Magnet to launch its 13th women photographers’ exhibition

As International Women’s Day (IWD) approaches on March 8, so too does the launch of Magnet Galleries Melbourne’s 13th women photographers’ exhibition.

This year’s opening of the exhibition, which is titled CIRCLES, will begin with a launch party from 6.30pm, with all invited to attend to not only see the works, but meet with many of the photographers behind the work.

Included in the collection will be 37 diverse images from a total of 16 photographers, with all the works selected via a submission process and all the photographers given free range to explore the subject in their own way.

“The exhibition is always a themed one, and photographers are presented with a theme which is always deliberately very broad, and so it can be interpreted in many ways,” Susanne Silver, who is a director of the gallery with husband Michael Silver, said.

“With this year’s theme of CIRCLES, some people have been quite literal and presented us with an image of something circular, while other people have chosen to look at groups of people who do things together and form a circle in some way.”

“So, when people come to the exhibition, they are not going to just see a load of circles on the wall, but rather, quite a variety of interpretations.”

Magnet’s women photographers’ annual exhibitions first started when Mrs Silver became aware of very few women participating in the gallery’s group exhibitions.

Upon noticing, she created the exhibition to encourage more women to exhibit their work, and each year, as well as aligning with IWD, the exhibition also runs as a fundraiser.

While most years see Magnet focusing on raising funds for UN Women, this year donations will be going towards the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to help women impacted by the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

“Magnet exists as a not-for-profit and registered charity to support not only photographers but also great causes, and a lot of the work and exhibitions shown here will benefit another charity or organisation in some way or another,” Mrs Silver said.

“This year, there will be a great variety of high-quality photographs for people to see, and a very compelling cause to support.”

Following its opening on March 8, which all are encouraged to attend, CIRCLES will be open until April 1.

Magnet Galleries Melbourne can be found on Wharf St at The District Docklands. •

magnet.org.au