Australian Women in Art: Tai Snaith
By Annette Wagner
The inspiration I gain from passionate artists who actively, consistently and unrelentingly, explore their practice, while supporting the greater arts community, is beyond measure.
Admiration for Tai Snaith is deservingly fitting. With reflection and optimism, Tai translates her world through her art and dedication to the arts community.
She currently has no less than three projects on, between managing the logistics of her her young family; 'Art Attack', the weekly arts review program she co-hosts with Ace Wagstaff as part of Richard Watt’s show Smart Arts on Triple R; and she is working on her third picture book.
To say she keeps busy is an understatement. Her focus is an incredible attribute. Tai completed her BA in Fine Art with Honors at VCA in 2002, and she didn’t return to her art practice until her late 20s. Since then she has worked within arts organisations Express Media and the Next Wave Festival, and has exhibited and curated her work extensively in solo and group shows.
I approached her earlier this year to contribute to our Australian Women in Art series and I’m thrilled to finally have her informative and insightful responses to my questions.
Tai’s authenticity and courage are evident and she inspires us to aim for our dreams and bring ideas to life. She discusses her experiences with the gender imbalance within our arts industry and her inspiration generators. Good advice and encouragement goes a long way. Many creative people attribute growing up, and continuing to make room to dream as being important in exploring and forming creativity.
Image by Hilary Walker.
What in your personal life influenced you to choose and pursue a creative career?
Growing up, I spent half of my time in the city with my mum driving fast cars and going to the beach. When we visited my dad we were on the farm with cows and horses, so I had the best of both worlds as a kid. I guess the freedom on the farm was very formative in the way that I formed as a person and a thinker. I love horses and I spent many hours on a horse - galloping, wandering and dreaming. I even used to lie on my horse backwards and read my book while she was eating grass. I was always obsessed with drawing as a kid. I pretty much drew all the time I was not on a horse.
Actually, come to think of it, I made lots of different things as a kid - painted rocks, wax sculptures from dripping candles, constructed and designed environments for animals that I collected (frogs, crickets, lizards, rabbits, mice). I wrote dense and imaginative short stories. I was always pretty sure I would be something creative as an adult. There was never really any question about that. Tricky thing has just been working out what kind of creative I am!
Wilting Facade by Tai Snaith
Since graduating from VCA with honours, you’ve consistently maintained and actively pursued exhibiting, curating, residencies and reviewing the arts. Your commitment to seeing these projects through is demonstrated from the arduous task of grant and proposal submissions, to creating the work and installation. Exhibiting is often not a fast process. How do you find this process now? Has it got any easier with practice and do your networks you’ve established over time help?
It’s still difficult. And you’re right, it’s not a fast process. It takes a lot of perseverance to keep making work and finding ways to show it. Even just the process of following through an idea or finishing a painting without losing interest or courage. I am actually considering going back to do my Masters in the coming years, as I still have the desire to learn more about critically positioning my work and trying to tie all the loose ends together conceptually. Making the work is one thing, but talking about it and writing about it is at times very challenging. I actually have a long term dream of writing more fiction, I have always really loved that too. Maybe even a novel one day.
As well as your exhibitions, in 2012 your first children's book, The Family Hour in Australia was published by Thames and Hudson. From concept, research, writing, illustrating, pitching the book to Thames and Hudson and receiving a hard copy of the book in completion, how was this process and how long did the book take you?
The first picture book took me about 10 months. With a young baby, not having a clue what I was doing with either the baby or the book, I made most of it in delirious fits of drawing during my baby’s nap times. The second book took me about 8 months, with a toddler and a newborn! I still have no idea how or when I did that book- In my sleep?! I actually have very little memory of it now. The process of creating a picture book is quite an investment for very little return financially in the short term. But that’s not really why you do a book. The idea of planting a seed and watching it grow over time is a nice idea for me.
The idea of planting a seed and watching it grow over time is a nice idea for me. Also, getting into the minds of thousands of children is also pretty special. They are a lovely audience, the best kind really. I am working on my third book now and in some ways it is kind of like having a baby! And similar gestation period too.
Were you ever discouraged or had setbacks that derailed your career? Was there something that kept yourself optimistic and motivated?
