Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration 2024: Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO (expired event)

Join Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO, Australia's 25th Governor-General, for the 2024 Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration.

This lecture will focus on the value of creativity and the recognition of women’s voices in the arts, and how this has shaped Dame Quentin Bryce’s leadership across several decades of public service.

Quentin Bryce graduated in Arts and Law at University of Queensland. In 1968 she became the first women appointment at the T. C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland where she lectured in law and social work from 1968 to 1983.

Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015) was a leading Australian arts educator and administrator. During her esteemed career, Betty Churcher was the first woman to lead an Australian tertiary education centre as Dean of the School of Art and Design at Phillip Institute of Technology in Melbourne (1982–1987), first woman to lead a state gallery as Director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia (1987–1990) and first and only woman Director of the National Gallery (1990–1997).

Established in 2022 as part of the National Gallery’s Gender Equity Action Plan, the Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration is a major annual event featuring leading women in the arts who inspire creativity, inclusivity, engagement and learning.