UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Perspectives on art and feminism UNFINISHED BUSINESS Perspectives on art and feminism 15 December 2017 – 25 March 2018 Curators: Paola Balla Max Delany Julie Ewington Annika Kristensen Vikki McInnes Elvis Richardson ARTISTS Alex Martinis Roe Megan McMurchy Another Planet Posters Inc. Spence Messih Tracey Moffatt Atong Atem Ann Newmarch Margot Nash Cigdem Aydemir Claudia Nicholson Nat and Ali Ali Gumillya Baker Ruth O’Leary Margot Oliver Archie Barry Frances (Budden) Phoenix Monica Pellizzari Vivienne Binns Elizabeth Pulie Patricia Piccinini Hannah Brontë Clare Rae Jacinta Schreuder Janet Burchill Hannah Raisin Soda Jerk and Jennifer McCamley Tai Snaith Jeni Thornley Madison Bycroft Giselle Stanborough Sarah Watt Sadie Chandler Desiree Tahiri Jackie Wolf aka Jackie Farkas Kate Daw Sophie Takách Linda Dement Salote Tawale PERFORMANCE PROGRAM Narelle Desmond Nat Thomas Frances Barrett Kelly Doley The Cross Art Projects Barbara Campbell Mikala Dwyer Lyndal Walker Hannah Donnelly Mary Featherston Shevaun Wright Embittered Swish and Emily Floyd Lyndal Jones Fiona Foley FILM PROGRAM Técha Noble FRAN FEST Poster Project Hayley Arjona Linda Sproul Virginia Fraser Gillian Armstrong and Elvis Richardson Art Theory Productions Sarah Goffman Barbara Campbell Elizabeth Gower Barbara Cleveland Natalie Harkin Essie Coffey Sandra Hill Megan Cope Hissy Fit Emma-Kate Croghan Jillposters Destiny Deacon Kate Just and Virginia Fraser Maria Kozic Sue Dodd LEVEL Helen Grace Eugenia Lim Deborah Kelly Lip Collective The Kingpins Linda Marrinon Samantha Lang CONTENTS 6 PARTNER’S PREFACE 68 CYBERFEMINIST 132 FILM PROGRAM Carol Schwartz AM BEDSHEET Linda Dement 136 PERFORMANCE 8 FOREWORD PROGRAM Linda Mickleborough 78 HISTORY IS A SOFT CLAY 138 LIST OF WORKS 12 UNFINISHED BUSINESS MEDIUM: EUGENIA Max Delany LIM AND SALOTE 144 CONTRIBUTORS TAWALE 22 UNFINISHED Laura Castagnini 145 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FEMINISM, UNCEASING ACTIVISM: 90 WOMEN WITH US AUSTRALIAN ART Ellen van Neerven OVER FIVE DECADES Julie Ewington 98 GENDER EQUITY AND THE CLASSROOM: 30 THANK YOU THE FITZROY HIGH Annika Kristensen SCHOOL FEMINIST COLLECTIVE 38 I CAN’T BELIEVE I STILL Nat Thomas HAVE TO PROTEST THIS FUCKING SHIT 108 ON ART, THE Vikki McInnes PREDATOR, AND THE GRAVEYARD OF 46 BLAK FEMALE MODERN CELEBRITY FUTURISMS AND YTE GARDENING FEMINISM WAVES Van Badham Paola Balla 120 FEMINISM AND ART: 56 WHEN ART MEETS NOT DONE YET FEMINISM Jude Adams Elvis Richardson PARTNER’S PREFACE The Trawalla Foundation is a proud partner of ACCA’s exhibition Unfinished Business: Perspectives on art and feminism. Art is a reflection of our culture and values, expressing how we regard the issues of our time. The title ‘Unfinished Business’ aptly highlights our current situation – where Australian women still experience a gender pay gap of over 15%,1 there are only 25% of women on ASX 200 boards,2 and women are 75% of art school graduates but only 34% of artists exhibited in our state museums and galleries.3 This exhibition provides an important and timely opportunity to explore and debate the progress of Australian women through the lens of feminist art. A Trawalla Foundation priority is to invest in organisations that challenge the gender imbalance and strengthen the representation of women – including in politics, business, media and the arts. We have catalysed programs such as ‘Pathways to Politics’ for Australian women (in partnership with the University of Melbourne), funded innovative gender research by Professor Cordelia Fine, and founded organisations such as the Women’s Leadership Institute. Importantly, we also support and celebrate women artists, writers and producers through initiatives such as the Stella Prize and She-Doc. We are delighted to be partners in this thought- provoking exhibition, and congratulate Max Delany and the ACCA team for their innovation and impact. Carol Schwartz AM Chair, Trawalla Foundation 1 https://www.wgea.gov.au/addressing-pay-equity/what-gender- pay-gap 2 http://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/advocacy/board-diversity/ statistics 3 http://countesses.blogspot.com.au/ Linda Marrinon What I must bear 1982 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 172.0 x 203.0 cm Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art 8 University of Western Australia 9 ACCA is proud to present Unfinished We also extend heartfelt thanks to Margaret contribution will add nuance and perspective, FOREWORD Business: Perspectives on art and feminism, Morgan and Wesley Phoa, Lead Donors to the extending the relevance of the exhibition to Linda Mickleborough a major exhibition illuminating a critical exhibition. We appreciative their significant a great diversity of people and enhancing its period in recent contemporary