Yes, I have had many. At art school I was very confused, I had no idea who I was. Lecturers made it even more confusing. For quite a few years after finishing art school I didn’t really make any proper art work. I struggled working as a waitress and in a bookshop and riding the rollercoaster of going out to a lot of parties and the associated highs and lows. To be honest, I feel like I have not really got a good hold of who I am until recently. At least not until my late 20’s. Also, I think during your 20’s there are more restraints in terms of money, which makes buying materials, renting studio space and being ‘professional’ almost impossible. I feel like those tough times are over, which is nice and I feel very fortunate to be where I am.
What keeps me optimistic is just the joy of making. I love making things. Creating worlds, bringing ideas to life. Creating things that no-one else can, no matter how much money they have. Expressing abstract thoughts in new languages. It is a gift and I am never bored of exploring it.
At an event on ‘Creativity After Kids’, held in 2015 and coordinated by Darebin City Council, you were on a panel with some other amazing women including Lorelei Vashti, Robin Penty and Rachel Power, which I was lucky enough to attend. The conversation was fantastic, all- encompassing and offered great insight and reflection on managing pre-schoolers through to young adults, with domesticity and family, while acknowledging the need to allow time for personal creativity. How do you continue to manage your time and creative output with two children and all that this entails, and do you think that they have contributed to your work in some way?
I think we all find ways to manage, whatever our situations might be. Some people manage careers AND families with serious illness. Some have to care for their parents full time. Some are haunted by bad luck. I feel like having kids has been challenging in many ways, but in more ways it has really given me a truer sense of who I am and definitely untapped a hunger and a drive that I didn’t really know I had. If you really want to do something you always find a way to do it.
At this event, you also touched on then the gender imbalance represented in Australia, especially in prizes such as the Archibald Prize. Do you think there is a gender imbalance in Australia supporting female artists operating in our current contemporary art system and have you ever felt inequality for being a female artist in Australia? If so, how or when or what was the scenario?
Yes! There is serious imbalance, STILL, in the art world. It is slowly being addressed, but I see it almost every day. Women are still treated patronisingly when they are single and like baby factories when they are mothers and often in good faith ‘given time’ to stop their careers in order to care for their children. What I don’t understand is how people think this is helpful? I often hear people (old male curators usually) say (and have said to me) ‘Just take some time out, your art can wait- the most important thing is to be a good mum. Don’t worry about meeting with me, I know how hard it is to just get the washing on the line.’ Like that is all a woman is good for once she has a baby. Which is absolute bullshit. The most important thing for a creative woman with young children is to keep a sense of yourself and often, for an artist, that is to keep making your art. And to have a reason to. It is the only thing that kept me sane through having kids! Women should not be made to feel guilty for spending part of their limited energy focusing on their creative work and taking time to keep it alive. I strongly believe this makes me a better mum in the long run anyway.
Lovekiller by Tai Snaith
The horrendous and unquestionably unfair recent Australia Council budget cuts, will see grants to individual artists and projects decrease dramatically over the next 12 months time, and potentially beyond - a thought I’m reluctant to mention. Before these cuts, and even more so now, do you feel that Australian female artists will have fewer resources, crucial financial support, to go into making and producing their art?
I think all Australian artists, including writers, dancers and actors and subsequently audiences and broader society will suffer from these recent cuts. I was lucky enough to have my first volunteer position at Express Media as a teenager and then one of my first jobs as a producer at the Next Wave Festival, both of which have recently lost their funding after years of providing platforms and launching places for creatives like myself. Without these organisations I would not have been able to work in the arts. I would probably be working in advertising. God forbid. I fear these pure, grassroots cultural incubators will increasingly be forced to become co-opted by corporations and subsumed into capitalism like everything else. Sad times.
On a more positive note, you have a new exhibition opening here in Melbourne. What is this exhibition about, and where can we see and support it?
I actually have 3 projects on at the moment, or coming up. One is an exhibition called ‘Concrete Agenda’ which I have curated and am also part of, for C3 gallery at the Abbotsford Convent. I am pretty excited about this show, it's a group of artists who I really respect including Kate Tucker, Laura Skerlj, Belle Bassin, Olga Bennett, Pia Murphy, Alice Wormald and Nell Pearson.
