Davida Allen

Davida Frances Allen (born 20 October 1951 in Charleville, Queensland[1]), is an Australian painter, film maker and writer.

Career

Allen studied under Betty Churcher at the Stuartholme School, Brisbane (1965–69) and later under Roy Churcher (Betty Churcher's husband) at Brisbane Central Technical College. She won the Archibald Prize in 1986 for her portrait of her father-in-law Dr John Shera (My father-in-law watering his garden). Allen has written and illustrated two books,[2][3] and has created a 50-minute film, Feeling Sexy (1999), on the struggles of an artist attempting to reconcile the conflicting demands of bohemia and suburbia. At the 1999 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, she was nominated for the award for "Best Direction" for that film and she won the "Best Original Screenplay" award.[4] The film was also invited to the Venice Film Festival.

She frequently confronts the themes of family and sexuality; regarding the latter she has said: "if we are truly feminist in the fullest sense of the word, we shouldn't have felt we had to lock it away or be really careful about it. We should be chauvinist in our womanhood."[5] Allen is represented in most major public collections in Australia.

Exhibitions

Australian exhibitions

International exhibitions

See also

References

  1. "Davida ALLEN". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  2. What Is a Portrait – Images of Vicki Myers, ISBN 978-1-875505-02-9
  3. The Autobiography of Vicki Myers – Close to the Bone, ISBN 978-0-7318-0207-4
  4. "Awards for Davida Allen". Internet Movie Database. 1999. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  5. Davida Allen at Art Galleries Schubert

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Guy Warren
Archibald Prize
1986
for Dr. John Arthur McKelvey Shera
Succeeded by
William Robinson