art practice. ongoing support of ACCA’s programs, and their impact over time. Continuing ACCA’s ongoing series of Big enthusiastic response to the feminist contentions Picture exhibitions focussing on contemporary of the exhibition. From a personal perspective, this exhibition, with art’s relationship to wider social, cultural and its trans-generational, multi-voiced, community political contexts, Unfinished Business presents We are honoured to have received the support from connected, feminist approach is deeply resonant. an exciting and timely opportunity to reflect the Victorian Government’s Office of Prevention & As a young woman my first role in the arts on the many achievements of feminism and Women’s Equality, and we thank Natalie Hutchins was at the Community Arts Board (CAB) of the the challenges that remain. The exhibition is MP, Minister for Women, for her commitment and Australia Council. This was at the time of Vivienne accompanied by an ambitious series of artist support of public and professional development Binns’ ground-breaking feminist, community talks, performances, symposia, education programs. ACCA would also like to acknowledge project Mothers’ memories others’ memories programs, film screenings and discussions, the work of Fiona Richardson MP, and note the 1980. I got to know Viv through the Director making space for a great diversity of voices. sadness of her passing during the planning stages of the CAB, Andrea Hull, who had become a of the exhibition. mentor and a friend. It was exciting for me, as a How could an exhibition such as this be anything young self-identified feminist firebrand, to have but collaboratively conceived and made? ACCA Our other significant partners include the this connection to Mothers’ memories others’ is delighted to be working with an extraordinary University of Melbourne, who have contributed to memories, a work that reframed women’s creative number of outstanding artists, partners the depth of the public programs that will unfold practice within a feminist, social and political and collaborators to realise this ambitious across the exhibition; SHEILA: a foundation for context. A couple of years later my close friend undertaking. We would like to extend our sincere women in the visual arts, with whom we are Jen Saunders, then also in her early twenties, thanks and appreciation to the artists, our pleased to present a series of public symposiums, worked with Viv to create the archive for Mothers’ collaborators, partners, donors and staff. and the inaugural SHEILA lecture; and our memories others’ memories, putting slides Exhibition Partners Dulux and Jackson Clements between plates of glass and labelling the images. Unfinished Business has been developed by a Burrows Architects. And we are also pleased to Then, only a few months ago, my daughter (now curatorial team that includes Paola Balla, Julie present the exhibition in dialogue with a parallel in her early twenties) called to ask if I knew of the Ewington, Vikki McInnes and Elvis Richardson, program of residencies and performances, Doing artist Vivienne Binns, as she had been engaged by working in collaboration with ACCA’s Artistic Feminism: Sharing the World, led by Professor Viv to digitise images from the Mothers’ memories Director and CEO Max Delany and Senior Curator Anne Marsh, which culminates in February 2018 archive. To witness another young woman engage Annika Kristensen. The exhibition features the with a major conference and symposium. with the legacy of this work, decades after its critical, inspiring work of over seventy artists, inspirational effect on me, has been deeply film-makers and collaborators, to whom we are Artist Emily Floyd and design legend Mary moving. I anticipate that there will be many especially grateful. Featherston have been commissioned to create works from the extraordinary range of artists and a ‘round table’ that serves both as a central practices in Unfinished Business that will inspire We are also grateful to the writers who have sculptural presence and gathering space for across generations in different ways. contributed insightful essays to this publication, conversation, discussion and debate at the heart and to the curators of the film program, Helen of the exhibition. As well as being a place for Asking why feminism is still relevant, necessary Grace, Femflix (Dr Jacqueline Millner, Jane curated events, the round table will welcome and critical today, Unfinished Business embodies Schneider and Deborah Szapiro), Kym Maxwell artists and community members throughout feminist methodologies and explores trans- and Laura Castagnini. Additionally, we thank the the course of Unfinished Business, generously generational legacies through the work of many artists, academics, historians, feminists, supported by Lou and Will McIntyre.