The next show my work is in is a group show in Sydney at a space called Home @735 in Redfern where I will be exhibiting a series of new fictional portraits paired with abstract ceramic assemblages for the first time. And at the end of July (Saturday 30th) our house (BKK Dolls House, designed by my partner Simon Knott) is one of the feature homes to be opened up to the public for Open House Melbourne and I will be opening up my studio and also displaying a series of new my works upstairs in our bedroom! June and July are quite busy, but now that I think of it, so is November and December- lucky we are going on holiday in September!
Where do you often find the most inspiration?
I find most inspiration from just starting to make. I love the process of making. I also read a lot of fiction and art books and I walk along the Merri Creek a lot listening to podcasts. These would be my main inspiration-generators.
Lastly, what is the best advice you have ever been given?
Be kind to yourself.
Regional creative: Danielle Thomas, photographer
By Jasmine Mansbridge
Regional photographers are often spoilt for choice in the gorgeous landscapes and vistas they can shoot - usually in their very own town. One Day Collective's Danielle Thomas in no exceptions. As a wedding photographer based in south-west Victoria, Danielle hasn't let her location stop her from attracting clients and shooting stunning images.
Can you introduce yourself?
I am Danielle. Wedding stalker. Storyteller. Photo taker. Moment seeker. Family sorter. Happen maker. Girl Boss. Wife. Mother. Yep, Danielle.
Where are you based and what business are you in?
I am based in Tarrington, Victoria. A little village south of Hamilton in the western District. About four hours west of Melbourne. My business is One Day Collective and I am a photographer.
Have you always lived in a regional/rural area?
Yes, I grew up in the area. I used to ride my bike to the general store in the village where I now live to buy 20c worth of lollies and ride home again. I went to school locally from prep to year 12.
How long have you been in business? Have you found it has got easier or harder as time has gone on?
I have been a photographer for about 10 years now. It has actually always been quite natural to me so the harder / easier discussion is not something I have with myself often. I think if there has been anything hard at any time it has been through my own self-infliction.
I could honestly say that it has become more enjoyable [easier] as I have got a little older, surer of my direction and myself. Not seeking out as many back pats, I can pat my own back now....haha!
What has been/is your biggest challenge?
Biggest challenge was the decision to focus on weddings and commercial / product photography over being a jack of all genre’s. It was a little scary given my location.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of myself. Having the courage and conviction to chase what I wanted to do. Changing and adapting as I went without sacrificing or pimping myself to the lowest bidder. I now have my ‘no’ licence - A powerful thing once you get it. Being able to say no without the feeling of loss or offending someone.
What would you do differently in business if you had your time again?
I would possibly pop my blinkers on for longer in the beginning. I am easily overstimulated. Looking, following, chasing, being inspired by absolutely everything was a little crazy. I think I would have found my ‘mojo’ a lot sooner had I have done that. I would have also worked less when my little people were babies. I don’t think I am alone there.
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
A farmer's wife. Happy. Travelling. Still with camera in hand but more personal projects [I will miss the epic weddings terribly]
What are you looking forward to most in the next twelve months?
I have both my children at school as of this year. I am excited for anything. Getting my workflow down. My home, being homely.
What is your favourite social media platform for your business?
I love Instagram, it’s a different vibe. Facebook is all business for me and somewhere I store my recipes.
Why I joined CWC: Martina Gemmola
Have you been meaning to join Creative Women’s Circle for a while? Well, now is the time to join us and reap the benefits. Our Mid-Year Membership Drive is on until June 30 – you can save 10% off the full price of membership, just in time for the end of the financial year (and it's tax deductible!).
There are a whole host of benefits, including the opportunity to join a Members-only Facebook group (launching in July!) to discuss the highs and lows of being a creative, entrepreneurial woman; the chance to attend and vote at the AGM in August; plus discounted event tickets, product discounts, and the chance to attend Member-only events.
Photographer Martina Gemmola has been part of CWC for several years, and credits the group for providing support and opportunities for her creative business. Here's her story...
Interior design project by Camilla Molders, photographed by Martina Gemmola.
Why did you join CWC?
I had returned to Melbourne after 6 years away and felt a little lost as how I should go about launching my freelance business, and how to connect with likeminded people. Having joined a 'networking' group overseas, and having felt the benefits of just being part of something, I decided to become a member of the Creative Women's Circle. I felt an instant connection and was warmly embraced by the creative community Melbourne is known for.
