The feminist resurgence in the period 1960-1990 is often referred to as second wave feminism (the first being the period following the First World War, where women campaigned for and won the right to vote).  It had a significant impact on the art world and political graphics were no exception. This blog explores the work of women artists from Melbourne’s alternative poster collectives operating in this period including the work of Sybylla Press, Redletter Press, Bloody Good Graffix, Another Planet Posters, Jillposters, and RedPlanet, as well as posters from the trade union movement, and independent feminist publishers in the late 1970s.

Poster collectives operating in Melbourne were left leaning in their politics, non-hierarchical in their structure, and ran on feminist principles.  Their central aim was to bring what was private and personal – issues like abortion and control over one’s own body, domestic violence, rape and equal opportunity – into the realm of the public and political.

Over the years their focus expanded to include the peace movement and issues like the impact of war on women and children, solidarity with other cultures, the degradation of the environment, and the anti-nuclear movement. They responded to global issues with local action, aiming to build social capital by facilitating community engagement and participation through art projects, protest and even hiring billboard space to air their messages.

Sybylla Press, 1976-2002

Established in 1976 in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy by a group of women to provide printing facilities for the production of material to support the women’s movement. Printed works included flyers, posters, cards, and literary works. The Collective operated from a socialist/feminist perspective, and resolved not to print material that was sexist, racist or anti-working class.  The  group produced posters, postcards, t-shirts, badges and stickers on violence against women, anti-nuclear and anti-war issues.

[left] Women’s Press, 1983, screenprint; H84.248/53, [right]; International Women’s Day rally and march, 1983, screenprint; H84.248/58, © Sybylla Press , an imprint of Spinifex Press

Situated in Brunswick, women artists included Dianna Wells, Wendy Black, Marina Strocchi, Tanya McIntyre, Vicky McConville, Sue Anderson, Fiona Sommerville, Angela Gee, and late in the 1980s, Carol Porter and Pamela Branas. The left-leaning sentiments of their posters and other print media champion disadvantaged and minority groups: women, people of non-English speaking origins, First Australians, and groups from the queer community. As well as commercial printing, artists worked on self-initiated community projects with migrant women, youth and unemployment groups, and on environmental issues, including addressing France’s testing nuclear devices in the Pacific and protesting U.S. nuclear bases in Australia.

Bloody Good Graffix, 1983-1984

Formed by artists Julia Church and Kath Walters, Bloody Good Graffix occupied the Melbourne University printing facilities run by the Melbourne University Union Arts & Activities department which ran the print, design and access services for various community and university groups. Church, Walters and later Julie Shiels, created posters and postcards advocating for causes they were passionate about (some were done under the banner of Jillposters, which will be discussed below), or on commission for local groups, legal services, exhibitions and bands.

[left] Yuk! It’s been irradiated! 1987, screenprint by Sue Anderson. Redletter Press, H2003.90/661; [right] Beat! Australian pop and rock culture 1958-1984,(1984), screenprint by Julia Church, Bloody Good Graffix, H2003.90/828

Another Planet Posters, 1984-1991

An artists collective situated in St Kilda, Another Planet was originally conceived as a women-only group, but did include a few men over the years. Its members included Julia Church, Kath Walters, Julie Shiels, Sue Miller, Gabrielle Nhyas. It provided access to printing facilities, design advice and technical skills training for individuals, community groups and commercial enterprises. Artists produced in-house posters on issues such as indigenous land rights, nuclear threat, safety and equal opportunity for women, the need for childcare, unpaid domestic labour, and solidarity with oppressed groups and cultures. Their artists-in-community worked with groups such as the Women’s Referrals and Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre, the El Salvadorian Women’s Group, The Colac Education Centre, Fairlea Women’s Prison, and other neighbourhood and school groups.

