We invite you to help us cherish creative work by women and by nonbinary people, for the next half-century.
WE LIVE WITH A 32% GENDER PAY GAP* AND NO POLICIES THAT AIM TO REDUCE IT.
Working conditions for women artists and writers aren’t great, with some exceptions that bring us deep joy. Too many of us lack the resources to develop our work and opportunities to present it to a public audience. Especially if it depicts ‘difficult’ and ‘different’ stories and images, about our lived experience of colonisation processes; of lesbianphobia and fear of nonbinary and trans people; of incest and other physical and spiritual violation; of disabilities; of single parenthood; of the physical and mental health systems and the justice system; and our lived experience in arts communities. Especially when in general, as women, we still bear the greater share of caring responsibilities.
Many of us have unmet housing and health needs. As a charity, Spiral dreams of helping to change this.
THE BASICS
Please cherish women and nonbinary creatives and their/ our work whenever and wherever you can, and help advocate for better conditions for them/us. Any old time, any old where. With or without Spiral.
Your awhi matters. Your tautoko matters.
Home cooking and offers of support for caring responsibilities are almost always welcome.
Outside the Women's Gallery, Harris Street, Wellington,
participants in Opening Show 1980. L-R Marian Evans, Allie Eagle, Nancy Peterson, Juliet Batten, Anna Keir, Heather McPherson, Bridie Lonie, Keri Hulme. In front: Brigid Eyley, Claudia Pond Eyley. Absent: Kanya [Carole] Stewart, Helen Rockel, Joanna [Margaret] Paul. Photograph Fiona Clark/Women’s Gallery.
CELEBRATE WITH US
IN 2025-2026
New publications for the
Te Puna Waiwhetū
Christchurch Art Gallery site
SPIRAL 8: SETTING THE [WORK] TABLE
Spiral 8: Setting the [work] table (kōanga spring 2025) celebrates beloved Spiral women who are no longer with us:
Jacquie (J.C.) Sturm
Renée
Arapera Blank
Gladys Gurney (Saj)
Frances Cherry
Marilynn Webb
Heather McPherson
Keri Kaa
Rosemary Johnson
Pauline Neale
Miriama Evans
Joanna Margaret Paul
Juanita Ketchel
Irihapeti Ramsden
Keri Hulme
Sharon Alston
Hilary Baxter
Allie Eagle
Lynne Ciochetto.
Some are very well known, others are almost forgotten, but we cherish them all and will celebrate them in their own words wherever possible.
The title comes from one of Renée’s plays, Setting the Table, where a character says
“Look we’re setting the table. Right? All those women we know about and the hundreds we don’t. Well. They got the ingredients ready and cooked the dinner. And now we’ve got as far as setting the table. Oh I know it seems as though we’ll never sit down to the dinner-party. Well maybe we won’t. But we’ll get the table ready. Us and all the ones we don’t know about.”
The selections, taken in collaboration with whānau and families, highlight both how these women worked to ‘set the table’ for those who came after them; and the love and support they gave to their peers.
Spiral 8: Setting the [work] table
(kōanga spring 2025)
DOCUMENTING AND CELEBRATING OUR COLLECTIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OVER 50 YEARS
Our Spiral Collectives Projects 19750-2025 Catalogue documents and celebrates Spiral’s work and workers. Drawn from our archives at the Alexander Turnbull Library and some memories. Initiated and researched for Spiral by Fran McGowan. Richly illustrated.
Spiral Collectives Projects 1975–2025: Some Stories is an anthology of essays and interviews, drawing on material from our extended research project. Many illustrations.
Spiral Collectives Projects 1975–2025: Some Stories (kōanga spring 2025)
EVENTS &
EXHIBITIONS
We’re excited by two celebratory shows. Look out for them & for their events!
SPIRAL AT CHRISTCHURCH ART GALLERY TE PUNA O WAIWHETŪ
23 August to 17 December 2025
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū will present an exhibition of Spiral publications and ephemera.
Watch out for a special event or two!
L-R Writer Jean Watson (1933–2014) and Women’s Gallery co-ordinator & artist Sharon Alston (1948–1995) at a gallery event c1982-83. Photograph: probably gallery co-ordinator & artist Barb McDonald (1948–1991).
SPIRAL AT THE CHARLOTTE MUSEUM
October-December 2025
To help us celebrate the women from Spiral 8, Charlotte Museum Te Whare Takatapui-Wahine o Aotearoa will host an exhibition and events. Co-ordinated for Spiral by art historian Joanna Osborne.
Women's Gallery party poster c1981. Design Sharon Alston.
OTHER WAYS TO JOIN US
We deeply appreciate donations. We need them & they keep us going. We’d also love your help with practical matters.
GIFTS
We deeply appreciate the many generous individuals and corporate bodies who offer us awhi and tautoko when we need it.
We cherish the reciprocal elements of these exchanges and never take them for granted. We enjoy passing on the love we’re given, and doing the best we can to offer the best we can as widely as possible, to benefit as many as possible, in ways large and small.
Opening course for one of Dr P’s dinners for writers. Photograph Spiral.
