“Volatile, feral and glamorous”: Australia’s Women’s Warehouse

Abstract

The Women’s Warehouse (1979–1981) provided a short-lived and unofficial headquarters for the social and cultural activity of the Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM) in Sydney, Australia. This paper writes an introductory history to the Women’s Warehouse through the case study of the Women’s Warehouse Screenprinters, one of the most significant collectives to operate in the space. This approach allows for a focused understanding of how feminist ideologies were interpreted and implemented by members of the house via, for example, collective ownership, group authorship, commitment to local community concerns and the non-sexist representation of women. The Women’s Warehouse was an unproclaimed, yet undeniably, lesbian feminist space. This paper begins research into the feminist politics, presentation and perception of the house.