HERE I AM: Art by Great Women

Ambush-Gallery-Here-I-AmInspired by the Know My Name movement and in a cultural partnership with the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), HERE I AM: Art by Great Women is a showcase of contemporary Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists from multi-disciplinary backgrounds including street art, fine art, photography, illustration, digital, sculpture, film and more.

Presented by Kambri at ANU, curated by aMBUSH Gallery and with over 100 featured artists, the summer-long family-friendly festival aims to re-energise our cultural landscape by showcasing some of Australia’s best female creative talent, in the heart of our nation. Activations will include outdoor public art and gallery exhibitions, live art and music events, public talks, film screenings, ArtHack and more.

Running from 20 November 2020 until 28 February 2021, HERE I AM: Art by Great Women will coincide with Know My Name at the NGA and will proudly feature contemporary female creatives including Gemma O’Brien, Georgia Hill, Aretha Brown, Lucy O’Doherty, Minna Leunig, Faith Kerehona, Bohie Palecek, Helen Proctor, George Rose, Noni Cragg, Kaff-eine, Nanami Cowdroy, Nicole Reed, and Selina Miles, to name but a few.

Comprising free public events across the Kambri precinct – including free parking on weekends – it’s a lively program appealing to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, and will provide an invaluable platform for women artists and creatives to engage with the broader community.

“Over the past 13 years of aMBUSH we have worked with thousands of incredible women – this festival is a wonderful opportunity to bring more artists together alongside the great women the NGA will also be showcasing,” said Bill Dimas, co-founder of aMBUSH Gallery. “Our aim is to make the festival a bi-annual event that bolsters creative women and holds their work up to acclaim.”

Kambri’s first festival announcement includes the following events:

  • At the new outdoor venue, Exhibition Avenue, 24 artists will have a large-scale work on display across six exhibition cubes along University Avenue. This free exhibition will be accessible to the general public 24 hours – 7 days a week.
  • A group exhibition at aMBUSH Gallery Kambri will also headline female artists, this time working across a range of disciplines, including painters, illustrators, photographers, digital artists, object designers, and sculptors. The exhibition is free and will be open to the public daily from 10am-6pm weekdays and 12pm-5pm on weekends.
  • A free film series in November and December profiling the life and work of significant artists will kick off with Martha: A Picture Story (2019) – a street art documentary about the legendary photographer Martha Cooper, and will feature a live discussion with Australian director Selina Miles on Saturday 21 November.
  • On selected Sundays, the central Kambri Lawn will become a rousing stage for artists to put their painting skills on show. Live Art Sessions is a free public event that will feature an all-female roster of artists creating new work – all to the tune of live music provided by ANU and local Canberra musicians.
  • Kambri’s regular crowd-pleasing Music on the Greens will be a feature of each weekend during the festival. An all-female music talent schedule including Liv Li, Kim Yang, Dana Hassall, and Lucy Sugerman will bring live music to the Kambri Lawns. Free for attendees.
  • Kambri at ANU, in conjunction with OpenHack, will host ArtHack – a free creative ideas marathon. Through both physical and online platforms ANU students and the wider national and international community will come together and solve the current challenges in the Arts and creative industries, which includes empowering females, creatives and artists during the global pandemic. This hackathon event will be a source of inspiration to the participants and all involved parties.
  • Lakespeare & Co will conduct their fourth summer season with a free preview performance and interactive rehearsal of Measure for Measure presented exclusively for Kambri at ANU and the HERE I AM festival. Be prepared for the presentation of bold female leaders in this black comedy by the Bard.
  • A collaborative series of ticketed talks and candid conversations with inspirational women will engage the minds of attendees. YWCA will present She Leads in Conversation on Wednesday 25 November with the Hon. Dame Annette King and Hannah Birdsey. On Friday 27 November (courtesy of ANU’s Meet the Author Series) Chief Political Correspondent, Laura Tingle, will be in conversation with Don Russell on her new Quarterly Essay The High Road: What Australia Can Learn from New Zealand.
  • TEDx Canberra will host a fortnight of ‘ideas worth spreading’: TEDx Canberra Women 2020: Fearless, and TEDx Canberra 2020: Imagine in the Kambri Cultural Centre on Sunday 29 November and 6 December respectively. Inspired by HERE I AM, TEDx has dedicated its program to female creatives, with their lineup of keynotes to be released in the near future. TEDxCanberra will ticket events.
  • Wellness on The Greens – led by women from Club Lime, ANU Sport and ANU Thrive – will provide free health and wellbeing sessions every week on the central Kambri Lawns and greater precinct. Ranging from yoga to high-intensity interval training, there will be something for all ages and fitness levels. The schedule will be updated weekly on the Kambri website. Participation is free.
  • The summer holidays will bring a range of free family-friendly activities led by female creatives. Kids will have the opportunity to get their hands dirty with art and craft workshops in aMBUSH Gallery, and keep in step with Kulture Break run dance workshops on the Kambri Lawns.
  • In January, the Kambri Film Fest is back in the Kambri Cinema and will host two screenings per day across three weekends – a family-friendly segment with films starring heroines, and an ‘after hours’ session with films directed and written by women. Admission is free.

HERE I AM: Art by Great Women is presented by Kambri at ANU and curated, produced and co-presented by aMBUSH Gallery: 20 November 2020 – 28 February 2021. For more information and to view full festival program, visit: www.ambushgallery.com for details.

Image: HERE I AM – courtesy of aMBUSH Gallery