Parlour had an extremely busy and productive year in 2021. We launched exciting new programs while maintaining a strong focus on supporting the ever-growing Parlour community in navigating the ongoing and always-changing challenges of the pandemic.

Thanks to everyone who supported us, developed initiatives, shared knowledge and personal stories, wrote articles, participated in face-to-face and online events, and joined our vibrant, engaged community.

Tiana Jane Furner McBeath and Samantha Donnelly in action at the Sydney Spring Salon. Photo Aimee Couch.

Parlour in Action – 2021 takes us through a very busy year of activity. Parlour’s editorial and online events program continued apace, with new series and old favourites. We worked hard to build community and provide support to individuals, practices and organisations in the built environment through a broad range of projects, programs and initiatives.

This commitment was amplified in March 2022 with the launch of our new supporter program, the Parlour Collective. Thanks to the many, many practices and individuals who have already joined us.

Our regular online Friday lunchtime sessions were a particularly popular weekly drop-in for many, providing the opportunity to learn and share knowledge and strategies for change as well as to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all. They provide an international platform for speakers across Australia, and we delight in turning our microphone over to audience members around the world.

As different states went in and out of lockdown, we resurrected the popular Light at the End of the Tunnel and ran fortnightly events until the end of the year, with an array of interesting topics and guest speakers. The Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne stepped in to support this program, following Monash University’s support in 2020.

The monthly Parlour LAB series, a collaboration with SAHANZ, really got going in 2021, with eight new events over the year. The series bridges the gap between practice and research, providing a platform for researchers to speak to new audiences and an opportunity for the world of practice to engage with research.

We were delighted to collaborate with our good friends at Deadly Djurumin, and the Deadly Djurumin Yarns joined the Friday lunchtime lineup in the first week of each month. Convened by Sarah Lynn Rees (Palawa) and Danièle Hromek (Budawng /Yuin), the monthly Deadly Djurumin Yarns discuss key topics from the perspectives of First Nations women. These are lively and frank conversations grounded in the experiences of Indigenous women working in the built environment professions. They were an extraordinary success and promise great things in 2022.

Another new initiative was the Parlour Reading Room, launched in August 2021, which was our take on the traditional book club. Led by Anwyn Hocking and Sophie Adsett, this was another chance for our Parlour audience to come together as a community to connect – this time to engage with feminist theory and practice.

For the national Parlour Salon series, we needed to navigate a tricky landscape in 2021, with variants, lockdowns and different state-by-state public health restrictions demanding some delays or conversion to online events. Once again, Parlour catered for a range of circumstances, with face-to-face events going ahead in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, a reduced crowd for the Melbourne Salon (between lockdowns) and a number of online national Salons catering for all.

The online format became an incredibly successful, inclusive platform, allowing many people to attend who would not otherwise be able to due to a regional location, family circumstances or other commitments. We will continue to run online Salons alongside the face to face program. We thank AWS for their ongoing support of this program.

Parlour online

Parlour continues to expand its strong editorial program, which has been an essential part of Parlour activity since the very beginning in 2012. The Parlour website continues as a key focus of activity and attracts many readers. Parlour publishes a wide range of material from diverse authors.

Individual articles on a broad range of topics are complemented by a numbers of series, each of which addresses a topical theme. In 2021 we were pleased to launch the Equity in Practice case studies, Readings and Action in the Field.
In all of this, we used our substantial reach to broaden the conversation and help make space for a wider range of voices.

Thanks!

Parlour is a small, lean non-profit organisation that has a big impact. We thank all those who support our work, and the many organisations and individuals who collaborate with us.

We are particularly grateful to our Parlour Partners, who have stood by us through these challenging times. Their continuing financial and moral support has enabled Parlour to respond quickly and effectively to the challenges of the pandemic.

Thanks to everyone who has joined our vibrant, engaged community. Please take time to look at the report, and we look forward to doing many more things together in 2022.

Previous reports

Read our earlier activity reports below:

• Initiatives & impact: 2019–2020
• Initiatives & impact: 2018
• Initiatives & impact: 2017
• Initiatives & impact: 2016
• Initiatives & impact: 2015