SUE HEALEY & JUDD OVERTON | 'On View: Icons SHIRLEY MCKECHNIE AO (1926-2022)' | Photographic print on rag paper

"Shirley had a career in dance that spanned five decades, all ‘firsts’ in terms of achievements—founder of one of the first contemporary dance schools in Victoria in the 1950s; founder of one of the earliest contemporary dance touring companies as director, choreographer and performer (Australian Contemporary Dance Theatre 1963 – 73); founder of the first tertiary dance degree course (Rusden Campus, 1975); a driving force behind the Armidale choreographic seminars (1974 – 76) and a founder of the Australian Association for Dance Education (Ausdance, 1977). She gained the first Australian Research Council grant for choreographic research (Unspoken Knowledges, 1998–2000) and was elected as Honorary Fellow, Australian Academy of the Humanities (1998). Shirley was an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the VCA/University of Melbourne and a leading advocate for dance in Australia. Shirley died in 2022 in Melbourne."

SUE HEALEY & JUDD OVERTON | 'On View: Icons SHIRLEY MCKECHNIE AO (1926-2022)' | Photographic print on rag paper | 60 (h) x 80 (w) cm