This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source: Haynes, Rachael& Pedersen, Courtney (2019) Doing feminism and communities of practice in Australian art. Social Alternatives, 38(1), pp. 15-20. This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/130591/ c 2019 Social Alternatives This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu- ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recog- nise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to [email protected] Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record (i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub- mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) can be identified by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear- ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source. https:// search.informit.com.au/ documentSummary;dn= 340038797307478;res=IELLCC Doing Feminism and Communities of Practice in Australian Art • Dr Rachael Haynes (QUT) • Dr Courtney Pedersen (QUT) Dr Rachael Haynes is a contemporary artist and academic currently based in Brisbane, Australia. Rachael is a Lecturer in Visual Arts, in the Creative Industries Faculty at QUT, where she teaches in the Open Studio program. Her research investigates feminist ethics, archives and activism by examining the social and personal constructs of language and gender. Rachael completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Visual Arts (2009) with the support of an Australian Postgraduate Award for research at QUT. Rachael has been actively involved with independent and artist-run activity since 2010 and has served on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Modern Art (IMA), was a founding member of the feminist collective LEVEL (2010-2018) and the Gallery Director of Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space (2012-2018). Dr Courtney Pedersen is Academic Program Director for the School of Creative Practice and a Senior Lecturer in Art History/Theory at Queensland University of Technology. She was previously the Head of Visual Arts at the same institution. She has been a practising artist for over twenty-five years, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography at the Victorian College of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria, the Museum of Brisbane and in numerous Artist-Run Initiatives. Her research practice is expressed through both traditional and creative practice research outcomes and interests include: practice-led research in the visual arts; feminist art practice and related methodologies; feminist pedagogy; Australian art and culture; art and public space; and genealogy as method and practice in the visual arts. Courtney’s research is often collaborative, as reflected by both co-authored articles and co-created creative works, in particular with the feminist art collective, LEVEL (2013-18). 1 Doing Feminism and Communities of Practice in Australian Art Dr Rachael Haynes & Dr Courtney Pedersen Abstract The powerful relationship between feminism and socially engaged art practice is demonstrated by a recent resurgence of this creative activity and its championing by art institutions and universities. However, the history of feminist community art projects in Australia and their relevance to contemporary practice is rarely underscored. This practitioner reflection draws on the authors’ recent experiences participating in a residency program at Norma Redpath House in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the project Doing Feminism – Sharing the World, curated by Anne Marsh. This involvement, as part of the feminist collective LEVEL, included staging a participatory artwork in the form of a picnic and guided discussion in a public park. By reflecting upon and analysing the dialogic and collective methods utilised in socially- engaged practice research, this article proposes future frameworks for collaboration. It considers the current potential of consciousness-raising strategies and how participatory art methods open up possibilities for future feminist activism. Key Words feminist art socially-engaged practice practice-led research consciousness-raising collaboration 2 Introduction A recent resurgence of socially engaged art in Australia is demonstrated through its championing by academic and art institutions in recent thematic exhibitions and events. For example, the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) 2018 Conference eschewed the more rigidly art historical focus of its previous incarnations in favour of the theme, ‘Aesthetics, Politics and Histories: The Social Context of Art’. However, the history of feminist community art projects in Australia and their relevance to contemporary practice is rarely underscored. Marnie Badham argues that community art practice is informed by a shared principles and ethics, and less likely to consider its own historical context (2010: 86). It is imperative, however, that the genealogy of feminist art practice, including its significance for community-based, socially-engaged, participatory, relational or dialogic art, is acknowledged and discussed. As Anne Marsh observes, many feminist artists working in the 1970s sought to ‘bridge the gap between art and life, to make art more meaningful in communities and to create work that had a broader resonance across different sectors of society’ (2017: 16). Important precursors in this regard include Vivienne Binns’ participatory community art project, Mothers’ Memories/ Other’s Memories (1979-81) and Anne Graham’s community-focused events. This practitioner reflection draws on our recent experiences participating in a residency program at Norma Redpath House in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the project Doing Feminism – Sharing the World, curated by Anne Marsh. Doing Feminism was a twelve week residency program at Norma Redpath House, an artist house and studio bequeathed to the University of Melbourne. The residency program was focused on feminist art making and participatory practice, and involved collaborative groups from across Australia including Nat Thomas and Fitzroy High School Feminist Collective, Open Circle, Favour Economy, LEVEL, Sisters Akousmatica, Sleepover Club, Snapcat, Sunday School, Art/Mums Collective, Feminist Colour-IN, and Arts Project Australia. The projects emerging from this residency included discussions, forums, workshops, roundtables, interviews, recordings, performances, 3 actions, podcasts and meals. The curatorial provocation of Doing Feminism was investigating ways of ‘sharing the world,’ through the lens of feminist ethics (doingfeminism- sharingtheworld.tumblr.com). Our involvement, as two members of the feminist collective LEVEL, included staging a participatory artwork in the form of a picnic and guided discussion in a public park, We need to talk - Sharing the World. We need to talk (2013-2018) was a series of participatory art events devised and presented by LEVEL, in order to consider the personal and activate the political through the sharing of food and ideas. The members of LEVEL (2010-2018) also included artists Courtney Coombs, Caitlin Franzmann, Anita Holtsclaw and Alice Lang. These events were staged in public spaces in order to highlight the importance for feminist discussion to move from the private realm and into forms of activism; and to facilitate opening up the events to larger numbers and more diverse participants. Each iteration of the project was context-specific, and responded to: collective imaginings of a fairer world – We need to talk - I want a world… (2013, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney); and collective actions to bring about change – We need to talk - Recipe for a Revolution (2014, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane). In this recent iteration of We need to talk, LEVEL responded to the provocation of ‘Sharing the World’ as part of the residency program at Norma Redpath House. The event was publicised via social media and we gathered together with friends and strangers in nearby Carlton Gardens, Melbourne, to discuss feminist ways of sharing the world. Participants were asked to note down aspects of the conversation that resonated with them. Afterwards, we collated these observations to form the foundation of a manifesto for collective activity and ways of being in the world together. These collaborative strategies included: investing in small gestures and exchanges of caring and sharing; relishing the joys of working together; embracing slowness; reclaiming time to be together; valuing intergenerational relationships, and learning to be comfortable with discomfort! 4 Creative practice-led research provides a powerful tool to critically engage with participatory methods in both art-making and academic research. By reflecting upon and analysing the dialogic and collective methods utilised in socially-engaged practice, and by investigating their relationship to genealogical pathways of feminist practice, this article proposes future frameworks for collaboration. It considers the potential of contemporary consciousness-raising strategies and how participatory