Women’s art celebrated

WITH International Women’s Day being celebrated last Friday, the brilliant work of local female artists is on public display at two locations in the Shire.

The two ‘MAPP Up in Lights’ outdoor galleries at A.A. McLean Reserve in Ballan and the Village Green in Bacchus Marsh have a total of 14 spaces for art.

Curated by Moorabool Shire Council’s Arts and Culture team, these spaces are currently displaying works relating to this year’s International Women’s Day theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’.

Two of the artists who’ve contributed works, Jane Gardner and Amelia Travers, spoke with the Moorabool News on what the display, and the works they’ve created for it, mean to them.

“Mine’s a nature one, I only do nature work. Mine’s called ‘Planting the Seed’, it’s more a reference to womanhood and nurturing children,” Ms Gardner said.

“The seed pods encase the seed and grow it, it’s a feminine thing I think.”

“My piece doesn’t have a title at the moment, but the gold shape is the border of Moorabool Shire, so I went quite literally with how it’s connected to Moorabool,” Ms Travers said.

“Each of the silhouettes of people represent different forms of diversity women can share, with the different woods potentially representing different skin colours. Some of the silhouettes include transgender women, deaf women, blind women, et cetera.”

More broadly, the artists agreed, is that “this is what International Women’s Day is all about” – empowering women and amplifying their expressions and voices.

“I think it’s fabulous to have art out on the street, whatever the shape and form. And I love that Council is doing something for International Women’s Day,” Ms Gardner said.

“Awareness around anything regarding women’s rights, women’s issues and diversity is crucial.”

“It feels proud. I think this is what International Women’s Day should be, a space for women’s voices about problems that affect us all,” Ms Travers said.

“This is exactly what it should be, it’s awesome.”

The installation of the artworks for International Women’s Day followed a competitive Expression of Interest process, which closed on Sunday 25 February.

The pieces will remain on display until mid-April, with around ten local artists’ work on show.