By Callum Ludwig
After a popular first showing in 2024, Body of Wellbeing Limited (BOWL)’s Body of Empowerment exhibition is making a return in April.
Held in March 2024, the first edition of the exhibition in the Warburton Waterwheel gallery was a display of new and existing artwork from Yarra Ranges-based women artists aged over 18 with a focus on body image.
Executive Director of BOWL Louise Wigg said they’re hoping it will build on the success of last year’s exhibition as a showcase for the amazingly talented women artists throughout the Yarra Valley.
“We also ask our artists to provide context to their piece/s by revealing aspects of the journey they have shared with their bodies and/or how their piece/s represent body empowerment,” she said.
“We find that people who see our exhibitions resonate with both of these parts. We hope this encourages everyone to bring in more compassion, acceptance and love to their relationship with their body.”
BOWL is seeking expressions of interest from local women and women-identifying artists and is open this year to artists aged 14 years and older.
Ms Wigg said they were happy with many aspects of last year’s exhibition.
“The number and wide variety of the art that was submitted as part of our exhibition was amazing, we had sculptures, paintings, drawings, photography, textiles, pottery, mosaics, just to name a few,” she said.
“We were also grateful to our artists for the depth and variations in the stories that accompanied the pieces. We were grateful to have received wonderful feedback from people who came to see our exhibition with one audience member describing it as ‘life-changing’. We hope they’ll all come back this year.”
Last year’s event coincided with International Women’s Day held on 8 March every year and was a new development in BOWL’s ‘My Body’s Story’ body empowerment program.
Ms Wigg said BOWL believes positive and empowering narratives about all bodies is crucial as the relationship we share with our body is central to our sense of self.
“BOWL was formed as a Not-For-Profit organisation in 2023 to lead work related to body image, eating disorders, weight bias and stigma. We speak with many people about these issues, especially women,” she said.
“Our project, My Body’s Story, was designed in recognition that women often experience a disconnection from their bodies due to societal pressures such as objectification, weight-centred attitudes, and the pervasive diet culture,”
“Many women describe feeling as if their bodies were ‘battlegrounds’. So this project was originally designed to lead women through a process of reconnecting with their beautiful, unique bodies, listening to deep body wisdom and celebrating their journeys towards body empowerment.”
As part of the exhibition, BOWL will be hosting a ‘taster’ information session on Sunday 27
April at 11am at the Warburton Waterwheel about the My Body’s Story programs they have scheduled later this year.
Ms Wigg said if the idea of this exhibition inspires you, then give it a go.
“We are very open to all art forms and really encourage the artists to share their own perspective on the subject matter, we don’t have any expectations except honest creativity,” she said.
“How we relate to our bodies and how we express this relationship can sometimes be hard to put into words because it’s a felt sense not a cognitive experience,”
“Many pieces of art originate from this same feeling space, so whichever medium resonates with the artist, is a perfect way to feel into and express this relationship.”
Anyone interested in becoming a part of the exhibition can fill out the Expression of Interest form at: forms.gle/S9rf2aT2xuCdhsc59.
The Body of Empowerment exhibition has been sponsored by Upper Yara Community Enterprise (UYCE).
