Artists in Conversation: Micky Allan

Hear from leading Australian artist Micky Allan in conversation with curator Elspeth Pitt.

Micky Allan is a ground-breaking feminist artist. Her first solo exhibition Photography, drawing, poetry: A live-in show, held at the Ewing and George Paton Galleries in Melbourne in 1978, saw her transform the gallery space into a domestic setting. Blurring public and private space, Allan ‘wanted to change the experience of the gallery goer from one of white walls, hush, hush, don’t speak, say what you really think when you get out of here’ to one experienced in a ‘combined rhythm’ with everyday life.

For the exhibition Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now Allan reimagined the spirit of this pioneering exhibition, installing her art and personal tokens alongside the work and performance films of fellow artists from the 1970s to the present day.

This conversation will address Allan’s ground-breaking practice, touching on her use of hand-coloured photography as a feminist strategy, and her friendships with key photographers including Sue Ford.

This talk was originally planned to include the artist Virginia Fraser, who sadly passed away last month.

Elspeth Pitt is Curator, Australian Art, at the National Gallery of Australia and co-curator of the exhibition Know My Name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now.