Know My Name
Know My Name celebrates the work of all women artists with an aim to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life.
An initiative of the National Gallery of Australia, Know My Name is a national program of exhibitions, commissions, education programs, partnerships and creative collaborations that celebrates the diversity and creativity of Australian women artists throughout history and to the present day.
In 2019 the Gallery acknowledged that only 25% of its Australian art collection and 33% of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection was by women artists. A commitment was made to change this by establishing the Gallery’s first Guiding Principles for Gender Equity in collection development, programming and organisational structures.
Know My Name is also an invitation to the Australian cultural sector and to communities more broadly, to recognise and highlight the work of women across diverse creative practices.
The Know My Name initiative joins the global movement to increase the representation and visibility of women artists. It builds on the work of groups supporting gender equity across the arts including The Countess Report, Sheila Foundation and the #5WomenArtists campaign by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Celebrate women artists – see their art, hear their stories, and know their names.
Exhibitions & Projects
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7 Dec 2024 – 27 Apr 2025
Level 1, Gallery 12
Free -
7 Dec 2024 – 27 Apr 2025
Level 1, Gallery 12
Free -
29 Jun 2024 – 10 Mar 2025
Level 1, Gallery 11
Free -
25 Oct 2024 – 1 Jun 2025
Level 2, Gallery 25
Free -
From 22 March 2025
Free -
From Apr 2025
Level 1, Gallery 11
Free -
7 Dec 2024 – 9 Mar 2025
Orange Regional Gallery, NSW
Gender Equity Action Plan
On International Women's Day 2022, the National Gallery launched its inaugural Gender Equity Action Plan, the first by a major public visual arts-collecting institution in Australia.
The National Gallery’s commitment to gender equity, demonstrated by the ongoing Know My Name initiative, has influenced the way the Gallery thinks and talks about art and how the core business of building a national collection is approached. Find out more about the Gender Equity Action Plan.
Stories & Ideas
Learning Resources
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Primary / Secondary
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Early childhood / Primary / Foundation
On Demand
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Published 22 January 2024
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Published 20 June 2024
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Published 21 December 2022
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Published 21 December 2022
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Published 19 November 2020
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Published 21 December 2022
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Published 21 December 2022
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Published 21 December 2022
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Published 21 December 2022
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Published 12 November 2020
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Publication
The Know My Name book celebrates art by women from across Australia. With more than 150 artists profiled and texts written by more than 115 women writers, the book aims to highlight the artists and their work and shift assumptions that the histories of art are male dominated. The book is part of a series of ongoing gender equity initiatives by the National Gallery to increase the representation of all women in its artistic program, collection development and organisational structures.
Edited by Assistant Director, Artistic Programs Natasha Bullock; Curator, Special Projects, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Kelli Cole; Head of Australian Art, Deborah Hart and Curator of Australian Art, Elspeth Pitt. Coordinating Editor, Meredith McKendry and Editorial Assistance, Assistant Curator of Australian Art, Yvette Dal Pozzo. Designed by Fabio Ongarato, John Wilson and Lily Hodgson from Studio Ongarato in collaboration with Kristin Thomas, National Gallery of Australia.
Contents:
Foreword - Natasha Bullock and Nick Mitzevich
Guiding Principles for Gender Equity
Artists (artists and contributors listed below)
Essays:
Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now by Deborah Hart
I Remember, They Remember, We Remember by Elspeth Pitt
Jess Johnson & Simon Ward Discuss Terminus by Jaklyn Babington
The Body Electric: Images of Desire by Anne O'Hehir
Listen to the Music of the Other: Angelica Mesiti ASSEMBLY by Juliana Engberg
Patricia Piccinini Speaks About Skywhales: Every Heart Sings by Jaklyn Babington
From Little Things Big Things Grow: Tjanpi Desert Weavers by Kelli Cole
458 pages
235mm x 305mm
full colour
Hardback RRP:
$79.95 inc GST
ISBN: 9780642334879
Published: 2020
This publication is now available for purchase in store, by phone and online.
Supported by
National Gallery of Australia Foundation Board Publishing Fund
Partners & Donors
To find out about Know My Name partnership opportunities contact the National Gallery's Partnerships team.
