Spotlight on trailblazing women of Hawke’s Bay: Laura Vodanovich

The newest MTG publication Hidden in History: Trailblazing women of Hawke’s Bay is by Kay Morris Matthews.

Opinion

Laura Vodanovich is MTG’s director

This month we celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8.

With a plethora of themes, depending on which group you subscribe to, from “Accelerate Action”, to “March Forward: From Promises to Progress”, and “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”, the message is clear – there is more work to be done.

According to the World Economic Forum, based on the current rate of progress, it will still take over a hundred years to reach gender pay parity, with 2158 being the likely year to achieve this outcome. And that’s just pay, not all the other issues wāhine and kōtiro/girls face. Acknowledging, celebrating and supporting women and girls is as important as ever.

Fittingly, last night we opened our latest exhibition Hidden in History: Trailblazing Women of Hawke’s Bay to recognise just some of the many amazing Te Matau-a-Māui women.

Historically wāhine were rarely written into the history books, which were largely authored by men, about men. Those who write the books dictate the version of history that is seen – what is valued and, importantly, who is valued.

One exhibition cannot address all the marginalisation of women in Te Matau-a-Māui’s past, but it can take one important step towards acknowledging them and addressing the imbalance in our history.

Hidden in History is a celebration of women who’ve done amazing things in our region - been champions, fought to make women’s lives better, represented Aotearoa on the international stage, been the first at what they do, and so much more. Without these women our society would be the poorer. I’m glad to be here and see this exhibition came to fruition.

Kay Morris Matthews curated Hidden in History as an extended labour of love and has spent nearly three years of her life on the research behind this exhibition. Not only did Kay research and curate the exhibition, but she has also written a book of the same name – another enormous and ambitious undertaking.

This book, launched last night, shares more detail about each woman than could be squeezed into the exhibition. What is more, all this work was done entirely as a volunteer for MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri. What a gift – to us, to the families of the women in the exhibition, and to the community.

I would personally, as well as on behalf of MTG, like to give Kay my heartfelt thanks. Kay is an amazing, generous, supportive, collaborative and empowering woman and we are so lucky to have her here in Te Matau-a-Māui.

There were other amazing volunteers on this project. An advisory committee of women helped establish the criteria for selecting who to include in the exhibition, developed the final list of wāhine, and provided guidance as the exhibition and book developed to ensure we were keeping to the original kaupapa and heading in the right direction. I’ve written often about the amazing networks of people that make a museum work, and these wonderful women are yet another example.

Hidden in History is open for everyone and free to visit. I highly recommend adding a copy of the book to your must-have list and hope you’ll come and celebrate these amazing wāhine from across Te Matau-a-Māui.