2024 Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration: Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO

Duration: 60 minutes including Q&A
Free, booking essential

Join Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO, Australia's 25th Governor-General, for the 2024 Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration.

This lecture will focus on the value of creativity and the recognition of women’s voices in the arts, and how this has shaped Dame Quentin Bryce’s leadership across several decades of public service.

Quentin Bryce graduated in Arts and Law at University of Queensland and was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1965. In 1968 she became the first women appointment at the T. C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland where she lectured in law and social work from 1968 to 1983.

In 2008 Dame Quentin was appointed the first female Governor-General of Australia, a position which she held until 2014. As Governor-General, Dame Quentin devoted attention to social justice and human rights issues, placing special emphasis on promoting and protecting the rights of the country’s First Nations peoples. She delivered the 2013 Boyer Lecture series speaking to the importance of human rights in building neighbourhood, community and citizenship.

Dame Quentin was a Member and Convenor of the National Women’s Advisory Council from 1982–1984; Director of the Queensland Women's Information Service 1978–1984; Queensland Director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission; Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner; CEO of the National Childcare Accreditation Council; Principal and CEO of the Women’s College at the University of Sydney; and Governor of Queensland.

Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015) was a leading Australian arts educator and administrator. During her esteemed career, Betty Churcher was the first woman to lead an Australian tertiary education centre as Dean of the School of Art and Design at Phillip Institute of Technology in Melbourne (1982–1987), first woman to lead a state gallery as Director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia (1987–1990) and first and only woman Director of the National Gallery (1990–1997).

Established in 2022 as part of the National Gallery’s Gender Equity Action Plan, the Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration is a major annual event featuring leading women in the arts who inspire creativity, inclusivity, engagement and learning.