Spotlight On: Deadly stereotypes, women as witches
Early printed books and prints had a powerful impact on the way women were represented in early modern Europe, with harmful stereotypes leading to deadly consequences. In this special Spotlight program, Archives and Special Collections will unveil an incredible new acquisition to the collection, a 1494 edition of the infamous witch-hunting manual, Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), printed only eleven years after the Nuremberg bible. Dr Charlotte Millar and Associate Professor Jenny Spinks will explore the visual culture of witchcraft through works from the Prints and Drawings Collection, including Witch riding backwards on a goat, after Albrecht Dürer and expand on how the Malleus shaped perceptions and helped drive the spread of witch trials over time.
Presented in partnership with the Public Gallery Association of Victoria’s Analog Art program, Archives and Special Collections' Spotlight Series features archivists, librarians, curators, researchers, academics and artists. Each session spotlights the wonders our collections hold and creates an informal space for engaging in critical conversations, reflective discussions, slow looking, creative workshops, talks and much more.