International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the globe, while also calling for accelerated women’s equality. 2023’s theme is to #EmbraceEquity and create an inclusive world.
Every day at HOTA, we’re highlighting women across the entire precinct in film, live performances, inside HOTA Gallery, and behind the scenes.
From the very top of our organisation, we have two great women leaders - Jackie Trad and Thea Jeanes-Cochrane. Jackie has been a Board member for 18 months, including nearly 12 months as HOTA Chair. Thea has been a Board Director for nearly four years and almost a year as Deputy Chair. Together they’re a huge champion of the importance of arts and culture locally, nationally, and internationally.
Jackie and Thea are supported by a wider HOTA Board, where women representation makes up more than 70% and the HOTA executive team which has 50% representation.
Did you know that nearly 50% of the City Collection is made up by female artists? It’s unusual for institutions to have such a strong female representation and we are proud to lead the way nationally with such a high level of representation. Stop by HOTA Gallery to see incredible works on display by female artists in HOTA Collects: Australia's Playground, including the below works.
Artwork: Betty Quelhurst, 'Windbreaks Surfers', 1961, oil on canvas. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Betty Quelhurst 2002 © Image courtesy of the Estate of Betty Quelhurst. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Victoria Reichelt, 'Colour Field', 2012, oil on canvas. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Acquired from the Gold Coast Art Prize 2012 © Image courtesy of artist, Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane, and This Is No Fantasy, Melbourne. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Veda Arrowsmith, 'Hinterland', 1975, synthetic polymer paint on board. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Gifted by the citizens of the Gold Coast to future generations 2003 © Image courtesy of the Arrowsmith Family. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Ruby Spowart, 'South Stradbroke triptych', 1992, silver gelatin photographs, collaged. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Gifted by the citizens of the Gold Coast to future generations 1993 © Image courtesy of the artist. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Anne Zahalka, 'Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Lorikeet Feeding, 2001 from the series 'Leisureland Regional' 2000 -2002', 2001. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Gifted by the citizens of the Gold Coast to future generations 2002 © Anne M Zahalka/Copyright Agency, 2021. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Nicola Moss, 'The rock called the hills replied', 2020. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Commissioned for the opening of HOTA Gallery and acquired with the assistance of June Moro 2021 © Image courtesy of the artist. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Elisabeth Cummings, 'The Melaleuca swamp', 1992, oil on canvas. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Gifted by the citizens of the Gold Coast to future generations 1992 © Image courtesy of the artist
Artwork: Joy Schoenheimer, 'Eggs', various. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Gift of Joy Schoenheimer 2013 © Image courtesy of the artist. Photography by Pete Waddington
Artwork: Glennys Briggs, 'The mangroves', 2016, soft ground etching on paper. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Acquired through the assistance of our generous benefactors 2016 © Image courtesy of the artist. Photography by Pete Waddington
You can explore the collection here. HOTA Collects reflects key developments in Australian art over the past 50 years including abstraction, feminist art, Indigenous art, ceramics, and twenty-first-century photography.
And don’t miss Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York. Gallery Director Tracy Cooper-Lavery played a pivotal role in bringing the world exclusive exhibition to the Gold Coast.
Tracy Cooper-Lavery, Gallery Director
Tracy said:
‘One of the first initiatives for HOTA Gallery was to develop a program of international exhibitions and the first of these, Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York, has been almost six years in the making.’
‘With some classic Gold Coast ambition and bravado and utilising some key contacts in New York, we had the tenacity to introduce the Mugrabi family to HOTA, and the Gold Coast as a new player in the art world.’
Embrace diversity and inclusion with the team at HOTA. Check out the incredible initiatives, exhibitions, and live performances on now at your Home of the Arts.
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