Floral & botanical design by Good Grace & Humour, photographed by Martina Gemmola.
What were your first impressions of CWC?
I felt such comfort! Knowing that I had 'found my people' - which is not something to be taken for granted in the sometimes competitive and 'cliquey' world of small creative business. Everyone was so welcoming, and so happy to share their knowledge. Plus they were just generally super to be around. It wasn't long before I was volunteering to help Tess at events and baking up a storm for our morning teas. It was nice to be able to give back to the community that gave so much to me.
What have been the biggest benefits or positives of CWC to your creative life and career?
I can't stress enough the positive effect it has had on my business. In the early days I asked a couple of CWC people on coffee dates and we started to collaborate on some folio projects. What resulted was a greater confidence in my work and in the direction it was going, the freedom to try new things, and refine some old skills. I started to feel a little more at home back in Melbourne, armed with an instant support network filled with absolutely rad women.
Kooyong House by Monique Woodward, WOWOWA, photographed by Martina Gemmola.
Have you connected with other CWC members?
I work a lot with the talented interior designer Camilla Molders, who was my first CWC crush, and she in turn has referred me left right and centre all over the design world, which I am eternally grateful for. She introduced me to Ruth Welsby, who has become my styling guru and dear friend. I've worked with our fabulous president Tess McCabe on several projects, and have had some of my best jobs referred from ladies of the CWC. I've shot some amazing architecture and interiors with fellow members Monique Woodward of WOWOWA and Samara Greenwood of SGArch. I've photographed a wall covered from top to bottom with flowers just for the hell of it with the Good Grace & Humour ladies. I've found myself in the most ridiculously stunning luxury accommodation in Port Fairy with Colleen Guiney, who found me through the CWC, and together we worked on an article that graced the pages of Vogue Living - total dream. It's been an amazing resource for word of mouth marketing (the only kind I do!). I've had the best of fun.
One thing I found at events was how easy it was to strike up a conversation with a stranger, and quickly find common ground. I've never really been one to put myself out there, but somehow the events I went to inspired me to give it a go. The daggy networking group I had been a part of overseas was much more corporate, and felt a little like everyone was out to take, take, take. The CWC was just the opposite and was all about giving. Everyone was so honest and real in the way they related to each other. Following up was always easy - a quick email, a good Melbourne coffee, and I always found myself in excellent company with lots of ideas to explore. What a treat.
Thanks, Marti! Find our more about our Mid-Year Membership Drive here.
What drew you to becoming a photographer, and to doing what you’re doing today?
I love adventures. Photography seemed like a good way to have lots of adventures. As a kid I was addicted to National Geographic magazines. I wanted to know the planet and it’s inhabitants- the images sparked an intense desire to travel and discover. That was where my curiosity for photography started, I wanted to document adventures and moments of the world.
Can you give us a little insight into your creative process?
I have a journal with me all the time and I write and draw the things I am seeing, feeling, experiencing. Anything and everything. I have lots of things to work with in the pages of my journals. My mood and headspace, and what I am going through at certain time of my life influences my work too. I see things in nature, in books, a person's face and it might spark an idea so I make sure I write it down and I draw on all this with my work. I have an overactive imagination and daydream probably way too much!
Who is your typical customer/client?
I don't really have a typical client, but a common thread in the clients that seek me out is the storytelling element of my work. That is something I hear a lot and it tends to reference my personal documentary work, they want that element of narrative applied to their project whether its editorial, fashion, portraiture etc...
What does a typical day involve for you?
Not sure I ever have a typical day but typical things you will find in my days would be shooting, emails, quoting, invoicing , retouching, meetings, riding my horse and planning travel and projects.
What has been your proudest career achievement to date?
I have a bio on my website that will tell you about those things but if I think about this question and don't make it about awards or exhibitions and the like, then I do have a story. I was shooting a campaign and we were photographing older women. All of these women were real women and they all were so shy and worried about having their picture taken. A lot of them said things like "I'm so ugly" Or "I'm too old and wrinkly". We did their hair and makeup, we had champagne and cheeses. We made a real fuss of them. I worked with each of them in a studio portrait session and talked them through their worries. When I showed them the pictures, there were many tears. "I look beautiful, we all look beautiful" was the response. I was proud to be a part of that exchange.
