Beyond the Studio: Advocating for Women’s Visibility, Inclusion and Safety through Public Art
Did you know that the use of artwork in public spaces can make for more welcoming environments, encourage usage, and promote ownership and pride for people in the community?
This has been more than evident through the work of the ‘Women’s Health East Beyond the Studio: Advocating for Women’s Inclusion, Visibility and Safety through Public Art’ project. This project aimed to contribute to work that supports women to feel more visible, included and safer in public spaces.
Through the engagement and contributions of women of the Yarra Ranges community, we are pleased to share with you six superimposed images, that showcase how public spaces, identified by residents of the Yarra Ranges and artwork produced by Yarra Ranges artist, could look and be enhanced if more artwork like this was commissioned.
The photo:
For many years, Marilyn felt this little park situated in a main street of Yarra Junction was not a safe space to sit or even walk past. Although she acknowledged that the Yarra Ranges Council has recently done a ‘make-over’ of this public space by painting its walls and planting more greenery, she felt that the addition of female-commissioned artwork would make this space an even more inviting place for all Yarra Ranges community members, and help increase the amount of people using this space, as well as making it more welcoming and safe.
The artist:
Lucy, a Healesville painter, shares three generations of women through her artwork: her mother, herself, and her baby daughter. Lucy describes the ease of painting her daughter as the sky and trees reflected off her face that day. She shared her struggles in painting both herself and her mother’s portrait and said that she stayed up all night trying to mirror the reflection she saw of herself. Lucy writes; “But I like it. My husband calls it ‘The Warrior’. He thinks it shows the survivor in me”. Lucy believes it’s projects like this that keep important conversations going around the importance of more visibility needed for women artists and how “this is our space too”.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those that contributed to the creation of this image:
Photograph taken by: Marilyn Hogben
Artwork by: Lucy Hawkins
Artwork photographer: Suzanne Phoenix
Superimposed image designer: Jennifer Trott
The photo:
Claudia describes the Mt Evelyn Recreation Reservation as a place for everyone – young, old, families, dog walkers, bush walkers, bike riders and explorers alike. It’s a place where people can begin an adventure or they can let the bush surround and hug them. Public art pieces provide us with a different perspective; of a place, a moment or a feeling – and if we’re lucky, we can discover something new.
The artist:
Sarah’s pieces were created in response to the year 2020. They reference the bushfires that cast a shadow over the year to follow. Her pieces are cast in bronze and then blackened. “They appear just like seed pods that may have endured a fire”, she says. Sarah shares that despite the adversity faced during the bushfires, seed pods such as these only open in that type of extreme heat. These seed pods represent resilience and allow for new beginnings. She shared the struggles of having the confidence of identifying as an artist, how it feels like it’s harder to prove yourself in the art world being female, and suspects that sometimes it is harder for women to find their place in the industry than men. Sarah believes women should feel safe in public spaces and believes art has a role to play in achieving this.
We deeply valued working with such talented community members who share common goals to Women’s Health East. We’re so thrilled to be able to centre the voices of these women through this project and showcase the achievement and talents of women in the Yarra Ranges community.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those that contributed to the creation of this image:
Photograph taken by: Claudia Jongsma
Artwork by: Sarah Stewart
Artwork photographer: Suzanne Phoenix
Superimposed image designer: Jennifer Trott
The photo:
Zoe sent in a photograph of the riverbank walking trail in her local town of Warburton. She told us how the community of Warburton is so creative and how this could be harnessed. Zoe shares how the riverbanks of Warburton would be a wonderful place to see more art produced by local artists – something both locals and visitors would enjoy seeing.
The artist:
Shlomit is a Yarra Ranges wood sculptor. She shared that no one tells you when you’re growing up that you could be a sculptor, and how she is often overlooked when going into Bunnings to collect material for her work. With her work, Shlomit would love to bring nature back to the playgrounds and public spaces, and that busy streets, cars, asphalt and concrete will benefit from added natural materials like timber that is tactile and has a warm essence, creating a calm and inviting atmosphere. Shlomit enjoys showing young school children her art and workshop and can serve as a role model for young girls and boys that may want to become artists one day.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those that contributed to the creation of this image:
Photograph taken by: Zoe Smith
Artwork by: Shlomit Moria
Artwork photographer: Suzanne Phoenix
Superimposed image designer: Jennifer Trott
The photo:
Simone is no stranger to walking past this spot in Yarra Junction. This wall can be seen from the corner of Warburton Highway and Little Yarra Road. She explained that this space receives a lot of traffic as it’s positioned near the local supermarket, numerous schools and businesses. Simone believes covering up the graffiti that is currently on this wall and replacing it with artwork would provide a reset and relief for people after a “hectic” day.