Jillposters, 1983-1985

A loose all-women collective of artists, Jillposters ‘members’ came together on an ad hoc basis, often from other poster collectives. Members included Julia Church, Carol Wilson, Julie Shiels and Kath Walters from Another Planet Posters, Deej Fabyc and Alison Adler from Megalo (Canberra), Jenny Rosewarne from Sybylla, Lesley Baxter, Ally Black, Linda Brassel, Zana Dare, Maggie Fooke, Julie Higginbotham, Catriona Holyoake, Barbara Miles, Kate Reeves, Linda Rhodes, Lin Tobias, Julia Tobin, Chaz and Karen. The women of Jillposters posted their works on the streets of Melbourne without permission. They maintained anonymity by not including their names on the posters, only the collective’s logo. The collective produced posters and postcards from 1983 to 1985 on issues like peace, nuclear threat, women’s safety, childcare, racism, rape in war and child victims of war.

[left] Wipe out war not women! Rape is an act of war…march on Anzac Day, 1983. Screenprint by Deej Fabyc, Jillposters, H89.281/188; [right] No child need ever worry about growing old, 1983, screenprint, Jillposters, H84.248/59

RedPlanet Posters, 1992-1999

An amalgamation of Redletter Press and Another Planet Posters, RedPlanet operated from its location in Fitzroy until 1999 when it lost its funding, and ceased operation.  It offered a printing and design service, but its greatest legacy is the house posters created by the Artists-in-residence. With the exception of Carol Porter, who worked at RedPlanet for all the years it operated, other artists had residencies lasting one or two years each, and included Pamela Branas, Di Diddle, Sue Anderson, Deborah Kelly, Angela Bailey, Jenny Leach, Deb Ball, and Mary Zbierski-West. In the years that RedPlanet operated, almost all in-house posters addressed three key feminist themes: the role of women, multiculturalism and the environment.

[left] Money Power, Freedom, 1994. Screenprint by Carol Porter, RedPlanet (Commissioned by the Victorian Women’s Trust), H96.27/7; [right] Nip it in the bud, 1992. Screenprint by Carol Porter, RedPlanet, H94.112/25

The role of Trade Unions

Finally, it’s worth mentioning the role of trade unions in the quest for equal pay and equal opportunity in the workplace. Many posters were produced through the Art-in-Working-Life scheme, a joint funding initiative between the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Council of Trade Unions – some created using the design and printing services of the alternative poster collectives discussed above.

Women in Unions used to lack role models, 1987. Poster by Lyn Finch, ECPO/Administrative and Clerical Officers Association; Carol Porter, Toppling sexual harassment is union business, 1994. Screenprint by Carol Porter. RedPlanet, H2003.90/27

The State Library’s holdings of feminist graphics is broad and extensive, and can be found in the Pictures Collection, the Riley and Ephemera Collection, among the personal papers and archives in the Australian Manuscripts Collection, as well in feminist journals like Lip and Hecate. Most of the SLV’s holdings are Victorian, but there are excellent examples from interstate collectives like Earthworks, Redback Graphics, and Lucifoil, as well as international posters. Feminist messaging also appears on badges, postcards, t-shirts, and other merchandise like tea towels (the latter adding irony and humour to the existing gender imbalance of housework labour) in our vast collections.

Man’s final frontier, the home, 1993, tea towel By Carol Porter, RedPlanet; H2004.32/118

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Further reading:

This blog is based on the article by Olga Tsara, “Women’s Work –Resistance Work: The Political Graphics of Feminism in 1980s, Melbourne” RMIT Design Archives Journal Vol 13, No 1, 2023 | Radical Utopia, pp. 85-98, https://issuu.com/rmitculture/docs/rda_journal_28_13.1_issu

A fuller history of Redplanet Press (incorporating Redletter Press and Another Planet Posters) appears in the essay by Olga Tsara, “The Art of Revolution: Political posters in the RedPlanet archive”, La Trobe Journal, No 75, Autumn 2005, pp. 94-112

Protests, activism & dissent in Victoria is a useful research guide for further research into political activism in Victoria and beyond: https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/dissent