Opening night: 6-9pm, Friday 26 March, 2021
This exhibition of ‘pad ads’ from Australian women’s magazines has been curated to question how graphic design can perpetuate or diminish the stigma surrounding periods.
One hundred ‘pad ads’ from 1920 to 2020 will lead the audience to question the role of the designer in creating a shameful or liberating world for consumers. Visual communicators have an ethical obligation to not only design the world they want but to design a world for marginalised voices. This exhibition encourages designers to question and address harmful norms in their work. It also encourages the public to think about their attitudes towards periods by questioning feelings of shame and secretive behaviours.
Dr Jane Connory - Curator
Dr Jane Connory has curated the ‘Sanitary Secrets’ exhibition as part of her research exploring the visibility and diversity of women in design. She is a lecturer at Swinburne University’s School of Design.
Amber Bonney - Panelist
Amber Bonney is the Founder and Managing Director of two award-winning agencies. With over 20 years of experience across diverse industry sectors, Amber has a vested interest in both traditional and disruptive design methods that activate, provoke and inspire.
Reg Abos - Panelist
Reg Abos is an award-winning designer and lecturer who runs the design consultancy Studio Regina. Her passion and expertise lie in book design, having worked extensively with publishers such as Oxford University Press, and data visualisation which she lectures in at RMIT.
Jamal Hakim - Panelist
Deputy Lead of the Health Wellbeing and Belonging portfolio at the City of Melbourne. Jamal is passionate about ensuring a thriving community that is physically, emotionally, culturally and environmentally safe for everyone. Jamal is also an advocate for representative and evidence based decision-making.
Bae L'Amour - Entertainer
Your favorite pocket rocket drag queen has something to say about getting past period shame!