What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
Shoot what you love.
What are your plans for the future?
I have some collaborative works planned, working with incredible artists and designers. I also hope to start shooting a project which I am currently researching. It’s still under wraps but basically the story looks at the bonds of a unique human/animal relationship in Australia, and the controversy surrounding it. Hoping to get back to Iceland and finish the project I started last year working with Icelandic horses and just create great work for great people.
What do you see as a benefit of being a CWC member?
Connecting with other women who are working in creative fields. It's nice to be part of a tribe and be inspired by all the great things these women are doing.
Australian women in art: Emily Floyd
By Annette Wagner
Emily Floyd’s work needs little introduction, and for some EastLink Melbourne commuters, you’re lucky to appreciate a glimpse of her almost symbolic signage work daily with her public art installation of an enormous black iron bird and yellow worm (Titled: Public Art Strategy, 2008).
Read into that what you will as this is exactly Emily’s point. Her work is an ongoing investigation into texts, typography, literature and ideologies.
Honestly, it’s not often you get the opportunity to ask questions of someone who’s work you admire tremendously, and while I’ve been enamored and thrilled with the depth of Emily’s responses, I’m not surprised. Her bold and colourful work provokes discussions about design, cultural and political ideas, and provides spaces for social interaction and community engagement that I’m pleased to say even my own children enjoy.
Emily graduated in sculpture at RMIT University in 1999 and has exhibited widely since, including Heide Museum of Modern Art Melbourne, Monash University Museum of Art Melbourne, MCA Sydney, Anna Schwartz Gallery Melbourne, Dundee Contemporary Arts Scotland, Seven Art Limited New Delhi, NGV Melbourne, and Queensland Art Gallery Brisbane. She has multiple awards, completed public sculpture commissions, and is held in major collections nationally and internationally, including the V&A Museum in London.
In my Q&A with Emily, she reminds us that it can be a big step to say ‘I’m an artist’, that turning off technology can be liberating and analogue methodologies are considered the new avant-garde. A response that resonated most with me was “…success for all artists is about making better work and achieving a connection to an audience, no matter how small”.
Emily Floyd. Photograph by Sean Fennessey. Courtesy of The Design Files.
Growing up with makers, then studying graphic design, before focusing on sculpture, all evidently contribute to your exploration in contemporary art. How long did it take you to realise you were destined to be an artist, and build the confidence to commit wholeheartedly, create and exhibit your own work?
I started exhibiting formally in my final year of art school, although I have always made artworks and experimented with different modes of display. My grandmother made wooden block sets in our family’s toy workshop in Melbourne when I was growing up, she would never have thought of herself as an artist but had an excellent ability for abstract composition. I enjoyed assisting her to do this work and it helped me develop the skills I use today. My first exhibition was a collaborative project at an artist run space in Melbourne’s Nicholas Building called Talk, that was in 1999 and I was 26 years old. It can feel like a big step to say “I’man artist” and something that some women find pretentious or confronting, for me the decision and confidence has been cumulative.
Lecturing in Fine Art at Monash University, you noted that today students have grown up with the internet, and are not just interested in one discipline. It is evident that you yourself are comfortable with the fusion of ideas and processes, working with many different materials in sculpture, and printing, to name a few mediums you explore. Do you have a preferred medium or material to work with? If so, why and how does this engage your imagination and abstract thoughts?
This year I’ve been making a wooden sculpture and block-print installation for an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney called Telling Tales: Excursion in Narrative form, curated by Rachel Kent. I’ve made hand carved letterpress typography using cyrillic fonts developed at the Moscow based institute “Polygraphmash: Laboratory of Special Graphic Forms.” Following the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, type designer Lyubov Kuznetsova digitised the Polygraphmash font archive as an online resource, it has been amazing to research and work with the typographic legacy she assembled, including font books by mid century book designers Solomon Telingater and Galina Bannikova.
Your work, especially public sculptures, explore many references to font and colour, shape and size, material and movement. How important to you is interaction and the process of engagement with your work?
The process of engagement is the moment when art enters life, so it’s very important. Participatory art can have a social function when integrated with other strategies, including research and media communication. I try to make objects and situations that facilitate direct engagement for an audience, for example a forthcoming hands-on typography workshop at the MCA makes the proposition that design can exist in support of political and social change.
