and navigates everyday life. With multidisciplinary panelists, including sociologists, design experts and industry folks from all corners, we’re addressing concepts around community, place and interaction to re-inspire guests and hospitality workers alike.
We believe that to reinvigorate our industry, we must refocus on why it needs to exist.
How do we establish hospitality’s role in the fabric of society and culture? By exploring Third Place from a sociological perspective and learning to put this into practice.
Following COVID, the hospitality industry had to focus on staying open and employed. The reason for venues and brands existing – the why – got lost in the sauce. The irony of this isn’t lost on us. In the midst of the loneliness and disconnection of lockdowns, patrons realised how important venues were to their social connection, balance and happiness. The term for these places – that people escape to, celebrate or seek solace in, and find connection within – is Third Place. A core reason hospitality folks find meaning in our industry is the joy of creating Third Place for others. As our world becomes more difficult to navigate – cost of living, world events, and social media encouraging isolation – the importance of Third Place only grows. In this panel, we’re casting off the chat about finances, staffing and CPI increases. We’re unpacking what Third Place is, how we make our venues a Third Place, and why it’s so important to the fabric of society.
How do we establish hospitality’s role in the fabric of society and culture? By exploring and understanding the shared human experience of eating and drinking – alone and together.
Why do we love to eat and drink? Are we biologically engineered to find more joy in cooking for others and gathering round a table? What transcends a meal from simple physical enjoyment to an emotional journey – the act of eating into something we remember? How important is choice, texture and vision? This panel unpacks human behaviours when they eat and drink. We’re looking at why people are drawn to eating and drinking when they socialise, how this differs across the world, and discussing how to sculpt an offering to transcend a guest’s experience.
How do we establish hospitality’s role in the fabric of society and culture? By digging deeper into the challenges and ideas uncovered together, in order to foster growth, action and better understanding.
Giddy up, this is going to be a fun one! The questions put to our panelists will be entirely drawn from the two previous panels. We’re unpacking things further – talking about the challenges, the opportunities and ideas for action. Panelists will be a combination of venue owners and young guns, and they’ll be encouraged to bounce off one another, be brutally honest and spark excitement.
How do we establish hospitality’s role in the fabric of society and culture? By fostering a community of peers working collectively to deepen understanding, share information and solve challenges.
Our final session will see guests break into small groups with a panelist from the day. This will be a conversational experience held around the theatre and in the foyer.The objective is to continue the conversation; networking is a byproduct.
Guests and panelists will be invited to Knock-Offs at Squeaky Clean following the symposium. It’ll be the chance to wind down, share a drink, and unpack ideas further over a game of pool.
Venus Vinifera acknowledges the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the Kamberri/Canberra region, and recognises their continuous connection to culture, community and Country.
