Cirrus@Austlit

'Nora Heysen wasn’t the only talented artist in the family. As a young woman, her painting was extraordinary, but she could never get out from the shadow of her dad. She took her talents to London to carve her own identity, but male teachers and critics told her that her work wasn’t very good.

'It was.

'Back in Australia, Nora was the first woman to win Australia’s biggest portrait prize, the Archibald.  She was also the first woman to be sent to war as a war artist.  She documented many women at war, and in the last years of her life, was finally recognized as one of the finest portrait painters Australia has ever seen.'  (Production summary)

'As a child, Mirka Mora narrowly escaped being sent to a death camp just for being Jewish. The faces of the people she left behind would haunt her forever.  

'Mirka migrated to Australia seeking freedom. She was a survivor, and despite the terrible things she had seen, she was determined to celebrate life. She made sure everyone around her was celebrating too.  

'She opened restaurants and cafes, attracting famous poets and artists from around the world. Her enchanting personality was magnetic, and she became one of the city’s most prolific and beloved cultural icons.  

'Mirka created art on every surface imaginable. She made mosaics and soft dolls, painted massive murals, and embroidered beautiful things.  Her art was just like her – full of joy, hope, and magic.'  (Production summary)  

'Yukultji Napangati grew up with no contact with the outside world. Just her and her family, living on a shimmery salt lake. She learned how to live on Country, how to find food, water, and shelter. She was a particularly great hunter.  

'When she turned 14, everything changed. She saw her first other humans, and saw a car for the first time.  She had been brought to live with other people from her mob, and here she found out she was really good at something else too, painting. It used to be men’s only business, but by the time Yukultji picked up her first paintbrush, it was something women in her community would do too.

'Her stroke was unique. It was special. It made her work shimmer just like the salt lake she grew up on. And her paintings now hang on the walls of some of the most famous people in the world.' (Production summary) 

'Marion Mahony Griffin grew up in the best kind of playground – nature. Her home was a log cabin in the woods, where she was able to run wild, climb trees, and spend time entertaining guests.

'But when a fire caused that home to burn down, Marion watched and tried not to feel sorry for herself. She dreamed that one day, she could build a place like that of her own, with lots of nature, and a community.

'So, she became one of the first women in the world to graduate with an architecture degree.

'She drew and she planned, she planned and she drew. And when the Australian Government launched an international competition to design a new capital city - Canberra – Marion jumped at the chance. She sailed her architectural drawings across the sea, just in time.  Marion’s drawings and designs won, and she was able to make her dream a reality.'  (Production summary)

'Queenie McKenzie grew up on a cattle station, staying away from the grasps of the authorities, who would take Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids like her from their families at will.

'As she grew up, she solved problems everywhere she saw them.  From building schools and teaching kids in her community, to saving a man’s life by repairing his scalp stitch by stitch.

'But deep down, she wanted to tell the stories of her Country. To preserve their importance.

'She started painting in her 70s – becoming the first woman in her community to do so – and realised the power of telling stories through art. And once she started, she never stopped.'  (Production summary)