NGA Art Talks

National Poetry Month: Dylan Van Den Berg

NGA Art Talks

Show Notes

To celebrate National Poetry Month, this episode of NGA Art Talks explores the intersection of text, poetry and art.

In 2024 the National Gallery, together with Red Room poetry, commissioned Vietnamese Australian writer and poet Nam Le and Palawa playwright Dylan Van Den Berg to respond to a work of art from the national collection.

A Palawa playwright from the northeast of lutruwita/Tasmania, Dylan Van Den Berg’s work explores Blak and Queer identities through the subversion of national stories to embolden Indigenous perspectives. Commissioned across Australia, his plays have won awards including the NSW Premier’s Award for Playwrighting.

Van Den Berg chose Benjamin Duterrau’s painting, Mr Robinson's first interview with Timmy (1840). In this episode, recorded for a live audience as part of the Gallery’s Friday Art Taks program, Van Den Berg reads his ekphrastic commission and shares insights into the writing process.

NGA Art Talks is a podcast brought to you by the National Gallery of Australia.

Artworks discussed: Benjamin Duterrau - Mr Robinson's first interview with Timmy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from NGA Art Talks

Oct 20, 2026

NGA Art Talks: The Gleeson Tapes is a new series revisiting key conversations from the James Gleeson Oral History Collection.

Oct 7, 2026

NGA Art Talks: The Gleeson Tapes is a new podcast series revisiting key conversations from the James Gleeson Oral History Collection.

Sep 29, 2026

In the late 1970s, before the National Gallery of Australia opened its doors, the surrealist artist and writer James Gleeson set out across Australia with a microphone and a mission: to build an oral history archive that captured the stories behind key works of art in the national collection, told by the artists themselves.

Sep 29, 2026

In the late 1970s, before the National Gallery of Australia opened its doors, the surrealist artist and writer James Gleeson set out across Australia with a microphone and a mission: to build an oral history archive that captured the stories behind key works of art in the national collection, told by the artists themselves.

Jul 6, 2026

Join Quincy Houghton, Deputy Director for Exhibitions and International Initiatives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as we revisit this year’s Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration, recorded live at the National Gallery for International Women’s Day in March 2026.

See all episodes →