Rod Oram: Between Here and There

Published: June 25, 2020, 5 p.m.

Business journalist Rod Oram was our Sir Graham Douglas Orator for 2017, and shook off all preconceptions of what he might do by delivering what Metro magazine described as an \u201cimpassioned performance\u201d as part of the \u201copening night of the year\u201d.

This piece is highly poetic and jumps backwards and forwards in time, with extensive quotes from diverse characters from the history of T\u0101maki Makaurau. Alongside Rod\u2019s words, the performance includes a soundscape by Rod\u2019s daughter Celeste Oram.

Rod draws on the ideas explored in his book Three Cities: Seeking Hope in the Anthropocene for this piece. In that book he looks at the fundamental changes required in politics, economics and technology in order to sustain the human population in its current habitat: planet Earth.

Rod Oram has over 40 years\u2019 experience as an international business journalist. He has worked for various publications in Europe and North America, including the Financial Times of London. He is a frequent public speaker on business, economics, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Celeste Oram is a composer whose work explores new media and strategies for composition and annotation. Her work has been performed, recorded and broadcast in Aotearoa, Australia, America and Europe.