I’m also mindful we’ve come to expect a great deal of spectacle, movement and direct participation from contemporary art, but active engagement can also involve a quiet afternoon wandering through a museum or cultural space, reflecting on diverse ideas and forms that are discovered rather than overly presented, it’s a fine balance and I would hope that art offers an alternative to the relentless engagement of Capitalist junk space.
Emily Floyd's 'Labour Garden', 2015. Installation view 'All The World's Futures', 56th International Art Exhibition, Biennale di Venezia, Venice, 2015. (Courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery).
With references to Dada, Bauhaus, Russian Constructivist, and folk culture, your work demonstrates your passionate research and the exploration of contemporary social, cultural and political ideas. How do you see new technologies enabling your work and facilitating the translation of our culture today?
I usually begin in the studio with analogue methodologies because it helps me to think things through in a material way: reading, writing, cutting out objects, printing and collaging different images. The turn away from digital technology can be liberating, I am finding students and young artists who have grown up with digital technology often view analogue systems as a new avant-garde, which is interesting. Once I have worked something out by hand though, I’m happy to leave Middle Earth and work with new technologies. In the studio we use laser-cutting and CNC routing processes, 3D printing and modelling, graphics software, ink jet printing and scanning, a lot of cut and paste.
As an Australian Woman in Art, and beyond the specific political and ideological issues involved in the subjection of women, what does success really mean and how has it been achieved so far for you here in Australia?
Contemporary cultural institutions present a kind of democratic ‘balance of power’ so the fact that Australian and International museum collections are full of artworks made by white, male artists makes an unprecedented opportunity for women artists, we can offer a counter position, what they call the ‘feminine multitude’.
I feel extremely fortunate to be working in this time because I know how difficult it has been for previous generations to find a voice. Success for all artists is about making better work and achieving a connection to an audience, no matter how small. I hope to have the opportunity to continue researching different approaches to language and my next step is a project exploring invented languages in the literary genre of Feminist Science Fiction.
A good dose of statistics is always reassuring, two Feminist art blogs I love to read, both exploring ideas of success and failure in the art world, are Countesses and Natty Solo. As well as looking at the data they are brilliant artworks in their own right, affirming that by inventing new contexts, we can make our own success.
Emily Floyd is represented by Anna Schwartz Gallery, who I would like to thank for their assistance in coordinating this interview.
Industry insights: Women behind the scenes
By Annette Wagner
I love the visual pleasure and the escapism of a good film, TV or Netflix program. In my mind, people who produce film or TV work long, insane hours, at random locations, but it’s OK because they have amazing catering trucks! All those logistics behind the scenes are a mystery to me: putting productions together so I can watch at the cinema or from the luxury of my cosy couch.
Recently after speaking with Stephanie Lim, an emerging Melbourne screen producer, I gained some insights into the Australian film and TV industry. I learned that getting the concept to screen was a challenge, and one that I hadn’t even considered, well before the long filming hours, random locations and catering on wheels (budget pending).
Stephanie fell in love with film when she was eight. She remembers how transporting and transformative film seemed at that young age. The defining influence for her to pursue a life behind the scenes was when her family was living in Birdsville (QLD) and she and her brother use to help set up the makeshift cinema in front of the hospital where the whole town came together to watch a film, usually Storm Boy. There, in the middle of nowhere, they were collectively having this experience that spoke to them individually.
She pursued her passion by doing a short photography course then a media course in South Australia. Originally wanting to be a cinematographer, she began lighting and camera assisting mostly, and some other roles to get an idea of her own place in the industry. She did work experience with gaffers and then got a job in the lighting department in a South Australian television station. When life dynamics changed, Stephanie moved into production management, then producing.
Knowing the right people is critical in most industries and Stephanie agrees- it's really important in the film industry. Probably more important than ever. "When I started in 1996 it was like a secret society as it was pre-internet, pre-email, and pre-mobile phones so there weren’t as many resources around to connect you with others. Now, social media plays a big part in creating and sustaining professional networks and communicating with peers, as well as a way of identifying potential audience bases. Essentially your networks become both your best employment opportunity and your best chance to engage with your audience.”
Getting started and being able to keep going in film Stephanie explains "…is difficult because you need the funds to hire the people you need for the project to be realised, but you need some of those people before you can go through the financing process."
