Hilda Bezuidenhout, Achol and the Ocean, 2023. Courtesy: the artist and Watt Space Gallery, University of Newcastle, Newcastle.

Stories Of Light presents WH!P’s anthology of lens-based stories devised around a sense of place, the personal, the familial and the inspirational. These tales from visual artists are told through the medium of photography, akin to the written words of authors.

WH!P (Women from the Hunter in Photography) come together to share stories, ideas, knowledge and inspiration, creating opportunities for collaboration and to promote photography as a multi-faceted artform.

The 25 participating photo artists include Kelly Barlin, Hilda Bezuidenhout, Karen Brown, Janice Cameron, Justine Cogan, Shana Dennis, Louise Faulkner, Penelope Green, Lotte Hilder, Lee Illfield, Tara Jones, Kate Kennedy, Melanie Muddle, Catharine Neilson, Brydie Piaf, Edwina Richards, Hannah Robinson, Dominique Ryan, Malvika Satelkar, Renae Saxby, Wednesday Sutherland, Emma Warren, Clare Weeks, Katherine Williams and Liz O’Brien.

Stories of Light will launch in celebration of International Women’s Day and will connect its visual stories with written stories during Newcastle Writers Festival on 5-7 April. Professor Penny Jane Burke will launch the exhibition. Professor Burke is UNESCO Chair in Equity, Social Justice and Higher Education and the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE) at the University of Newcastle. She is committed to mobilising higher education as a force for equity and social justice, developing pedagogical methodologies to open time, space and critical resources for building equity capacity.