Hysterical Legacies

8-24 October, 2025
Queen Victoria Women's Centre
Curated by Amelia Saward

A collaborative visual arts project and exhibition, Hysterical Legacies is a response to the ongoing impact of historically sexist narratives, past stereotypes and notions of ‘hysterical women’, on women and non-binary people’s present day experiences of health. Featuring artworks by Featuring artworks by nearly 50 chronically ill, disabled and neurodivergent women, femme and non-binary artists, the exhibition uncovers the collective hidden stories of so many in our community.

We’re currently amidst a changing landscape surrounding women’s health, with progress acknowledging women’s pain, yet ongoing global threats to bodily freedom. The exhibition draws connections between social attitudes, medical practices and perceptions of women’s illness - underpinned by prioritising lived experience perspectives.

Read the Hysterical Legacies catalogue HERE

Image credit: Nick Robertson, 2025

ARTISTS

ALI GRIFFIN / ALICE MARIE MARTIN / AMELIA SAWARD / ARLO CARRACHER / AUTUMN TANSEY / AVEN HODGES / BELLE ZIPPER / BERNIE WHY / BILLIE MORRIS / CATHERINE IVREA / CEE FRANCES / DANA KABAILA / DANIELLE COOK / DELPHINE BYRNE / DONATA UNCANIN / EDEN MENTA / EUGENIE GULLIFER-LAURIE / FRANZISKA HANNIG / GALLATEA.X / HALLE BROWN / HOLLY GOODRIDGE / JORDAN DERWENT / JORDAN WOOD / KELLY MCCABE / LARISSA MACFARLANE / LISA MABIN / LISA PLANT / LIU LIU / LUCY NGUYEN / MARILYN TUNA / MEGAN WILLIAMS / MELANIE HOULT / MICHELE FOUNTAIN / MICHELLE HARRINGTON / NICOLE ROBERTSON / NIX BRIARWOOD / PAULA JASMINE / POPPY FOWLER / PRIYA GANDHI / PRUE STEVENSON / RACHEL EDMONDS / RASA KABAILA / RUBY WYATT-CARTER / SABIO / SALLY TOWNSEND / / SINÉAD CREANEY / STEPHANIE ELICIA RUSHWORTH / STEPH WATT / SUNNIVA INNSTRAND / TESS HIDER / TINA SHEERS

FEATURED ARTWORKS

“‘Hysterical Legacies’ does more than dismantle the enduring myth of ‘hysteria’ and the stereotype of the ‘hysterical woman’, it reclaims the narrative entirely, transforming silence into collective strength”.
- Emerging Artists Collective