Australian women artists take their place on the NGA stage

Posted on 7 November, 2020

Bringing together some 400 works by more than 170 Australian women artists, a new exhibition showcases the significant contribution they’ve made to the country’s cultural life.

Know My Name: Australian Women artists 1900 to Now is a flagship exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) to showcase and increase the visibility of art made by women.

The issue of the representation of women in Australia’s artistic life will also be more forensically examined in a virtual conference hosted by the NGA, Know My Name: Women and Art in the 21st Century, which will bring together established and emerging artists, curators and academics from across the world to share new research, insights and creative practice and to discuss women and gender equity in the arts.

Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now will now bring together nearly 400 works of art including new commissions, performances and works drawn from the national collection, as well as collections from across Australia.

NGA Assistant Director, Curatorial and Exhibitions, Natasha Bullock said the exhibition would tell a new story of Australian art.

“We are turning up the volume on the many previously unheard voices in Australian art—and we urge the community and other institutions to join us on this journey to equity in our programming and collection development,” she says.

Emily Kam Kngwarray (Anmatyerr people), Ntange Dreaming 1989, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 1989. © Emily Kam Kngwarray/Copyright Agency.

Opening on Friday 13 November, the exhibition will feature both lesser-known and leading artists such as Destiny Deacon, Marie Hagerty, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Margaret Preston, Julie Rrap and Margaret Worth.

The exhibition is curated by Deborah Hart, Head of Australian Art, and Elspeth Pitt, Curator Australian Paintings and Sculpture (20th, 21st Centuries), along with contributions from Kelli Cole, Curator, Special Projects, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, and Rebecca Edwards, Curator, Sid and Fiona Myer Curator of Ceramics and Design.

Highlights from the exhibition include a commission by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers; the work of pioneering performance artists Bonita Ely and Jill Orr; a complete edition of Tracey Moffatt’s key series of photographs, Something more; a major collaborative painting by the Ken Family Collaborative; an installation by Justene Williams; and a commission by Jo Lloyd, supported by Phillip Keir and Sarah Benjamin.

“This exhibition aspires to make the art of women better known in the wider community, and to counter the dominance of historical displays emphasising men,” says Ms Hart.

“Given the number of significant women artists past and present, this exhibition can only be partial; it is not an endpoint or separate from other endeavours, rather it is part of a continuum and an ongoing reassessment.”

Dorrit Black. The wool quilt makers. 1940 or 1941, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Purchased 1982.

The conference will bring together established and emerging artists, curators and academics from across the world to share new research, insights and creative practice and to discuss women and gender equity in the arts.

The three-day conference, opening on Wednesday 11 November, has been developed in collaboration with the Australia Council for the Arts, Australian National University School of Art & Design, University of Melbourne, and UNSW Art & Design.

The exhibition will also be accompanied by a major publication, Know My Name, delving into the histories and inspirations of a cross-section of Australian women artists, including many featured in the National Gallery of Australia show.

A number of commissions for the exhibition will also be acquired for the national collection.

Tracey Moffat. Something more #1 1989, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1989. Courtesy of Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.

Feature image: Tracey Moffat. Something more #1 1989, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1989. Courtesy of Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney.