Victorian Women's Public Art Program

The Victorian Women's Public Art Program aims to address the underrepresentation of women and their achievements through enduring public artworks.

The 2024 Program is funded by the Victorian Government’s Community Support Fund and run in partnership with McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery.

Applications are now open. Land-owning organisations can apply for grants of up to $200,000 to design and develop public art that honours Victorian women.

The program funds the creation of permanent public art honouring either individual women or groups of women and includes trans women and gender diverse people.

Women are systematically underrepresented in public life, with their achievements and contributions historically overlooked. Currently, of the close to 600 statues in Melbourne’s public spaces, fewer than 2 per cent represent women.

Our Equal State, the Victorian Government’s gender equality strategy, prioritises elevating women’s achievements and supporting women artists through the Victorian Women’s Public Art Program.

For more information, download the frequently asked questions from this page.

Applications now closed.

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Victorian Women’s Public Art Program: Help us decide!

Which stories of inspiring women and their achievements would you like to see honoured and celebrated in public art?

Thirteen projects have been shortlisted for the second round of the Victorian Women’s Public Art Program. And now you’re invited to help us decide which six will be made into artworks.

You can tell us which stories of women and their achievements you would like to see celebrated through these new public artworks.

Read the women’s inspiring stories and have your say:
https://engage.vic.gov.au/womens-public-art-program

The Victorian Government is proud to be investing $1.2 million in a second round of the successful program that honours remarkable women with public artworks, such as sculptures, murals and installations.

It celebrates women’s stories and achievements by creating permanent records of the excellence and leadership of women right across the state.

Public art can show us all what is possible – if you can see it, you can be it.

The shortlisted stories are:

• Agnes Chambers, Agnes Doig and the Wonthaggi Miners’ Women’s Auxiliary: The story of the Wonthaggi Miners’ Union Women’s Auxiliary
• Aunty Dorothy Peters AM: Yarra Yarra elder, activist and promoter of cultural practices
• Aunty Margaret (Lilardia) Tucker MBE: Activist for Aboriginal rights, health and women’s wellbeing
• Barbara Rae: Winning captain and top scorer in Australia’s first women’s cricket match
• Fanny Eileen Brownhill: The first woman to be elected to the seat of Geelong in the Victorian Parliament
• Louisa Briggs: Aboriginal rights activist, midwife and matriarch
• Marian Ellis Rowan: Victorian botanical artist
• May Moon MBE, Edna Walling and Kath Deery: The women who shared a vision and passion for a sustainable environment and opened the Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden
• Migrant Women of Merri-Bek: The migrant women who have made Merri-bek their home
• Pride and equality trailblazers: Celebrating significant LGBTIQA+ people who have advocated and fought for justice, equal rights and liberation.
• The first women of Castlemaine Art Museum: The women who played a role in founding the Castlemaine Art Museum
• The Women of Montsalvat: Acknowledging Montsalvat’s female pioneers, women who defied cultural expectations of their day.
• Women story-tellers: Celebrating women’s contributions to storytelling traditions

The engagement process is open until 8 December.

The Victorian Women’s Public Art Program is funded by the Victorian Government’s Community Support Fund in partnership with McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery. McClelland supports contemporary artists to develop, create and present their work, and manages a range of significant commission programs.

For more information about the program go to: Victorian Women's Public Art Program | vic.gov.au (www.vic.gov.au)