Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are advised that the following contains the names and images of people who have died.
I AM A NEW WOMAN is a series of screen prints by Parliament House artist-in-residence Alison Alder, celebrating 12 women who campaigned for a more inclusive democracy. They were part of a movement of thousands of women and men who mobilised across Australia over decades for the cause of political citizenship.
In 1902, Australia became the first country in the world to grant women the same rights as men to vote and to stand as candidates in federal elections. However, these rights were not universal, with some groups excluded from the franchise. It would be another 60 years before all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women were able to enrol and vote at federal elections.
The rights to vote and to stand for public office underpin Australia’s system of democracy.
Alder is a visual artist based in the Canberra region whose work is held in major public collections nationally and internationally. In I AM A NEW WOMAN, Alder combines contemporary photographs, quotations, and organisational affiliations. This enables ‘the actions and personalities of these women, who were so resolute and radical in their challenges to accepted societal norms, to shine through in the screen prints.’
An edition of the series was acquired for the Parliament House Art Collections in 2024.
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Images: Alison Alder (born 1958), Catherine Helen Spence, SA, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Catherine Helen Spence c. 1900, State Library of South Australia (B36575, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+36575); Alison Alder (born 1958), C E Clark, WA, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Christine Clark, The Australian Woman’s Sphere, Vol II, no 34, 10 June 1903, State Library of NSW (Z/Q396.05/A, 74VM8D8GGEK3); Alison Alder (born 1958), Henrietta Dugdale, ViIC, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Woman’s Voice, May 1895, p. 233,
State Library of New South Wales (ISSN: 1834-5301, https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/74VvwO5aezyM); Alison Alder (born 1958), Emma Miller, QLD, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Portrait of Emma Miller, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland (99183513414702061, https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma99183513414702061&context=L&vid=61SLQ_INST:SLQ&lang=en); Alison Alder (born 1958), Jessie Rooke, TAS, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Jessie Rooke, The Tasmanian Mail, 29 September 1900, p. 19, State Library of Tasmania (https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/TASMAIL/1546173-9-5-19); Alison Alder (born 1958), Rose Scott, NSW, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: May Moore, Rose Scott, 1913, National Portrait Gallery, gelatin silver photograph on paper 19.8 x 11.8 cm (image), 20.9 x 12.7 cm (sheet) (https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/rose-scott-1847); Alison Alder (born 1958), Louisa Lawson, NSW, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Mrs Louisa Lawson, 1880s, photographer unknown, State Library of New South Wales (FL3303630, https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/9PQ8N52n); Alison Alder (born 1958), Vida Goldstein, VIC, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Vida Goldstein, 1900, The Australian Woman's Sphere volume III, no 38, 10 October 1903, State Library of New South Wales (Z/Q396.05/A); Alison Alder (born 1958), Laura Harris, SA/NT, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Laura Harris (Spender), South Australian Museum, (AA1/5/58, https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collection/archives /provenances/series/ items/aa-1-5-58); Alison Alder (born 1958), Pearl Gibbs, AUS, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Mrs Gibbs, Aborigines Welfare Board, Government Printing Office 2 – 06644, State Library of New South Wales (229490, https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/9qoxDLL1); Alison Alder (born 1958), Faith Bandler, AUS, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: Lobbyists from the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, National Archives of Australia, (A1200, L62232, 11198523, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=11198523); Alison Alder (born 1958), Pat Eatock, ACT, 2024, Parliament House Art Collections, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, ACT. Historic image source: From the film Ningla A-Na directed by Alessandro Cavadini courtesy of Smart Street Films Pty Ltd.