Principal Patron
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Tim Fairfax AC
Strategic Partners
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Visit Canberra ACT Government
Visit the website for Visit Canberra ACT Government
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Channel 7
Visit the website for Channel 7
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ooh Media
Visit the website for ooh Media
Major patrons
Exhibition Patrons
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Naomi Milgrom Foundation
Visit the website for Naomi Milgrom Foundation
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Neilson Foundation
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Medich Foundation
Visit the website for Medich Foundation
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The Balnaves Foundation
Visit the website for The Balnaves Foundation
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The Keir Foundation
Visit the website for The Keir Foundation
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National Gallery Foundation
Major Partners
Supporting Partners
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Doma Hotels
Visit the website for Doma Hotels
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Archie Rose Distilling Co
Visit the website for Archie Rose Distilling Co
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Veuve Clicquot
Visit the website for Veuve Clicquot
Publication Partner
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NGA Foundation Board Publishing Fund
Cultural Partners
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Australia Council for the Arts
Visit the website for Australia Council for the Arts
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ABC
Visit the website for ABC
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Countess Report
Visit the website for Countess Report
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Wikimedia Australia
Visit the website for Wikimedia Australia
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National Museum of Women in the Arts
Visit the website for National Museum of Women in the Arts
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Kambri at ANU
Visit the website for Kambri at ANU
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Sheila Foundation
Visit the website for Sheila Foundation
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Vogue Australia
Visit the website for Vogue Australia
Education Partners
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Australian National University (ANU)
Visit the website for Australian National University (ANU)
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University of NSW
Visit the website for University of NSW
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University of Melbourne
Visit the website for University of Melbourne
Media Partners
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The Sydney Morning Herald
Visit the website for The Sydney Morning Herald
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The Age
Visit the website for The Age
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The Design Files
Visit the website for The Design Files
Promotional and Retail Partners
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Audi Centre Canberra
Visit the website for Audi Centre Canberra
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Flash Graphics
Visit the website for Flash Graphics
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Capital Brewing Co
Visit the website for Capital Brewing Co
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Mud Australia
Visit the website for Mud Australia
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Bonnie and Neil
Visit the website for Bonnie and Neil
Supporting Patrons
American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia with the generous support of Geoffrey Pack and Leigh Pack
Antionette Albert
Sue Cato
Penny Clive AO
Helen Cook
Martin Dickson AM and Susie Dickson
Gandel Philanthropy
Kerry Gardner AM
Pauline Harding
Colin Hindmarsh and Barbara Hindmarsh
Phillip Keir and Sarah Benjamin
Alana Kirby
Dr Andrew Lu OAM and Dr Geoffrey Lancaster AM
Elizabeth Pakchung
Suzannah Plowman
Tom Pongrass
Penelope Seidler AM
The Sun Foundation
Rhonda White AO
Ray Wilson OAM
Contributors
Lenore Adamson
Philip Bacon AM
Kay Bryan
Sue Dyer and Steve Dyer
Emeritus Professor Barbara van Ernst AM
Sarah Greer and Damian Clothier QC
Judy Gray and Rod Pilbeam
Wayne Kratzmann
Josh Milani and Danielle Milani
Jan Murphy and Sydney Williams QC
Gary Sands
Dr Sally Sojan
John Story AO and Georgina Story
Wendy Webb
Supporters of the 2020 Gala Fund
The Hon Richard Alston AO
The Aranday Foundation
Philip Bacon AM
Julian Beaumont OAM and Annie Beaumont
Berg Family Foundation
Tony Berg AM and Carol Berg
Kay Bryan
Andrew Buchanan PSM and Kate Buchanan
Robyn Burke and Graham Burke AO
Burton Taylor Foundation
Robert Cadona
Andrew Cameron AM and Cathy Cameron
Terry Campbell AO and Christine Campbell
Maurice Cashmere
Sue Cato
Dr Andrew Clouston
Marilyn Darling AC
The Hon Ashley Dawson‑Damer AM
Tim Fairfax AC and Gina Fairfax
Michael Gannon and Helen Gannon
Julian Goldenberg and Neta Saint
Richard Griffin AM and Jay Griffin
Bill Hayward and Alison Hayward
Sue Hewitt
Sam Hill-Smith
Meredith Hinchliffe
John Hindmarsh AM and Rosanna Hindmarsh OAM
Neil Hobbs and Karina Harris
Jo Horgan and Peter Wetenhall
Mark Hughes
Wayne Kratzmann
Paul Lindwall and Dr Joanne Frederiksen
Dr Andrew Lu OAM and Dr Geoffrey Lancaster AM
Sue Maple-Brown AM
Suzanne Maple-Brown and Anthony Maple-Brown
Dr Michael Martin and Elizabeth Popovski
Fiona Martin-Weber and Tom Hayward
Robert Meller
Naomi Milgrom AO
Jan Minchin
Baillieu Myer AC and Sarah Myer
Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer
Roslyn Packer AC
Elizabeth Pakchung
Kenneth Reed AM
Gary Sands and Garth Richardson
Diane Smith-Gander AO
Jane Smyth OAM and Dr Rick Smyth
Ezekiel Solomon AM
Sullivan Strumpf Fine Art
Urban Art Projects
Sally White OAM and Geoffrey White OAM
Ray Wilson OAM