Power 50 - #44: Helen Marcou AM

BACKGROUND CHECK

Helen Marcou and her partner Quincy McLean founded Bakehouse Studios in 1991. The pair then formed Save Live Australia's Music (SLAM) in 2010, galvanising 20,000 to march and protest their right to experience and participate in live music. In 2015, Marcou was instrumental in the formation of the Victorian Government’s Sexual Assault And Harassment of Women In Licensed Venues Taskforce. 

THE YEAR THAT WAS

A curator, producer, speaker and agitator, Marcou's 2018 achievements are too numerous to list here. She gave keynote addresses all over the country and internationally, including the Canadian Music Week (CMW) Music Cities Summit opening keynote and WAMCon keynote. Marcou was also invited to speak and participate in the music policy think tank in Fort Collins, Colorado. As well as working to establish a racism roundtable to address racial profiling in music venues, Marcou also founded the International Women's Day First Nations Emerging Artist Award, which was awarded to Alice Skye in 2018. Marcou is an ambassador for the Victorian Honour Roll Of Women, curated MPavilion's secret rehearsal series and also recently received an Order Of Australia alongside McLean.

2018'S CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT?

"I believe my biggest achievement in 2018 was advocating for an equitable, inclusive, safe and respectful music industry. Some of my work this year included developing a series of ‘hypotheticals', facilitated by Julian Burnside QC, hosting panels on consent and safety, and introducing songwriters and their stories into the Melbourne Writers Festival."