QVWC Shop!: Creativity in Womanhood
The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre (QVWC) is Melbourne’s landmark for community resources, support, and championing women’s creativity. To further elevate female voices, International Women’s Day 2020 saw the grand opening of the QVWC SHOP!
Located in the centre of Melbourne’s QV shopping precinct, QVWC provides a platform for both women and non-binary artists, as well as designers, creatives, and the like. We sat down with the QVWC Shop! Curator, Jenny Huang, about how the Shop! came about, what goes into the Shop’s collection of artists and makers, and the importance of connection and community for Victorian creatives.
Jenny (left) & Marianne (right) at the QVWC Shop!
What sparked the creation of the QVWC SHOP! and what was the motivating factor for you to become the Shop Curator?
At the time of QVWC SHOP!’s creation, I had just graduated with a Master of Fine Art from RMIT, where I met so many creative and inspiring women along my art journey. I really wanted to bring these women together and create a tribe that gives each other company, courage and hope through art.
I have also been working in the retail industry for years, I see profits made from things out of factories and warehouses, from machines and overseas. I see women around me put their heart and soul in their art and their making whilst being overworked and underpaid. I started to care about where things come from, who makes them, and raised the question of “what am I selling and buying, and are creators being remunerated appropriately?”.
Then I saw that the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre was launching a space ‘by Women, for Women’, to support our amazing community of local creatives. The space would be designed to allow creatives who are cis women, trans women, and non-binary people who have shared experiences as women, to pursue their dreams, build their businesses and create an equal opportunity to sell their work.
I wanted to get involved and be part of this amazing community. I met up with our Shop Coordinator, Marianne, and discovered that we have the same passion that inspired us to put this Shop together, and that’s how it started.
“I see women around me put their heart and soul in their art and their making whilst being overworked and underpaid”
How would you say the QVWC SHOP! is different from other artist shops and market stalls in Melbourne?
Our difference is that we’re 100 per cent by women for women, and focused solely on Victoria-based creators.
Our aim for the Shop is more than a retail store - we host creative programming on-site and online. We strive to create an accessible and inviting space for people to come together, discover local artists, and also learn more about the history of the building itself and the other amazing things that go on within the centre.
When the shop first launched on International Women’s Day 2020, it wasn't too far away from the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and the state-wide lockdowns that rolled out soon after. How did QVWC SHOP! adapt during this difficult period?
It was certainly not the beginning we were planning on! We had to close our door a week after our opening, and artists and makers that rely on weekend & design markets or tourists to sell their wares were hugely impacted by this.
With the help from our QVWC team, Marianne and I quickly launched our online website and luckily the community had been really supportive and engaged. We were able to continue trading online and supporting our makers to keep their products and brands in the public eye, where they had been otherwise unable to trade.
It’s fantastic that QVWC SHOP! includes work from both women and non-binary artists. Tell us about this important distinction of diversity and the creative benefits.
Diversity is incredibly important to us. It’s important to share the work of those who share experiences of womanhood, including gender diverse people, as historically women and gender diverse people have had fewer opportunities to be recognised for their creativity. We want to create this diverse and inclusive environment for makers to express themselves, to share their experience and their creating. It is our passion to strengthen our community and make space for all voices to be heard and to share a wide range of stories.
Products created by Victorian makers, sold through QVWC Shop!
As the curator, how do you foster cultural and artistic relationships to develop a showcase of artwork?
We see ourselves as a link between makers and the customers. A big part of our in store experience is for customers to be able to come in, have a chat, and learn about our makers and the products face-to-face. We love sharing our maker's stories!
QVWC runs regular workshops throughout the year at the Centre that usually tie in with programming activities, special events or exhibitions. We’ve run QVWC Shop craft workshops, makers workshops, stitching workshops & healing workshops, to name a few. Workshops are normally run within our ground floor Birnbeal exhibition space.
Birnbeal has a regular calendar of exhibitions throughout the year, some of these exhibition’s link into our programming activity but the space is also open to the general public and aims to showcase the range and diversity of artists who identify as cis, trans and non-binary women working in Victoria. We are looking forward to the upcoming QVWC Shop Makers exhibition in November to December this year which will showcase the creative talents of our own shop makers!
We are also excited about Jenny Holzer who will display I CONJURE, a six-story projection on the facade of our building as part of Rising Festival.
Products created by Victorian makers, designers and artists showcased at the QVWC Shop!
What is the process in deciding which artists and their work are chosen in the QVWC Shop?
We do a call out in the community through our social platforms regularly and people are able to find out all information of stocking with us on our website.
We love handmade and unique products. With a focus on emerging artists and makers, we're keen on products that are locally designed and ethically made in Victoria, with bonus points for eco-friendly considerations like plastic free packaging, organic materials and vegan products. We are looking at what inspires the maker and the process of making each product, those details unique to the individual creator are what makes their work so special.
Can you tell us about the recent highlights at QVWC SHOP!, and the workshops you facilitate.
At the end of last year, we ran a ‘Make It Feministmas - Craft Workshop’, where people can come and create their very own one-of-a-kind feminist inspired Christmas decoration with three of our makers, Jade Lees Pavey, Funky Fun You and Kitiya Palaskas. It was lovely to see all the skill sharings in person and be able to bring some tangible art experience to people who are not normally in the creative industry.
What kind of changes have you seen in the creative community and larger city community since the creation of QVWC Shop?
The power of connection. We definitely see more people connecting in the creative community since the Shop opened, and it’s so lovely to see our makers bringing fellow makers forward to us. Making friends and collaborating with other makers from the Shop creates a real sense of community championed by sharing and support.
For our customers, we offer a retail experience where they can discover unique gifts and know that they are supporting local women’s businesses, and by understanding our makers and their stories. Our community starts to be more aware and care about where things come from and who makes them.
What is one thing you are most proud of from the QVWC SHOP! and what do you hope to achieve in the future?
I have to say, when I see the amount of money that we’ve paid back to our makers since our Shop opened, it makes me so proud. After all, this is why we are here. There are a lot of creative women out there creating their own art but have no idea where to showcase them or how to turn it into a business, and we’re here to provide them the opportunity and let them know they can start here, they have the support and help ready.
We are here to help them to stay connected to an audience, without necessarily having to manage it themselves, which is a full time job in itself. This allows them more time to focus on the fun part – creating!
In the future, I’m hoping we can expand our community and further reach more creative women and non-binary people across Victoria.
Wilde Aroma Soy Candle range sold at QVWC Shop!
To stay up to date with what’s happening at the QVWC Shop, you can follow them on social media @qvwc_shop or head to www.qvwc.org.au/happenings
WORDS: JENNY HUANG & AMELIA ASCIUTTO
PHOTOGRAPHY: QVWC SHOP!
PHOTOGRAPHY: QVWC SHOP!
