Medical Pioneer Dr. Annie Hamilton: Your Portrait Commission Page
Above:
(1) Source image that will be used to create a portrait of Dr. Annie Hamilton. (2) Video clip of 'portrait in progress' - of U.S.medical pioneer Dr. Marie Equi. (Dr. Hamilton's portrait will be similar in size, color and contemporary composition.)
HALIFAX - An oil portrait to honour the first woman to graduate with a medical degree in Nova Scotia, Dr. Annie Hamilton, is being created.
You are being invited to join in this collective portrait commission.
DETAILS:
The portrait commission was launched this month as part of The Great Women Portrait Project, an initiative started by a group of Nova Scotia women which is now in its 2nd year. Great Women portraits commissioned as part of this project now hang in university, public and professional spaces across Canada, including hospitals, libraries and STEM industry CEO's offices.
Twenty women are being sought to participate in this commission.
Participants contribute $100 + taxes to cover the commission costs. Several women have already joined this portrait commission.
The portrait will be available to put on display on March 8, 2025, International Women's Day.
The group of 20 will vote on where they would like the portrait to hang. A brief bio of the portrait subject will accompany the oil painting so that viewers can fully appreciate the work and pioneering path of the portrait subject. If for some reason the full complement of 20 women is not realized, refunds will be issued to those who have participated thus far.
TO PARTICIPATE:
If you would like to join this collective portrait commission, please simply email the artist at the address below.
This is also the email for commission payment via e-transfer (preferred method).
(More about the project and the artist here)
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Companies spend billions annually on diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs.
Behavioural science suggests simple 'design interventions' - like updating the portrait art on your walls, to reflect the female face of innovation - may be an easier, more effective way to create change.
Why? Because the science now shows that the simple presence of a great woman's portraits can do what D&I training sessions can't do: images of female leaders in public and professional spaces can change mindsets. That realization helped spark the creation of The Great Women Portrait Project, which lets business and community leaders use portrait art to reveal the faces of female pioneers in traditionally male-dominated domains like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), medicine and law.
"Half our history - the female half - is something we were never really taught," says project creator Jo Napier. Women have paved powerful paths in these domains but because men have been the record keepers, their accomplishments aren't well known. That omission has bred a gap in our collective consciousnes that feeds the lack of diversity, inclusion and equality in those arenas of work and study. But that commission is also a real opportunity to educate this generation, and inspire the next."
(More background here)
