Forgotten women artists of the South West

A nine day exhibition representing forgotten women artists from the South West region will kick off this weekend at the Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany.

The Southern Art and Craft Trail exhibition will represent some of the best artistic talent from across the greater southern region of WA.

Perth art collector Thomas Murrell is the keynote speaker at the exhibition and says the South West region of WA has a generation of forgotten women artists.

“From Safety Bay to Dunsborough through to Nannup and Albany and everywhere in between, you have some of the most dramatic seascapes, landscapes, flora and light in the world and local artists are taking advantage of this,” Mr Murrell said.

“I believe the South Westhas a massive potential for art tourism.

Talented artists, good food and stunning gardens, bring these three elements together and you have a winning combination.

Mr Murrell believes social norms and a male dominated industry has meant women artists have gone missing from private art collections, galleries and art history books.

“A whole generation of talented women artists from regional Western Australia have been forgotten and overlooked,” he said.

“Too late for the art boom of the 1890s and too early for the #knowmyname movement, they remain hidden and unknown.

“This was an era of immense creativity, economic prosperity and social change, yet if you were a women artist based outside of Perth, you were not allowed to be more famous than your husband and any form of self-promotion was seen as in poor taste.”

During the nine days of the Southern Art and Craft Trail Exhibition and sale of works, visitors will be able to chat with artists and explore the unique attractions and artistic talent of the region.

The exhibition runs from November 28 to December 6 at Vancouver Arts Centre.