Salon After D'Arc: How Memory Makes Meaning

Salon After D’Arc returns in 2026 with 4 thought-provoking evenings exploring the forces that shape how we love and remember.

Join host Jamila Rizvi (Deputy Managing Director of Future Women) for our final event in the series, How Memory Makes Meaning, as we explore the ways in which we remember and how memories are constructed.

Drawing on her own research and professional experience, Professor Yen Ying Lim will kick off the evening, delving into how memory is formed, stored and recalled, and what contemporary medical and scientific research can tell us about memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.

Discover how scent is deeply tied to memory and can connect you with old memories and help you create new ones through a guided smell tour of the Dome led by Erin Adams, founder of Smell Art. Erin will then share how an awareness of our sense of smell can improve our lives (and our memories).

In conversation with writer Astrid Edwards, Jamila will share her personal journey of how she navigated a brain tumor diagnosis.

The Salon After D'Arc series is generously supported by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust. It is an opportunity to delve deeper into interesting topics, make connections in the beautiful surrounds of the Library and view rare books acquired through the Women Writers Fund initiative.

Presented in State Library Victoria’s 170th year, Salon After D’Arc invites audiences to consider not only the stories we inherit, but those still being written, and whose voices are finally being brought to the forefront.

Plus, don’t miss out on a special collection viewing from 6.30pm.

Book your tickets now.

Please note: This event is for people aged 18 and over and may contain adult themes. Please check nearer to the event for content advisory.

By registering to attend or purchasing a ticket to a State Library Victoria event, you agree to our Conditions of Entry.

You can read accessibility information about the Library here.

Views expressed by the speakers do not necessarily represent the views of the State Library Victoria.