Exhibition | Changemakers: Crafting a Difference

17 May - 27 July 2025

Changemakers: Crafting a difference consists of an exhibition of textile banners that represent a range of historical and contemporary activist movements, together with banner-making workshops facilitated by artist and craftivist Dr Tal Fitzpatrick. Aesthetically, the works draw on the history of textile banners as artefacts used for activism, including the women’s suffrage campaign, as well as banners displayed in town halls and churches.

The exhibition demonstrates that Australian women’s quest for freedom and equality is ongoing. Many of the social issues raised by early activists remain vitally relevant today, including equal pay, sexual harassment, family violence, and female representation in Parliament and business.

Changemakers focuses on women’s empowerment and demonstrates that crafting — traditionally considered ‘women’s work’ — can be used for political expression and social change.

Changemakers: Crafting a difference is a travelling exhibition from the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, sponsored by Commonwealth Bank as part of CommBank Next Chapter, a program helping victim survivors of financial abuse achieve long-term financial independence.

​Image: Tal Fitzpatrick, Activist banner, 2021. Museum of Australian Democracy Collection.