Darebin's Molly Hadfield Social Justice Oration is back in Preston, and this year it's getting musical.
Now in its 12th year, the Molly Hadfield Social Justice Oration returns to Preston with a big theme: music, resistance and gender.
Darebin Arts is bringing together three formidable voices from Australia’s music industry for what promises to be a cracking evening of ideas, discussion and performance.
Established in 2013 to honour the legacy of community stalwart Molly Hadfield OAM, the Molly Hadfield Social Justice Oration has become a cornerstone of Darebin’s cultural calendar. This year’s edition digs into the intersections of social justice, music and gender, territory that feels more urgent than ever.
Holding it all together as MC is artist, writer and curator Zena Zada Cumpston, a Barkandji woman with Afghan, English and Irish heritage who appeared as a speaker at last year’s oration. She’s also a member of the Birrarung Council, a widely published writer, and recipient of the 2026 Bandalang Artist Residency at ANU.
Molly Hadfield Social Justice Oration 2026 – Preston
- Wednesday, 1 April, 6:30pm–8:30pm
- Darebin Arts Centre, 401 Bell Street, Preston
- Free entry, bookings essential
- All ages, wheelchair accessible, Auslan interpreted
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On the orator lineup: Candice Lorrae, Janelle Johnstone and Marita Dyson, three women with between them an extraordinary spread of experience across music production, academia, activism and multidisciplinary art. Candice Lorrae is an award-winning First Nations music producer with Jawoyn and Torres Strait Islander roots and 25 years in the industry under her belt.
Known nationally as one half of Aboriginal electronic pop duo The Merindas, she’s now working on her debut solo album, a personal body of work tracing her lineage as the second great-granddaughter of Bett Bett, the Jawoyn woman documented in We of the Never Never and The Little Black Princess.
She’s also the founder of The Candy Suite, an independent studio dedicated to supporting First Nations women in music production, work that earned her the 2025 First Nations Creative Fellowship Award from Creative Australia.
Janelle Johnstone brings three decades of experience collaging arts and social justice work, from the Punters Club and The Tote to Big Day Out, community broadcasting, and family violence intervention.
She’s currently Associate Lecturer in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies at La Trobe University, and recently submitted her PhD Sonic a Gender, an interdisciplinary project exploring gender and resistance in DIY music spaces using feminist and decolonial methodologies. You might also know her voice from ABC 774 Melbourne, Triple R or PBS FM.
Rounding out the lineup is Marita Dyson, multidisciplinary artist and one half of The Orbweavers alongside Stuart Flanagan. Born on Naarm and working on unceded Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, Marita’s practice spans songwriting, performance and visual art, and is deeply engaged with the histories and ongoing impacts of colonisation and industrialisation on local waterways and ecosystems.
Her work has been shown at the National Gallery of Victoria, State Library of Victoria, Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum, among others.
Molly Hadfield OAM herself was a tireless activist across public housing, seniors’ rights, women’s rights, public education, community health and peace, a woman whose entire working life was anchored in a deep commitment to social justice.
She received her Order of Australia Medal in 2006 and was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women that same year for her advocacy for women’s rights and senior Victorians. This oration is a worthy continuation of that legacy.
Best of all, it’s free, though you’ll need to book your spot. All ages are welcome, the venue is wheelchair accessible, and the event will be Auslan interpreted.
For more information, head here.
