Australian writer and journalist Miriam Cosic writes across an astonishing range of topics, taking in political philosophy, globalisation, human rights, war, surveillance / privacy, the climate, press freedom, unions, botany, art and music. We know her primarily from her arts journalism and criticism, and it was in this capacity, that we invited her to write an essay about the epic commissioning project, Finding Our Voice (artistic director, Genevieve Lacey), that occupied much of our time between 2020 and 2023.

Arts & Parts celebrates and works actively with women and gender non-conforming people in all facets of its operation and output. Across the past few years, we have collaborated across the spectrum of the arts on an array of projects and initiatives that have a basis in music and sound art.

It's been an exhilarating time, and we encourage our readers to do some research on our collaborators with a view to working with them yourself — you’ll not look back if you do!

The list below illustrates the musicians and sound artists, artists from other disciplines, artistic directors, curators and programmers, CEOs and heads of department, producers, organisers, educators, and IP, legal, financial and communications experts, etc, who have lent their expertise to Arts & Parts, or who have been mentored by us.

UK based broadcaster, curator, writer and speaker Fiona Talkington made us very happy when she agreed to write an essay about Finding Our Voice. We have admired Fiona and her work for many years and work with her regularly as a contributor to Punkt Festival in Kristiansand, where she is feted as a driving force behind creative musical partnerships between the UK and Norway.

Composer and multi-instrumentalist John Surman is a key figure in a generation of European musicians who crucially expanded the international horizons of jazz during the last decades of the twentieth century. Long acknowledged for the exquisite lyricism and richly textured sound of his music — and intense, full-bodied improvisation — he is a stalwart of the ECM record label, and the recipient of many accolades, including the golden key from Novara Jazz and the prestigious Ivor Novello Jazz Award.

In 2024 John will turn 80 (30 August) and the celebration starts with the release of his latest album Words Unspoken on ECM (released on 16 February) and continues with live dates of this band throughout the year.

Arts & Parts communications mastermind, Daniela Gerstmann, interviewed John and his collaborators in anticipation of this significant year.