Designing Women

Overview

The National Gallery of Victoria International is putting a spotlight on female artists with its latest large-scale exhibition. Designing Women will open on level three from September 28, 2018 to March 24, 2019.

The exhibit showcases nearly 40 years of work from 1980–2018 and focuses on the ongoing role of women in contemporary design culture. It will collate the NGV International collection to highlight over 50 pieces that span multi-disciplinary creative fields — including fashion, jewellery, product design, architecture and digital breakthroughs. Works from groundbreaking designers Zaha Hadid and Neri Oxman will be joined by those by local heavy-hitters Elliat Rich and Helen Kontouris. An NGV commission will also be showcased as part of the exhibition — Lee Darroch, a Yorta Yorta, Mutti Mutti, Boon Wurrung artist from Gippsland, has designed a 25-pelt possum skin cloak that depicts the enthralling history of her family and the region.

Accompanying the exhibition is a discussion titled Curator's Perspective: Modern Day Trailblazers, which will take place at 12pm on Sunday, October 14. The talk will be hosted by Simone LeAmon (NGV's curator of contemporary design and architecture) and discuss how the female artists on display have succeeded in this male-dominated industry.

Image: Carlotta de Bevilacqua, Yang Metamorphosis 2000 for Artemide, Italy. Courtesy of the designer.