Loud and Luminous

Suzanne Phoenix''s portrait of Weird Alice.

Warburton photographer Suzanne Phoenix will have her work displayed as part of a major International Women’s Day photography exhibition as hundreds of female photographers unite to promote greater gender equality and inclusion in the arts.

The Loud and Luminous project celebrates and recognises the important contributions of contemporary women photographers in Australia. The theme for 2020 is equality, echoing the United Nations sustainable development goals of ‘gender equality’ and ‘I am generation equality’.

The project will feature a four-day program of events in the lead up to International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March, while a major print exhibition will later be held at Contact Sheet in Sydney throughout April.

It will include 100 inspiring and diverse photographic artists from across Australia aged between 10 and 92, including Ms Phoenix, whose artwork focuses on queer women artists and performers.

“I am incredibly honoured to be taking part in the Loud and Luminous exhibition this year,” Ms Phoenix said.

“The theme of equality means to me equity for all genders and sexualities and so I have selected a queer drag queen, Weird Alice, in my submission.”

Project co-curator Melissa Anderson said one of the main aims of Loud and Luminous is to bring people together for an inclusive discussion that celebrates diversity and promotes equality, equity and cultural change.

“This will be the third year that Australian photographers have come together to make a strong statement through their work,” Ms Anderson said.

“The stories told in Loud and Luminous 2020 will address important social issues, such as what equality is in global, gender, economic, social, cultural and environmental concepts—and what changes we need to make to achieve it.”

Empowering artist videos will be released in the lead up to the event. They can be accessed by visiting www.loudandluminous.com.au. For more information about Ms Phoenix’s work, visit www.suzannephoenix.com.au.