A Room of My Own | Shelley Engwirda

Next date: Saturday, 15 February 2025 | 10:00 AM to 02:00 PM

“A Room of my Own” is a collection of fusible glass and a large-scale quilt that were inspired by the essays written by Virginnia Woolfe in 1927.  Woolfe proposed that if women could lead their own lives, they could achieve equal standing in society. This meant women needed to have financial and intellectual freedom to reach their full potential. Woolfe also brought attention to the lack of women’s voices telling women’s stories.

Turn the clock forward almost a hundred years, the message is still relevant. Some of works in this exhibition look at the successful women who have achieved “A Room of their Own.” (i.e Judy Chicago, Pat Larder, Ruth Bader Ginsberg) and in turn, have inspired me to change the way I operate in the present world.  I make art quilts to demonstrate that which historically has largely been accepted as a feminine craft can be regarded an artform. I fuse glass because apart from its obvious beauty, it is such a contemporary handmade craft/art, it has not had time to be influenced by historical and social prejudices. It is not a gendered artform improving the chances of my work not being overlooked because of my sex. Glass fusing (studio glass) emerged in Australia in the 1970’s. 

This exhibition invites viewers to consider Woolfe’s call to action, that all people (but particularly women) should take up the responsibility of paving their own ways in the world and not cave to society’s expectations based on male perspectives.

Exhibition Opening:

Friday 14 February 5.30 pm
FREE event

Gallery Opening Times
Weekdays: 9.30 am to 5 pm
Saturday: 10 am to 2 pm
Sunday: CLOSED

Image: Shelley Engwirda, Domesticity, 2022, fusible glass. Image Credit: Jim Cullen.

When

Location

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, 1 Barolin Street, Bundaberg Central, 4670, View Map