Changemakers: Crafting a difference - Tal Fitzpatrick Artist Talk and Banner Making Workshop

Join us for an artist talk and banner-making workshop led by craftivist Tal Fitzpatrick.

This event has now reached full capacity. To be added to the waiting list, please register your interest by emailing Caitlin McClare at caitlin.mcclare@herplacemuseum.com

The Changemakers banner-making workshop invites you to draw upon visual protest traditions, such as women’s suffrage campaigns, to try your hand at craftivism.

Tal Fitzpatrick uses embroidery, quilting, and applique techniques to create textile banners that explore challenging issues, attitudes, and behaviors that perpetuate unequal power relations.

Changemakers is an exhibition and workshop that invites you to try your hand at craftivism. Craftivists celebrate and subvert clichéd notions of needlecraft and other "women's work" to bring attention to a range of social justice issues.

The exhibition features eight textile banners created by craftivist Tal Fitzpatrick, drawing upon visual protest traditions such as women's suffrage campaign banners. Like their forerunners, Tal's banners highlight the challenges women face, including violence and inequality. Initiatives for economic empowerment can help reduce or prevent violence against women.

Changemakers is proudly supported by CommBank Next Chapter, a program helping victim-survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse achieve long-term financial independence.

As part of QVWC’s IWD and Women’s History Month program, participants will be invited to showcase their banners at the 6 March: IWD Rally Gathering and Placard Pop-Up, presented in collaboration with Victoria Trades Hall Council, amplifying their voices through creative activism.

Recommended age: 15+ (Some themes may be confronting, but a quiet space will be available.) No experience required. All materials will be supplied, but keen crafters are welcome to bring their own tools. Come be part of the conversation and create something meaningful!

Changemakers Exhibition
Presented by Her Place Museum in partnership with MoAD, this exhibition is a key part of QVWC’s Women’s History Month program.

📍 QVWC | 3 March – 18 April | Mon–Fri, 9 AM – 5 PM

Changemakers consists of eight textile banners representing a range of historical and contemporary activist movements. The banners were created by Australian craftivist Tal Fitzpatrick using mostly upcycled materials. Aesthetically, these works draw on the history of textile banners as artifacts used for activism, including women’s suffrage campaigns, as well as banners displayed in town halls and churches.

The exhibition demonstrates that Australian women’s quest for freedom and equality is ongoing. Many of the social issues raised by early activists remain vitally relevant today, including:

• Equal pay
• Sexual harassment
• Family violence
• Female representation in parliament and business

Changemakers focuses on women’s empowerment and demonstrates that crafting—traditionally considered "women’s work"—can be used for political expression and social change.

Changemakers is proudly supported by CommBank Next Chapter, which provides support and resources for people experiencing family and domestic violence, including financial abuse.