Celebrate The Inspiring Women Of Cultural Attractions Of Australia

07.03.2024 - 15:15 / forbes.com / Art

This International Women's Day, celebrate some of the inspiring women who continue to trailblaze and pave the way for future generations.

Cultural Attractions of Australia is a collection of Australia’s most iconic attractions and celebrates the diverse history, art, culture, and sport that has defined the nation’s identity. A collective of 17 members uniting Australia’s landmark cultural attractions, it provides a range of immersive experiences that connect individuals and groups with the artists, curators, and experts who create, protect, and showcase these key cultural attractions. A collective of 17 members uniting Australia’s landmark cultural attractions, it provides a range of immersive experiences that connect individuals and groups with the artists, curators, and experts who create, protect, and showcase these key cultural attractions.

Bangarra Dance Theatre is a company of professional Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander performers and is one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies. Started in 1989, their dance technique is forged from over 65,000 years of culture, embodied by contemporary movement. Each year in June, Bangarra premieres a new work in Australia’s most iconic venue, the Sydney Opera House, before touring nationally.

Frances Rings became Artistic Director in 2023, after Stephen Page stepped down from the role after 33 years. Frances is a descendant of the Wirangu and Mirning Tribes from the West Coast of South Australia and, today, leads the Bangarra Dance Theatre company as co-CEO alongside Louise Ingram. Frances has received multiple awards for her work and, internationally, has established important intercultural relationships with both Kahawi Dance Theatre in Six Nations, Turtle Island (Canada) and Atamira Dance Company in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Visual artist Janine Della Bosca was spellbound by historic Fremantle Prison, long before she began working as a tour guide having held painting classes in the old women’s prison. The convict-built prison, now a World Heritage site, represents the end of convict transportation to Australia during the 18th and 19th centuries and was operational for 136 years before being decommissioned in 1991.

Today, Janine leads visitors on a variety of tours through the prison, including the night-time Torchlight Tour, Tunnels Tour, and the Prison Art Tour. Artwork includes etchings, Aboriginal landscapes, dot paintings and a range of graffiti and tattoo art, some of which dates back to the 1800s.

Janine says, “Viewing art in a maximum security prison changes the whole meaning of the artwork. You’re not in a nice gallery: you’re in this really locked-down circumstance.”

Janine says the intimate nature of the Prison Art