From

March 1935
Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Occupations

Arts organisation

Alternative Names

• Western Australian Women Painters and Applied Arts Society (former name)

Location

37 Churchill Avenue Subiaco WA 6008 Ph: (08) 9388 6547

Summary

Formed in 1935 in response to the long felt need for an organization that advanced women's interests and stimulated their creativity, the Western Australian Women's Society of Fine Arts and Crafts exemplified practical women-centered responses to the exclusion of women in the arts establishment. Three key periods of expansion were: the late 1940s, when work as a teaching society began in earnest; the mid 1960s, when memberships numbered 136; and the late 1970s and early 1980s, when craft had a renaissance and the organisation's numbers swelled. The Subiaco property, purchased in 1973, still serves as headquarters and continues to host classes in a range of crafts.

Sources used to compile this entry: Morrow, D., Sedgley, M. and Walsh, A., The W.A. Women's Society of Fine Arts & Crafts : it's time to remember, 1935-1978, Art & Craft House, Subiaco, W.A, 1978, 35 pp; Newsletter: Rules and Constitution of the Western Australian Women's Society of Fine Arts and Crafts. Claude Hotchin Archive MN1238; ACC4570A; ACC4977A; ACC5847A.