Seeing a copy of The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine might initially recall retro knitting patterns, budget meal planners and quirky birthday cakes. While these elements have remained a staple in the magazine for over 90 years, the AWW has also consistently reported on world affairs, sexual health and international fashion, providing readers with a lifeline to the outside world in pre-digital times.
In an exhibition tracing the impact the AWW has had on the Australian psyche, curator Lauren Ellis has brought together collections of photographs, vintage clothing, memorabilia and personal items from former AWW staff, to shine a light on personal stories and the inner workings of the magazine. Behind-the-scenes photographs from Ita Buttrose’s tenure as editor, and the hand embroidered duffle bag war reporter Dorothy Drain took to Vietnam and Korea, are shown alongside handwritten notebooks and images of iconic AWW covers. Samples of unique Australian couture have also been sourced, including a two-piece Toni Maticevski outfit worn by chef Maggie Beer.
Ellis says an interesting part of curating the exhibition was seeing how the AWW reflected societal shifts across multiple decades, particularly the changing role of women in domestic and public spheres. “The AWW began amid war era austerity in 1933 and went through the post-war period into the 80s and 90s, before being revitalised and managing to survive the intensely changing era of digital media.”
Compact and intimate rather than visually bombastic, the exhibition is a unique view of Australian women through the lens of a magazine that many have viewed as a treasured friend. As Ellis puts it, “The AWW has had everything from the budget meal planner for busy women juggling paid work and unpaid domestic labor, to incredibly joyful glimpses into international couture. The exhibition really demonstrates how the AWW represented women as individuals who straddle multiple roles with strength and resilience.”
The Australian Women’s Weekly: 90 Years of an Australian Icon
Bendigo Art Gallery
On now—27 August
This article was originally published in the July/August 2023 print edition of Art Guide Australia.
Suggested Reading
Laure Prouvost meets the real with the ludicrous
French-born/Belgium-based Laure Prouvost animates her first major Australian survey with her hallmark absurdism. ‘Oui Move In You’ is showing now at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.
Josephine Mead
Archie Moore wins Golden Lion Award
Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist Archie Moore has won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale for his monumental work, kith and kin. It marks the first time Australia has won the award in the event’s 130-year history.
Briony Downes
Talking pageantry with Scotty So
Endlessly inventive, the work of Hong Kong-born, Melbourne-based artist Scotty So spans photography, painting, video work, and drag performance. With a dual exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, So talks about pageantry, begonias and queens.
Amelia Wallin
Serwah Attafuah’s studio brings together Afrofuturism, The Matrix and heavy metal
25-year-old Serwah Attafuah is known for her hyper-luminescent dreamscapes and cybernetic archetypes. In her Sydney studio she discusses the scavenger methods, ancestral rituals, and socio-ecological concerns that scaffold her practice—and why The Matrix helps her understand the world.
Mariam Ella Arcilla
Sue Lovegrove on the humbling immensity of nature
“Sometimes I think of my paintings as a sound score to the pulse of the landscape.” Sue Lovegrove presents 12 new abstract landscape paintings in her latest show at Gallerysmith.
Anita King
Talking with the 24th Biennale of Sydney artistic directors Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero
“It’s a call for the celebration of the multiplicity of perspectives, and the gathering of different viewpoints.” Ahead of the Biennale’s opening this weekend, we talk with long-time collaborators Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero about how this year’s Biennale is one of celebration, not fatalism.