We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
Elisa Jane Carmichael weaving at the Women’s Wealth workshop, Nazareth Rehabilitation Centre, Chabai, Bougainville, September 2017 / Photograph: Taloi Havini
Women’s Wealth is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Gordon Darling Foundation and QUT Creative Industries.
Women’s Wealth projectWomen’s Wealth 2017
Not Currently on Display
For the Women’s Wealth project, indigenous women from Bougainville, the Solomon Islands and Australia gathered for a week-long workshop to share their traditional knowledge of weaving, shell ornamentation and earthenware pottery; these artworks are on display in APT9.
Women’s Wealth highlights the importance of creative spaces in indigenous communities, such as weaving circles, where women gather to create and share knowledge. The project also emphasises the way that women’s practices represent strength and resilience in the face of major change.
The Women’s Wealth project focuses on the close connections between the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the Solomon Islands. It explores the value and the role of art made by women as a kind of cultural wealth.
Located in the Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Islands consists of over 900 islands. The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is very close to the Solomon Islands, but is an island region of Papua New Guinea. Bougainville is rich in copper and gold, and the natural environment is threatened by mining activity, which has also caused many years of violence and unrest.
Co-Curator: Sana Balai, Project Co-Ordinator: Marilyn Havini, Artists: Sister Theresita Alona, Adelaide Mekea Aniona, Pauline Kimei Anis, Kiria Asike, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Gwendalyn Dava Damusoe, Janet Fieldhouse, Jesmaine Sakoi Gano, Taloi Havini, Josephine Manta Kaepaku, Kay Lawrence, Georgianna Maetale Lepping, Joy Wongatina Pazabeto Madada, Emma Hopuhopu Makusu, Elizabeth Gawa Marata, Helen Dusimoi Miriona, Aida Hilo Pais, Elizabeth Watsi Saman, Imelda Vaevavini Teqae.