On low-budget/no-budget productions essential production crew will generally consist of the producer, director, cinematographer, production designer, first assistant director, sound, and lighting. Preferably you’d also have continuity, art direction, costume design, location manager, unit manager, hair and make-up, second assistant director, and any other crew members necessary to meet the needs of the production, within budgetary parameters.
It was clearly a case of either fully committing to a career in film, or a destiny of binge-watching episodes from the comfort of her couch, and I agree with Stephanie- there is so much content being created, it's often quite difficult to keep up with. For Stephanie, committing was the only option, as she realised the only time she really loved her job and industry was when she was working in film.
Many female award acceptance speeches highlight the inequality in film, and in the bigger picture (excuse the pun) getting funding is a fraction of the challenge. As a female in the Australian film industry Stephanie thinks one of the main issues is getting across that women make up 50% of the audience, therefore they should be represented on and off-screen. Behind the scenes, women should have access to the same opportunities that men do, and with the same pay scale, but they don’t.
In Australia, the gender imbalance is acknowledged by government funding initiatives and professional development opportunities being created exclusively for women. It recently became public that not one single female camera operator or sound recordist has been identified working in the reality and unscripted genres within Australian TV.
Stephanie explains she was lucky to have been taught film lighting by a really decent male gaffer when she first started in the late 90’s, however noted television was then a very misogynist, sexist, intimidating and discriminating workplace for women. Today, she can see that it is harder to get mentorships and move into key creative positions, commenting that women tend to work harder, longer hours, and with less acknowledgement. The Gender Matters initiative indicated that the gender imbalance is predominantly in film where women account for 32 percent of producers, 23 per cent of writers and only 16 per cent of directors.
Aside from those depressing facts for females in film, Stephanie is currently producing a comedy mockumentary-style TV series with screenwriter Sophie Bean and Co-producer Maria Alibrando. The team are waiting for news to see if their project will be shortlisted for an initiative that will help them develop it into an eight-part series, and pitch to the ABC. Fingers crossed!
Staying optimistic and motivated, Stephanie loves researching for whatever projects and opportunities that are around. Inspired by people and what’s going on in the world, the best advice she says she has ever been given was to ‘take one day at a time, and, you can only do what you can do’.
For anyone passionate and brave enough to pursue their screen dream, or give the industry gender imbalance a good nudge, Stephanie suggests one of the best resources is Open Channel. “…One of the best screen organisations supporting early and mid-level career practitioners. They have really filled the gap in supporting emerging filmmakers and are an invaluable resource. Their conferences are inspiring and well-researched, and they are accessible to everyone.”
Having a little insight into getting work funded and produced, and an overview of the industry here in Australia is both inspiring and depressing to be honest. But for those amazing women currently working in the industry to bring stories alive, I will pay greater attention to the females listed in the credits, and will, now more than ever, appreciate the passion in every picture.
My next question is, what am I going to watch next?!
For more on the gender divide in the Australian film and TV industry, see here, here and here.
Annette Wagner is a designer, marketer, creative consultant, artist and writer. She is also on the board of the Creative Women’s Circle. Obsessively passionate about the arts and the creative process, she is determined to not talk art-speak and instead focus on supporting and sharing concepts and insights most creative types crave to know.
Regional creative: Tracy Lefroy, Cranmore Home
By Jasmine Mansbridge
For my guest blog this year I wanted to look specifically at women who are running a creative business from a regional location. One lady who is doing this, and with great success is Tracy Lefroy from Cranmore Home. I knew of her business even before I began looking for prospective interviewees and I was blown away to discover that she is based on a farm in Western Australia.
So, just as I was, I am sure you will be inspired by Tracy’s story.
Where are you based and what business are you in?
Cranmore Home is a curated collection of Australian-designed and ethically-sourced homewares, art and fashion. The online store is complimented by a brick and mortar store located in my hometown of Moora, Western Australia, 180km (a beautiful two-hour drive) north of Perth.
Have you always lived in a regional/rural area?
I have spent the majority of my life living in WA’s beautiful Wheatbelt and Midwest region. I grew up in a very small place called ‘Irwin’ which is near the coastal town of Dongara, 350km north of Perth, just 10 minutes from the beach and with three sisters to keep me on my toes…. It was a pretty ideal childhood.
