Hollywood screen icon Geena Davis launches ACMI's world-premiere exhibition Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion

Hollywood screen icon Geena Davis launches ACMI's world-premiere exhibition Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion

Now open until October 1

ACMI today opens its doors to the provocative new exhibition, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion. The ACMI-curated blockbuster is making its world premiere as part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, presented by Visit Victoria.

It will run at Australia’s national museum of screen culture until October 1, before touring internationally.

Goddess features never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences, and cinematic treasures from across 120 years of moving image history, saluting the groundbreaking achievements and impacts of the screen’s revolutionary leading women and gender-transcending superstars.

The exhibition was launched with a red-carpet premiere last night, attended by Goddess lead ambassador and two-time Academy Award-winning sensation Geena Davis.

The actor and advocate will today deliver an exclusive keynote speech at ACMI’s Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation. The one-day conference is presented in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, one of the world leaders in research and advocacy for representation of women on screens.

ACMI Director of Experience & Engagement, Dr Britt Romstad, said: “It is so special to have Geena in Melbourne to open Goddess and share her important work with us. She is driving positive change across the screen industry and furthering the efforts of the revolutionary women explored in the exhibition. I think the public will be equal parts surprised, awed, and inspired by the incredible stories on display in Goddess”

Minister for Creative Industries and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos, said: “Goddess is another exclusive exhibition for Melbourne that is set to attract thousands of visitors to our city, which will deliver a major boost to local businesses including cafes, bars, hotels and retail shops. We’re the major events and creative capital of Australia so there’s nowhere better to host Goddess – it’s fierce, it’s fun and it showcases the iconic women who have influenced screen culture throughout the ages.”

Beyond today’s conference, there is a plethora of exciting event programs for visitors to enjoy. These include exclusive out-of-hours monthly Goddess ACMI Curator Tours; the immersive femme-centric Goddess Nights event series starting 25 May; and two fantastic film programs; Divine Trailblazers, a cinematic tribute to contemporary actors at the height of their creative powers; and Goddess Sundays, which shines a spotlight on formidable on-screen personas. ACMI will also screen an exclusive season of Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, Nina Menkes’ documentary examining the pervasiveness of the male gaze in film, starting 13 April.

Tickets for Goddess and the exhibition’s accompanying events program are on sale.

Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion is part of the Victorian Government’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series and is proudly supported by our generous partners; Creative Victoria, Presenting Partner Visit Victoria, Lead Exhibition Partner Porsche Cars Australia, Major Technology Partner Panasonic, Major Research Partner RMIT University, Major Academic Partner Swinburne University of Technology and Supporting Partners City of Melbourne, Pixon Technology, Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, U.S. Consulate General Melbourne.

Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation is supported by Matchbox Pictures which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, and the U.S. Consulate General Melbourne.

Notes to editor

• Curated by ACMI, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion is a world-premiere exhibition.
• Goddess runs from 5 April to 1 October 2023 at ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne.
• Tickets are on sale for the exhibition and events program at acmi.net.au
• The Goddess publication can be purchased from the ACMI Shop and online.
• Images and media information, including a full exhibition breakdown, can be found at the Goddess Media Centre
• For media enquiries please contact charly@commonstate.co | 0435 356 530

Event Program
Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation | April 5 | 9am – 6pm
Divine Trailblazers film program | 7–16 April
Goddess Sundays film program | Every Sunday | 2pm
Goddess ACMI Curator Tours | April 26 (5-6pm) and 31 May (9.30am-10.30am)
Goddess Nights | From May 25 | 7pm

More events to be announced soon!

About Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion
Through iconic stories, characters and moments from over 120 years of moving image history, Goddesscelebrates the women and gender-transcending superstars who shaped their own roles, took creative control and fought a system that tried to exploit them.

From the swagger of Mae West and glamour of Anna May Wong to the powerful punch of Pam Grier, this ACMI-curated exhibition salutes the groundbreaking achievements and impact of the screen’s leading gender revolutionists. Too often reduced to the status of bombshell, starlet and screen siren, these goddesses remain far more than stereotypes.

Featuring never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences and cinematic treasures, including iconic outfits worn by Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Geena Davis and Margot Robbie, Goddess honours the artists who challenged narratives, defied expectations and transcended tropes.

Whether it’s Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Michelle Yeoh or Zendaya, today’s goddesses unapologetically occupy spaces and roles that shatter glass ceilings, project solidarity and reframe society through essential stories, singular voices and complex characters. They’ve fought convention and an industry built to confine them with collective power and fearless creativity to embody their own heroes and forge their own paths.

About Melbourne Winter Masterpieces at ACMI
ACMI has been part of the annual Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series since 2007, bringing major international exhibitions such as Disney: The Art of Animation, David Bowie Is… and Hollywood Costume exclusively to Melbourne, creating multi-award-winning blockbusters that have subsequently toured the world. More than 1.4 million local, interstate and international visitors have experienced Melbourne Winter Masterpieces at ACMI, with the museum's homegrown touring exhibitions such as Game Masters, DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition and Wonderland attracting over 4 million visitors across five continents.

About ACMI
ACMI is Australia’s national museum of screen culture. The museum reopened in February 2021 after a two-year, $40 million redevelopment – an architectural, programmatic and technological transformation. ACMI celebrates the wonder and power of the world’s most democratic artform – fostering the next generation of makers, players and watchers. ACMI’s vibrant calendar of exhibitions, screenings, commissions, festivals, and industry and education programs explore the stories, technologies and artists that create our shared screen culture. Navigate the universe of film, TV, videogames and art with ACMI. More at acmi.net.au

About Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Founded in 2004 by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, the Institute is the only global research-based organisation working collaboratively within the entertainment industry to create gender balance, foster inclusion and reduce negative stereotyping in family entertainment media. The stories told in entertainment media send a specific message about who matters most in our culture. In order to bring about a global culture change, it is especially important that children see diverse, intersectional representations of characters in media to reflect the population of the world — which is half female and very diverse — and avoid unwittingly instilling unconscious bias in them. The organisation uses data-driven research, education and advocacy to empower and inspire content creators to reimagine the media landscape to reflect the world we live in. The institute has sponsored the largest amount of research ever done on children’s entertainment media, covering over a 30-year span. More at seejane.org

@geenadavisorg