HELP BUILD SCREEN AUDIENCES
Help us build screen audiences for work written and directed by women and nonbinary people: watch out for our/their work on social media, streamers, cinema and televisions, and share with others what interests and excites you.
Building screen audiences at the Young Readers Programme, Karukatea Featherston Booktown 2024.
L-R Cushla Parekowhai Marian Evans Joanna Osborne. Photograph Karukatea.
FUTURE ARCHIVES
Are there women and nonbinary artists and writers in your life? You help us when you help them to maintain their archives — domestic and creative — and to make plans about where to house them safely.
Future generations will love these resources! Contact us for advice.
Fragments from our archives at the Alexander Turnbull Library.
Full images & more details in Spiral Projects 1975-2025: CATALOGUE.
Free to read and download (makiriri 2025).
JOIN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FOR UPDATES
DEVICES FOR REDISTRIBUTION TO WOMEN ARTISTS AND WRITERS
Many creatives who are women or nonbinary people cannot easily replace essential hardware, so we have a programme that recycles used phones and computers and offers them to individuals.
Joanna Margaret Paul in our Women’s Gallery office, at our only typewriter, Opening Show, 1980. Keri Hulme completed her ‘He Hōhā’ poem at the same typewriter in the same week. Screenshot from raw footage by Kanya Stewart and Nancy Peterson, Auckland Women's Community Video.
YOUR TIME
Your time is precious to us. Please feel free to offer your practical skills, especially transcription, proof reading, design and tech stuff, help and attendance when we host events, and support for our caring roles, health and housing needs, knowing we’ll truly appreciate it.
Invitation to the launch of Jacquie Sturm’s The House of the Talking Cat 1983. Text and design Irihapeti Ramsden.
YOUR KARAKIA & PRAYERS
Even the unbelievers amongst us welcome and cherish your karakia and your prayers that support our kaupapa and intentions.
Spirituality exhibition Women’s Gallery 26 Harris Street Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington 1981. Poster Anna Keir and Marian Evans.
YOUR INFORMATION
We love news that’s relevant to our work. What’s happening behind the scenes that we’d like to learn about, take part in?
For instance, many of us are debating AI. Yes, AI can be handy. But our books and images have been ‘scraped’ to train AI, without any negotiation or compensation. There’s no urgent legislation or legal challenge underway that will protect our interests, as far as we know. We keep an eye out, through the excellent Copyright Licensing New Zealand newsletters and elsewhere, but...
This Joyous, Chaotic Place: He Waiata Tangi-ā-Tahu exhibition opening at Mokopōpaki, Auckland, 2018. Back L-R: Jane Zusters, Dr. P., Jacob Raniera, Dianne Rereina Potaka-Wade, Marian Evans; middle, L-R: Allie Eagle, Adrienne Martyn, Tilly Lloyd; front,L-R: Annie Mein, Bridie Lonie. Photograph Sriwhana Spong, courtesy of Jane Zusters.
YOUR CONNECTIONS
If you think an introduction might be helpful, we’d love to hear from you.
The Topp Twins at the Women’s Gallery 323 Willis Street Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington 1982. L-R Jules Topp, Lynda Topp. Photograph probably Barb McDonald.
SOMETIMES
MONEY IS
THE IDEAL GIFT
We welcome donations.
WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN FRUGAL
But we have ongoing regular costs — for this site, for research and travel, for administration, for reproduction costs, and to produce resources and events.
Tiffany Thornley, From the scraps of the patriarchy I made myself anew. 2016 (detail). Embroidery, stitching on textile, 99 x 110cm. Photo Arekahanara. Courtesy Mokopōpaki.
THE GIFT COLLECTIVE
The Gift Collective (registered charity CC40774) can receive gifts and grants on our behalf.
It's a great system if you’d like to offer us a few dollars regularly, or more. If 100 people donate $5 a month, most of our annual costs will be covered.
Click below to take you to the Gift Collective site and receive a receipt from them. And warm appreciation from us for your generosity.
SPIRAL COLLECTIVES TRUST
If you’d like to make a gift another way, Spiral Collectives Trust is also a registered charity (CC62215).
Donations can be paid directly to the Spiral Collectives Trust Kiwibank account:
Acc Name: Spiral Collectives Trust
Acc no.: 38-9026-0058551-01
Ref: Your name
Please then email us so we can acknowledge you and issue a receipt. If you’d like us to use your gift in a particular way, please let us know. We’ll certainly use it with deep gratitude.
Most donations qualify for a 33% tax credit up to your annual net income and you can use your receipt, from us or from the Gift Collective, to gain this tax credit. The IRD website has more information.
GST is not payable on donations.
GRAPHIC NOVEL PROJECT:
the bone people
If you’d like to donate to the bone people graphic novel project, please pay to this account:
Acc Name: Spiral Collectives Trust
Acc no.: 38-9026-0058551-04
Ref: Your name
Please then email us so we can issue a receipt and acknowledge you in the public work.
Most donations qualify for a 33% tax credit up to your annual net income and you can use your receipt to gain this tax credit. The IRD website has more information.
GST is not payable on donations.