President’s Report May 2026
Denise Keele-bedford
It is a pleasure to once again welcome new members to our society. Karen Van Ulzen and associate member Tatiana Bistrin have recently joined with full membership. Our membership continues to grow with one hundred and thirty-four accounts on our membership list. Please welcome new members whenever you meet at our various events.
I urge members who have not updated their MSWPS profile to log into your account and utilise the benefit of promoting your art practice via the society. Our website and media accounts are available for your individual promotions.
As our society looks forward to celebrating one hundred and twenty-five years you can imagine the abundance of archival material that we store at Ola Cohn House. The recent in-house sorting created the Research and Lending libraries along with the discovery of significant archives. Thanks go to Tori Duggan and Leigh Rees for their time to assist our archivist, Robyn Pridham, in applying for a grant to begin the process of prioritising materials for digitisation. Robyn has submitted an extraordinary application for a Community Heritage Grant from the National Library of Australia .
A copy of our application is available by request, should you wish to read it.
Katya Cosgrove has initiated a proposal for members to participate in the Affordable Art Fair in August 2026. Interested members submitted their expressions of interest and the application is in the process of submission. It is possible that if accepted, some space could be available for a little more sculpture in the booth. Although the event is financed by participants under the MSWPS banner, it is supported by the society for promotional purposes.
The Gippsland Art Gallery Train Trip is planned for 20th May with a gallery visit on 21st May.
We will meet up with artists from the Gippsland district, thanks to Cynthia Boyle.
Gallery Director Simon Greg will take us on a scheduled collection tour in the morning and we will have a guided tour of the exhibitions in the afternoon.
Members have the option to stay over one or two nights in Sale. A late train leaves Sale on 21st May, or you can stay over and take the day train on 22 May. Please register your interest in attending. Train fares are free until the end of May—quite a bonus for members.
Next time you are at Ola Cohn House you will observe some changes. Box Hill Institute has offered to replace the old chairs, several of which are mouldy. Eighteen stackable chairs are on order and will help to create more space.
I am writing this report from my daughter’s house in Nashville Tennessee. The city’s first Art Gallery showcased an exceptional exhibition of Nashville women artists, that I managed to see on its last day. The concept of the show perfectly delivered a cross section of creative processes, including video interviews with the twenty-eight artists. These are available online via their website. Vanderbilt Press published a full colour catalogue for In Her Place on show from Feb 1 – April 26. Here is a promotional extract:
Critiquing the exclusion of women from the art-historical canon, scholar Linda Nochlin famously asked in 1971, “Why have there been no great women artists?” In response to her rhetorical question, we offer this exhibition in our largest gallery space as part of our twenty-fifth anniversary to celebrate the achievements of women artists right here in Nashville over the last four decades.
It is fabulous to see women artists acknowledged this way and hopefully more to come, in any country.
Happy Birthday to all members celebrating in May.
Image: Little Island Manhattan