Community workshops conclude for Union Theatre public artwork

THE backstage area at the Wonthaggi Union Theatre hosted the sixth and final community workshop for the public art commission honouring the Wonthaggi Miners’ Women’s Auxiliary on Thursday, January 22.

This marks the conclusion of the collaborative phase, led by Melbourne contemporary artist Kay Abude.

The workshops brought together 10 local women to bring the history and political activism of the auxiliary to life through hands-on creative artwork. While Thursday’s session was initially supposed to focus on reflection, Ms Abude said that it was difficult to stem the flow of creativity, as the group continued to print some of their best work yet.

“It’s been really enriching. The group gelled quickly, and everyone was open to sharing ideas and working through them together,” she said. “My practice is very process-driven, and the process itself has shaped how the workshops unfolded. It’s felt very natural.”

Ms Abude said it was essential to involve local women in the creative process.

“I’m an artist based in Melbourne, and this isn’t my story to tell. The story belongs to the Wonthaggi community,” she said. “Inviting them into the process helped generate creative material that will now inform the designs for the exterior artwork.”

One of these local women was Sue Clark, who moved to the area to live permanently three years ago. She said she applied after seeing an obscure email and wished to get more involved in the community.

“I’m relatively new to the area and wanted to be engaged and develop my art skills,” she said. “It turned out to be so much more than I expected. Kay is an amazing facilitator.”

Ms Clark said the combination of art and history was something that drew her to the process.

“Women have often been written out of history and not included in art over the years, yet here we are presenting art about the history of women,” she said.

The workshop also incorporated the services of Melbourne-based artist Stewart Russell from Spacecraft, who contributed his screen-printing expertise. Mr Russell assisted Ms Abude and the participating ladies in creating a custom ink derived directly from coal sourced from the State Coal Mine, directly grounding the final art in Wonthaggi’s history.

With the final workshop complete, the project will move to its second phase. Ms Abude will take time to develop the final design for a permanent exterior piece on the Union Theatre’s facade, alongside textile-based interior artworks. The designs will draw directly from the creative work done by the 10 local women in the workshops.

The official launch of the artwork is currently scheduled for the end of June this year.