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Yesterday on International Women’s Day, Australia’s biggest beauty retailer Mecca Cosmetica announced the MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission: a major ongoing partnership that invites internationally-renowned female designers, artists and architects to create new works for the National Gallery of Victoria. The five-year series is enabled by MECCA’s social impact program, M-POWER, which champions and elevates women in art and design.
Over the five year partnership, commissioned designers will be revealed annually — coinciding with International Women’s Day — with the final work being revealed by year’s end. This year’s artist is Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, who has spent her career in low-cost social housing, urban planning and landscape design with the aim to make architecture more inclusive, diverse and people-focused. Bilbao’s installation is predicted to combine textiles with architectural structure, while also lending from her expertise in collage, drawing and model making.
The partnership is a first of its kind, but also one that’s long-overdue, given that women make up such a small portion of professional artists, designers and architects. Mecca does however have a long-standing relationship with the NGV, gauging a female artist yearly to design the annual holiday packaging.
In a press release, Tony Ellwood AM, Director of the NGV, said, “the ongoing Women in Design Commission will highlight the ground-breaking work of women in this field from Australia and around the world, as well as strengthening the NGV Collection for future generations. Tatiana Bilbao’s is a compelling voice from outside of the traditional canon of architecture, offering a unique perspective on both its history and its future. A woman from North America, an advocate and a spokesperson for change, Bilbao creates work that is as intellectually rigorous as it is visually dynamic.”
“I am deeply honoured and grateful to have been chosen for the Women in Design Commission by the NGV and MECCA. This is contributing in many ways to advance the discourse of the importance of opening channels for people that have been left out of opportunities,” added Bilbao in a press release.
The 2022 MECCA X NGV Women in Design Commission will be on display from September 2022 – March 2023. For further information, head to the NGV website.
