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  • About
    • The Foundation
    • Why is Sheila needed?
    • Lady Sheila Cruthers
    • The Board
    • Professional Partners
    • Volunteers
  • Projects
    • Sheila Projects
    • Contemporary Women
      • The Michela and Adrian Fini Artist Fellowship
      • The Countess Report
      • Advocacy for Artists
    • Into the Light
    • Changing the Story
  • Collection
    • Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art
    • Indigenous Artists
  • Support
    • Support Sheila
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Donate
    • Join a Donor Circle
    • Leave a legacy
    • Become a Friend
  • News & Resources
    • Exhibitions and Events
    • News
    • Publications
    • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact
logo main
  • About
    • The Foundation
    • Why is Sheila needed?
    • Lady Sheila Cruthers
    • The Board
    • Professional Partners
    • Volunteers
  • Projects
    • Sheila Projects
    • Contemporary Women
      • The Michela and Adrian Fini Artist Fellowship
      • The Countess Report
      • Advocacy for Artists
    • Into the Light
    • Changing the Story
  • Collection
    • Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art
    • Indigenous Artists
  • Support
    • Support Sheila
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Donate
    • Join a Donor Circle
    • Leave a legacy
    • Become a Friend
  • News & Resources
    • Exhibitions and Events
    • News
    • Publications
    • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact

Exhibitions and Events

Visit the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery website for latest exhibitions
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thesheilafoundation

Books We’re Reading This Summer – part 2 Our Books We’re Reading This Summer – part 2

Our summer reading continues with histories reclaimed, traditions carried forward, and voices that have shaped how women see, make and live with art - books that deepen context, expand narratives and invite reflection.

1. Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890–1940
(ed. Elle Freak, Tracey Lock and Wayne Tunnicliffe)
This vital publication reclaims the international contributions of Australian women artists who travelled to Europe at the turn of the twentieth century, positioning them as central figures in modernism rather than peripheral observers.

2. Yawulyu: Art and Song in Warlpiri Women’s Ceremony
(Megan Morais, with the late Lucy Nampijinpa Martin, Warlpiri women of Willowra and Myfany Turpin)
A profound collaborative work documenting Warlpiri women’s ceremonial song, dance and design, created with and for the Willowra community to carry cultural knowledge across generations.

3. A Woman’s Eye, Her Art
(Drusilla Modjeska)
Modjeska revisits the lives and practices of modernist women artists who reshaped how women were seen and represented, weaving art history with enduring questions of visibility, freedom and courage.

4. Modern Australian Women Artists
(Andrée Harkness with Anne Gray, Caroline Jordan and Juliana Hooper)
One of the most comprehensive early studies of Australian women artists, this book foregrounds their artistic achievements, networks and resilience during a formative period in Australian modernism.

5. Ikuntji Textiles
(ed. Chrischona Schmidt)
A richly illustrated account of the artists, stories and collaborations behind Ikuntji Artists’ textile practice, celebrating wearable art grounded in language, place and community.

6. How to Live an Artful Life
(Katy Hessel)
A daily companion drawn from the words of artists, offering reflections and encouragement to live with curiosity, attentiveness and creative intent throughout the year.
Books We’re Reading This Summer Our summer read Books We’re Reading This Summer

Our summer reading spans creative practice, friendship, legacy and rediscovery - books we’re returning to, recommending, and spending time with as we reflect on the work and lives of women artists.

1. Emily Kam Kngwarray 
(ed. Kelli Cole, Hetti Perkins & Jennifer Green)
A richly illustrated celebration of Emily Kam Kngwarray, one of Australia’s most significant painters, whose late-career works embody a lifetime of cultural knowledge and connection to Country.

2. The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? 
(ed. Natalie King & Iwantja Arts)
The first major monograph on Kaylene Whiskey, exploring her joyful, pop-infused paintings that blend Anangu culture, feminist icons and humour as expressions of female power.

3. Odd Roads to be Walking 
(Paul Finucane & Catherine Stuart)
A landmark publication charting the lives and work of 156 pioneering women whose practices helped shape modern Australian art.

4. Painting, Writing, Texting 
(Chantal Joffe & Olivia Laing)
An intimate exchange between painter Chantal Joffe and writer Olivia Laing that explores friendship, portraiture and the transformation of everyday life into art.

5. Art Work: On the Creative Life
(Sally Mann)
Sally Mann reflects with candour and wit on the realities of creative life, from ambition and failure to discipline, risk and perseverance.

6. Women Photographers 1900–1975
Drawing from the NGV collection, this groundbreaking survey restores women photographers to the centre of photographic history, tracing their artistic and political contributions across a pivotal seventy-five year period.
Peace, Rest and Love As the year ends, the Sheila Peace, Rest and Love

As the year ends, the Sheila Foundation has been reflecting on why we do what we do. We are passionate in our advocacy for historical and contemporary Australian women and non-binary artists and for redressing the ongoing structural, cultural and social issues that impede a fair and just art world, along with how we know of and perceive the achievements of women artists of the past.
 
This may feel niche or insignificant in the face of the national and global challenges that we collectively face, but art and culture are central to being human and help us better understand and reframe our world. We believe Sheila’s work is about creating the world as we want it to be and we couldn’t do it without your vital help and support. Thank you.
 
Wishing you and yours a happy and safe holiday period. 
 
We look forward to working with you towards a brighter world in 2026.

Image: Mildred Lovett, A summer’s afternoon, c1910s, oil on canvas on board, 45 x 35.5 cm, Into the Light Collection (via Private Donor)
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Past EVENTS

The Sheila Network Inaugural Event

25 July 2019

Read More >
Sheila meets Nora

19 November 2019

Read More >
Trying to find comfort in an uncomfortable chair

26 July – 6 October 2019

Read More >
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Sheila Foundation acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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