Queen Victoria Women's Centre

New Exhibition 'Spring' opening next week!

“Spring 2024” is a group exhibition of works on paper by local visual artists Nicole Macdonald, Elke Meitzel, Carolyn Menzies, Inbal Nissim and Katie Starkey.

These artists are colleagues at River Studios in West Melbourne, supported by Creative Spaces. The exhibition consists of around 20 beautiful, uplifting drawings and paintings which have been brought together to celebrate the enchantment of Spring.

7 - 29 November 2024 9AM-5PM Monday - Friday

We are hiring! Are you our new Program and Venues Coordinator?

This exciting role is responsible for our annual program of events held at the Centre and for the coordination of our public venues. Creatives passionate about gender equality are encouraged to apply.

To find out more and to apply visit www.qvwc.org.au/resources

QVWC partnered with as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival for a beautiful evening of spoken word poetry.

The evening featured a curated lineup of some of Melbourne's most inspiring voices. Five passionate poets, including Fleassy Malay, Sevgi Boga, Teagan Webb, Jessie Lloyd and Hawraa Kash took to the stage to shared their lived experiences under a canopy of fairy lights and a relaxed and inclusive setting.

Photographs by Erhan Tirli

Keep an eye on the Mother Tongue Poetry page for more events!

BEYOND THE BIAS CLOSING NIGHT FILM SCREENING

Join us for a relaxed film screening of DJÄKAMIRR @ QVWC

DJÄKAMIRR is a privileged insight into the aspirations of remote First Nations communities to reclaim their birthing culture from the stronghold of Western medicine; and be part of the solutions to improve health.

Filmed over a two-year period on-country in Arnhem Land, the documentary is a rare invitation to experience Yolŋu women’s culture and hear their aspirations for maternity services.

This is a journey of hope, demonstrating that when Yolŋu and Balanda (non-Yolŋu) Australians work together, positive change and community empowerment is possible.

This community screening of DJÄKAMIRR includes a pre-recorded Q&A with the filmmakers, where you can discover more about how this incredible documentary came to be.

The screening is free to attend. Register via link in bio or www.qvwc.org.au/events 🖤

Women's Health Victoria has released a report highlighting inequities in abortion access for people living in regional and rural areas of Victoria compared to those in metropolitan areas.

Abortion options narrow as gestational age increases, and people in regional Victoria are more likely to seek the procedure after the cut-off date for a medical abortion.

How your postcode can narrow your abortion options in Victoria A report reveals people living in regional Victoria are almost twice as likely to seek abortions after 12 weeks' gestation than those living in metropolitan areas.

On at 12 noon today, come on down for lunch on us for this informative session Contraception: All Bodies, All Types Women's Health Victoria

Our second Lunch’n’Learn event as part of Beyond the Bias: a festival of women’s health and equity, is all about !

Presented by 1800 My Options, a service of Women’s Health Victoria, Contraception: All Bodies, All Types’ will explore contraception options that cater to all bodies and life stages.

Join us on Tuesday 22 October from 12-1PM to learn about key decisions on contraception throughout did life stages, what steps to take, where to access the right , as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

Register for this free event via link in bio or visit www.qvwc.org.au/events

This event is run in collaboration between QVWC and

🎉 The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre is seeking EOIs for events as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2025. 🎉

We will program, with reference to the Centre’s values, works that enable, recognise and support the well-being and human rights of women (cis, trans) and non-binary.

We are particularly looking for feminist works which explore the experience of women now in all types of forms: cabaret, song, poetry, theatre, talks, site-specific exploration and more! We want to hear from you if you’re interested in working with us!

Visit www.qvwc.org.au/comedy-festival for all details👍🏽or hit the link in bio

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

Our 2025 Exhibition Program Expressions of Interest deadline has been extended until Friday 1 November 5PM - send your applications in!!

・・・
2025 Exhibition Program Expressions of Interest Now Open

We are seeking expressions of interest for our 2025 calendar from artists, curators, producers who seek to present a well-considered concept of works that align to the building, community and/or exploring feminist ideas.

First Nations women, culturally and linguistically women and regionally based women are encouraged to apply.

To find out more and apply hit link in bio or visit
www.qvwc.org.au/art-exhibitions-exhibition-space

Please support the great work Beyond Bricks and Bars do!

It’s GiveOut Day - a critical day to help the fabulous trans decarceration project Beyond Bricks & Bars go from strength to strength.
�Your donation will go towards:��→ Material aid. This includes things like gender-affirming clothing and shoes, crisis accommodation, groceries, and transport.�
→ Providing direct social work support. This means we can do prison outreach across Victoria, pick people up when they leave prison, and link people to legal, health and community supports.��→ Systemic advocacy. This means building powerful and effective advocacy alongside criminalised TGD people, develop career pathways and platforms, and ensure we can do this work sustainably into the future.

Link to our BBB GiveOut donations page in first comment. 🩷🩵🤍🤎🖤

BEYOND THE BIAS: SHARE YOUR STORY

Have you ever felt ignored or dismissed by your doctor? Been unable to find a healthcare provider who understands or respects your reproductive health choices? Been told you were ‘too emotional’?

We know that as a woman (cis or trans) or gender diverse person, getting the respectful and appropriate healthcare you deserve is not always easy. That’s why we want to hear from you.