Like many country kids, I headed off to the city for high school and stayed on for Uni, where I completed my Honours in Agricultural Science at the University of WA. I greatly enjoyed some ‘obligatory’ overseas travel before moving to Northam in the Wheatbelt for work.
In 2005, I was the youngest recipient to be awarded a prestigious Nuffield Scholarship, which took me to some amazing places around the world. Since then, I have been farming with my husband, Kristin and his parents at our property ‘Cranmore Park’ near Moora.
How long have you been in business? Has it become easier, or harder as time has gone on?
The seed for Cranmore Home was planted in 2010 shortly after my husband and I moved into our beautiful old farmhouse. Three babies, three years and a once-off pop-up shop later I launched my website and in 2014 opened a retail space in Moora.
I started this business because I am passionate about Australian food and fibre and the manner in which it is produced, AND I saw a massive gap in the homewares market for a retail outlet that championed our amazing home-grown designers and artists.
I had passion, a great premise and a strong business background but absolutely ZERO retail experience! So I always knew it was going to be a steep learning curve and a lot of hard yakka (I am a self-confessed workaholic). What I didn’t expect was the amazing array of opportunities for me to grow my business- I am currently developing a trade/commercial arm of Cranmore Home, which is super exciting for my little business.
So to get back to your question…. It’s definitely not easier, but it is not necessarily harder either. Cranmore Home is this amazing vehicle for pursuing my passion and the more I put into it the more rewards, challenges and crazy experiences it throws at me.
What has been/is your biggest challenge?
With three young kids, I juggle Cranmore Home around family, farm, friends and other life commitments. Like any working parent and partner, the work-life balance situation is constantly being tweaked but I am getting better at taking a breath, stepping back and knowing that while I cannot "do it all" right now, I can do my best at each facet of my life.
Business-wise, freight is the biggest cost challenge as I offer free Australia-wide shipping. It is just not cost-effective to freight stock across the Nullarbor to my showroom in Moora only to send it back to customers on the East Coast. As a result, I now have warehouse space in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth where stock is sent direct to my customers.
What are you most proud of?
My three gorgeous kids! I’m also incredibly proud to be a farmer and business owner that champions Australian design. Having the honour to represent incredible designers + makers whilst living and breathing farming, has been such an honour and something of which I am very proud.
What would you do differently in business if you had your time again?
Eeek, I am an eternal optimist so my sights are firmly set forward, I am not great at hindsight. But I have learnt a few expensive lessons in my first few years of Cranmore Home. One of the areas I am trying to improve upon is really targeting and refining my advertising spend.
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Wow, in 10 years my kids will all be at high school, which is scary and makes me a little teary! Life will be so different but, there is nothing like three sets of boarding school fees to keep you motivated in your business.
What are you looking forward to most in the next twelve months?
We have an amazing ‘Winter Workshop’ planned for July. Now in its third year, the Winter Workshop is a dynamic event, with the format changing yearly. This year I have such huge ideas… now to get them to happen!
I learn so much from collaborating with the Cranmore Home designers and it is such a rewarding experience being part of their creative process. The Winter Workshops is an opportunity for my clients to be able to experience this same creative excitement and fulfilment plus be exposed to the beauty and heritage of ‘Cranmore country’, the WA wheatbelt.
Can you offer anything special to CWC readers?
I sure can! I would love to extend a special CWC offer of 15% store-wide here at Cranmore Home (only excluding Heatherly Beds). Just enter CWC15off at checkout to redeem.
Have you got anything you'd like to plug?!
I have just started a fortnightly newsletter to bring my customers behind the scenes of Cranmore Home. It features sneak peeks of new products, subscriber-only discounts, first dibs on advanced orders and takes clients ‘behind the brand’ to get to know the amazing designers and artists that I proudly represent.
To sign up just fill in the pop-up window when visiting www.cranmorehome.com.au
What is your favourite social media platform for your business?
I am an Instagram addict!!! @cranmorehome and @cranmorehomesale allow me to converse directly and instantly with clients, designers, journalists, bloggers, etc.
I am a very visual person and a firm believer in the phrase ‘a picture says a thousand words’. Instagram allows me to express the motivations and inspirations behind Cranmore Home.