Jacky Redgate
Light throw (mirrors) #8, 2011
chromogenic photograph
126 x 158 cm
Women photographers 1853–2018
11 Oct 2025 – 1 Mar 2026
National Gallery of Australia
Canberra ACT
Women photographers 1853–2018 highlights the transformative impact of women artists on the history of photography.
Since its inception, the National Gallery’s photography collection has reflected the vital place of women in the medium’s history. Some of its earliest acquisitions were major works by women.
As a result, the National Gallery is uniquely placed to consider how photography has changed the worlds in which women live, and how women have changed photography. As the great modernist photographer Lucia Moholy wrote, ‘Photography has not only changed the way we see the world but also how we see ourselves.’
For women artists, making photographs has always been an act of resistance. Photography has given women access to spaces of knowledge, artistic practices and technology from which they were previously excluded.
This exhibition features work spanning more than 160 years of women working with photography.
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Presenting highlights from First Nations, Australian and International collections, this exhibition explores the ways women artists have used photography to tell stories about themselves and other women. Their work has forged new ways of being in and seeing the world—whether negotiating its challenges or celebrating its beauty.
Women photographers 1853–2018 is a Know My Name project, the National Gallery initiative celebrating the work of all women artists to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life.