Visit QVWC during 10-31 October and share your story via an anonymous online survey about the challenges you faced receiving quality health care – the barriers that came up along the way, and what helped you to get the support and information that you needed.

Big or small, yesterday or twenty years ago, one sentence or ten paragraphs, your experiences are important.

Scan QR Code via Share Your Story space Ground Floor @ QVWC during the Festival

BEYOND THE BIAS: L***A LIBRARY ROOM

Have you ever wondered “Is my va**na normal?”

Many people have. That’s why Women’s Health Victoria created The L***a Library, to show that when it comes to l***a, there is no one version of normal.

This October, the award-winning L***a Library website is being transformed into an exhibit at QVWC.

Visit the space between 10-31 October Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM to learn all about the diversity of l***a and the empowering, positive impact of the L***a Library; and to view a gallery of l***a photos that shows just how unique everyone’s l***a are.

***a ***alibrary

Beyon the Bias has launched! Read all about the program on Women's Agenda

Beyond the bias: This Melbourne festival is celebrating women's health and equity A festival celebrating women’s health and wellbeing is opening in Melbourne, where attendees can learn about gender equity in health.

NEW EXHIBITION OPENS TOMORROW ✨

Breast Decade – An Exhibition is a moving and thought provoking glimpse into the experience of breast cancer captured through the work of two artists affected by cancer.

Naarm born artists and cousins Jaclyn Beecroft and Gennivieve Collier bring a powerful and emotive collection of works that pull together an aesthetic that offers a tarnished, garish opulence, raw, honest quality, delivering a critical examination and personalrepresentation of the artists experiences.

Breast Decade is on display from 10 Oct – 1 Nov 2024 throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Opening event Thu 10 October 5.30-7.30PM.

On @ QVWC on 11 October!

Join us online, or in person (limited spots left!) for a morning tea that brings together the primary prevention workforce and PiP Network for a casual yet purposeful gathering!

We’ll be talking through Safe and Equal’s new Foundations for Action report, which provides fresh insights into Victoria’s primary prevention landscape, highlighting the diversity of organisations and dedicated practitioners involved.

Our panel includes Jackson Fairchild, Jackson Fairchild Consulting; Malavika Kadwadkar, Women's Health in the South East; Wei Leng Kwok, WLK Consulting; Dr Stephanie Lusby, Respect Victoria. Join us to hear a discussion on how to strengthen and grow the primary prevention workforce.

The event will be moderated by Meghan Cooper, Safe and Equal; and speakers include Maria Dimopoulos and Marina Carman, Safe and Equal.

📅 Friday 11 October 2024
⏲️ 10 am to 12 pm
🎟️ Free
💻 Hybrid (limited spots left for in-person at Queen Victoria Women's Centre.)

🔗 Book your spot here: https://events.humanitix.com/pip-in-conversation-foundations

COMMUNITY Q&A ✨

Meet 17 Year old spoken word poet Teagan Webb

Read Q&A: https://www.qvwc.org.au/community/meet-spoken-word-poet-teagan-webb

QVWC and Mother Tongue Poetry have joined forces as part of Melbourne Fringe to curate a lineup of some of Melbourne’s most inspiring voices for Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024.

Five passionate poets, including Fleassy Malay, and Sevgi Boga, will take the stage, sharing their lived experience while you soak up the magic, leaving you inspired and energised.

Meet one of the young performers Teagan Webb.

Tickets are selling fast ⚡️hit link to secure yours!

https://www.qvwc.org.au/happening-events/women-of-fire-presented-by-queen-victoria-womens-centre-and-mother-tongue

Our second Lunch’n’Learn event as part of Beyond the Bias: a festival of women’s health and equity, is all about !

Presented by 1800 My Options, a service of Women’s Health Victoria, Contraception: All Bodies, All Types’ will explore contraception options that cater to all bodies and life stages.

Join us on Tuesday 22 October from 12-1PM to learn about key decisions on contraception throughout did life stages, what steps to take, where to access the right , as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

Register for this free event via link in bio or visit www.qvwc.org.au/events

This event is run in collaboration between QVWC and

FEATURE ANNOUNCEMENT!
We are very excited to announce that will be one of our features at Women of Fire on October 19th.

"Jessie Lloyd is a Songkeeper. An Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait singer, social historian and cultural practitioner of Indigenous song and founder of her award-winning Mission Songs Project. As a cultural ambassador, Lloyd takes audiences on a profoundly-moving musical journey into the depths and diversity of Australia’s Aboriginal culture, history and identity."

We first heard of Jessie through her Mission Songs project and later got to see Jessie perform at the National Folk Festival with her band in early 2023. It was a dream when she agreed to feature at this event and we are absolutely honoured.

We recommend getting your tickets to this event asap, as they will sell out. The event is also hybrid, as part of the Digital Fringe, so if you can't make it in person, you will be able to watch it from absolutely anywhere online.

Queen Victoria Women’s Centre and Mother Tongue Poetry acknowledge that we live, work, and create on the lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation—land that is and always will be Aboriginal Land.

There will be light snacks and alcohol-free beverages available for purchase, and a small break between sets.



https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/women-of-fire-presented-by-queen-victoria-womens-centre-and-mother-tongue/