A/Professor Janice Rieger – Associate Professor in Architecture & Built Environment
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It is a day that celebrates all women across the world and recognises the important contributions that women have made, and still make everyday to create a better and more just world.
What does it mean to be a woman in the Higher Education / Design sector?
I feel very privileged to be a woman in Higher Education and the first woman in my family to earn a Doctorate. As a woman in design, it is a really exciting place to be, as we are mediators between the HASS and STEM disciplines and see the world differently through a designerly lens.
Tell us about a recent Research highlight / achievement.
Recently, I was awarded an ARC grant to co-design and curate the first disability arts archive in Australia. This groundbreaking research is really exciting, as we will be able to share the often invisible narratives of disabled artists nationally. This work has also lead to my recent work with disadvantaged artists and designers in remote regions of Australia, some that identify as Aboriginal, to give them the support and knowledge they need to share their work with a national audience. My work with artists and in creating cultures of inclusion, also just won an Australian National MAGNA award.
Tell us about a woman who inspires you.
All women inspire me. From my sisters and nieces, to my mother and grandmother who was blind, to my HDR students, mentors and colleagues–my life is full because I am surrounded by strong, inspiring women. I grew up listening to Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”, and it plays in my head throughout the day, and should remind all of us women to continue to roar in numbers too big to ignore.
.
