Pioneering women take centrestage

CLARICE Beckett, Vida Goldstein, Agnes Goodsir, Bridget Ledwith and Mary Mackillop are all women who contributed significantly to Australia’s history. They all have a strong connection to Glenelg Shire.

Some of that history, and that of many other women, is captured in the Glenelg Shire Cultural Collection. And now the exhibition in the equally-historic History House in Portland will be redeveloped to tell the stories of women and children from this region.

But it won’t just be Cultural Collection items in the new exhibition. For starters, the Casterton and District Historical Society has kindly agreed to lend several artefacts from its collection relating to the theme.

Glenelg Shire Council is also commissioning an artwork inspired by the stories of pioneering women which will be acquired into the Cultural Collection.

Collections Management Coordinator Agostina Hawkins said the aim of the new exhibition was to attract more visitors, particularly from within the Shire.

“History House currently attracts about 750 visitors a year, mostly from outside the Shire,” she said.

“We believe this new exhibition will be a hit, and we’re also going to include a schools’ program along with the redevelopment so more local students will have a chance to learn about local history.

“We are also looking for an artist who can connect our visitors to the stories from the Shire and to the objects in the collection through a new piece of art.

“We would like the artist to create an artwork which is inspired by the stories of pioneer women.

“The artwork is intended to be the result of the artist’s own ideas, research and learning, together with their personal response to objects and artworks currently in the collection and/or stories of significant women from the Shire.

“We would like the artwork to explore hidden stories, the overlooked stories of women and their lives and, through this, engage new audiences as well as responding to heritage and stories through a contemporary artwork.

“We will endeavour to support the artist in whatever way they can – access to the collection, research and reaching out to local history groups, for example. If there are any specific installation needs, these should be included in the budget. “The artwork will be acquired into the Glenelg Shire Cultural Collection and can be any medium – clay, fabric, paper, paint, digital etc.”

Any interested artist should submit an expression of interest, including their CV, images and examples of any previous work and a short (500-word maximum) brief highlighting their experience, creative practice and motivation for applying via email to [email protected]. A brief for potential artists is available at https://www.glenelg.vic.gov.au/Discover-Our-Shire/Arts-and-Culture/Cultural-Collection.

Submissions close Friday, 14 March 2025, and it is expected the successful artist will be selected by 28 March. Those submissions with a budget of up to $10,000 (including GST) will be considered.