The artist:
Suzanne is a Warburton based photographer and artist, and told us about how the photos of these Frenchies were captured in Yarra Junction, just meters of where they are now being used in this concept image. She describes the moment and the photographs created are full of joy and bring smiles to so many people’s faces. Suzanne feels strongly about public art needing to be a part of every budget for new buildings and public spaces, and equally within budgets of the different levels of government to create spaces that are dynamic, thought provoking, safe and crime preventing. Suzanne writes, “we have a lot of making up to do in Australia to get near equal representation of women artists creating and in public art.”
We would like to acknowledge and thank those that contributed to the creation of this image:
Photograph taken by: Simone Whitehead
Artwork by: Suzanne Phoenix
Artwork photographer: Suzanne Phoenix
Superimposed image designer: Jennifer Trott
The photo:
Kim shared with us an image of the Dolly Grey Park boardwalk in Warburton. She describes how this is a place for everyone to enjoy, as well as how accessible it is for women who use a wheelchair, and how you can imagine this boardwalk is a ‘runway’, how you can hear your steps, as you walk, run, jump or skip along it – and it makes her feel happy. Kim can envision walking past beautiful artwork along the boardwalk on the way to the picnic area, a guided journey to a special, tranquil place in nature for a picnic, or just to relax.
The artist:
Sioux describes herself as someone that has always been an artist. This was evident when visiting her magnificent artwork that is her home, situated in the hills of Warburton. She shares how art should be everywhere, how art brings people together and brings a significant energy to wherever it’s placed. Sioux explained her thoughts around the need for more community art and how community members have to be part of the conversations and delivery of whenever public art is commissioned. This would allow for community members to feel proud and have ownership over these pieces and places they live in.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those that contributed to the creation of this image:
Photograph taken by: Kim Linssen
Artwork by: Sioux Dollman
Artwork photographer: Suzanne Phoenix
Superimposed image designer: Jennifer Trott
The photo:
Lindy shares a photograph of the regularly walked Story Lane in her town of Warburton, and describes this space as ‘blank’. She imagines how this laneway would make an amazing permanent outdoor gallery space.
The artist:
Chelsea is a Mt Evelyn based artist who describes her art as a way of connecting people with nature, themselves and always finds the hidden details in things that sometimes get overlooked. Chelsea shares how she gets to spread positivity through each piece she makes, and mentions how she has had so many messages about the confidence her pieces have given people. It’s little pieces of herself she gets to share with the world and pass on something unique and beautiful as a reminder that the person receiving her pieces are also beautiful and unique. Chelsea says that this is why it’s such a vital part of life to be exposed to art daily, to be a part of a community that promotes women artists and showcases pieces of our souls for the world to see. Every woman can walk by feeling empowered, safe and encouraged.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those that contributed to the creation of this image:
Photograph taken by: Lindy Schneider
Artwork by: Chelsea Gallop
Artwork photographer: Suzanne Phoenix
Superimposed image designer: Jennifer Trott
Women’s Health East would like to acknowledge and thank all women that contributed to the Beyond the Studio project. We are proud of the collaborative and community focused work this project brought. A special thank you to the project’s photographer, Suzanne Phoenix and project’s graphic designer, Jennifer Trott for going above and beyond for this project.
We would love your feedback around these images, please leave your thoughts and comments by following this survey link. If you would like to learn more about women and public spaces read our ‘Creating Safe and Inclusive Public Spaces for Women‘ report.
For any questions or queries about the ‘Beyond the Studio: Advocating for Women’s Inclusion, Visibility, and Safety through Public Art’ project, please get in contact with Georgina Nix at: gnix@whe.org.au
This project was proudly funded by Yarra Ranges Council.
