Festival follows in the footsteps of the suffragettes

Festival follows in the footsteps of the suffragettes

A new festival running in the CBD over the International Women’s Day long weekend will thread together history, gender equality and music.

The Women in Music Festival will be held at RMIT and will focus on five categories: indigenous, games, film, jazz and classical.

CBD resident Caroline Neeling founded the Women in Music Festival after she became aware of a consistent and severe under-representation of women in the field. 

The festival’s location, at RMIT in the city, is more than simply convenience. The facade of RMIT’s Storey Hall is an artistic reference to history – the tiling is an impression of the suffragettes’ clothing, while the green and purple colours are taken from the women’s liberation movement.

The building was a centre of the suffragette movement. Ms Neeling said the Melbourne suffragettes were in the building when women won the right to vote in Australia.

The festival will hold a variety of different events – including talks, panel discussions, musical and artistic performances. 

Ms Neeling said that the title Women in Music didn’t reflect a binary representation of gender, but that the festival would incorporate different gender identities. 

From the game genre, “agender” composer, sound designer and audio programmer Maize Wallin will present Noise Draws.

You can find more information about the festival and book tickets here: www.womeninmusicfestival.net

Since Labor has been in power …

Since Labor has been in power …

March 20th, 2024 - Evan Mulholland
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