Prolific and multi-talented, Joanna Paul was one of the most gifted artists of her generation. Intensely responsive to the world around her, she depicted her surroundings, constantly reworking the conventions of drawing and watercolour painting. Paul also documented her environment in photographs and experimental short films, and published poetry, criticism and non-fiction.
Anne Jolliffe, Australia’s first woman animator, cannot remember a time when she wasn’t interested in her craft. Born near Launceston, Tasmania, in 1933, she was given scratch pads and pencils by her father when she was four years old and began drawing pictures in sequence.
Deveson’s first job was with as a journalist with a small newspaper, the Kensington News, in London. She came to Australia in the 1950s and worked at the ABC on various ‘women’s programs’. She was also a presenter at radio station 2GB where she was one of the first people in Australia to use talkback. From 1985 to 1988, she was Executive Director of the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
In a 1915 press interview Annette Kellerman described the principal motivation at the heart of her successful career as performer, movie star, athlete and role model for the emerging 20th century modern woman: ‘Swimming for women is more than physical, it can engender self-confidence, and in the art and science of swimming, a kind of equality, even superiority to that of men. My chief pride and pleasure has been the knowledge that my work has stimulated an interest in swimming as a woman’s sport’.
Rita Moreno has influenced the entertainment industry for over 70 years as an actress, singer, and dancer. After earning the four major entertainment awards: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, Moreno became the first Latina woman to have an “E.G.O.T.” In 2004, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her many contributions to the arts.
Sigrid Thornton is one of Australia’s most respected, popular and prolific screen and television actors. She has starred in many classic Australian films, including The Getting of Wisdom (1978), The Man from Snowy River (1982), The Lighthorsemen (1987) and The Man From Snowy River 2 (1988).
The influence of Wearing’s 1992 Signs that Say can be seen across recent contemporary popular culture and media, particularly social media, wherein a photographic portrait of a stranger holding a handwritten sign in front of them is now a recognized format for truth-telling or confession.
Heather Christian is an Obie Award-winning composer and singer-songwriter.
An accomplished composer and pianist, Melissa Parmenter has scored a number of films.
Rachel Portman is the first female composer to win an Academy award for her original score for Emma. She also received Academy nominations for Chocolat and Ciderhouse Rules, which also earned her a Golden Globe Nomination. Having scored over 100 films, Portman also enjoys writing for the concert hall and the stage.