This dress was worn by Brighton's first female mayor, Councillor Di Lopez, to a Mayoral Ball held at Brighton Technical School in 1977. Diane Margaret Lewis completed a law degree at the University of Melbourne, later marrying one of her classmates, criminal lawyer Ramon (Ray) Lopez. When she decided to run for the Brighton City Council in 1975, she was seen as an outside chance. Undeterred, she rallied a small group of friends and supporters and set out on an extensive door-knocking campaign that won voters to her side and successfully unseated former mayor Keith Devenport. She went on to serve two terms on council from 1975 to 1981. Di initiated many local projects, including the creation of a bike path along Nepean Highway and the first Brighton Festival, while balancing family life and a demanding ‘day job’ as personal assistant to Victorian Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation Brian Dixon. She was a member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby and a champion for women’s representation, encouraging both Sally Allmand and Kate Harman to run for council (both were successfully elected). She advocated forcefully for an open, transparent local government in which ratepayers had the chance to participate and be heard. In 1976 Di became the first woman to hold the title of Mayor of Brighton, and she made it clear from the outset that she was going to do it her way. For the annual mayoral ball in 1977, ordinarily a staid traditional function, she chose a discotheque theme based on the Rod Stewart album Night on the Town, with a broad dress code of ‘black tie or jeans’: ‘You’ve got to get with the times,’ she said. ‘We want people to wear whatever they feel comfortable in.’ Di herself chose to attend in this knee-length chamois dress embellished with strings, ribbons, beads and feathers. It was both a fashion statement, exemplifying her colourful, flamboyant and forthright style, and a political one: a declaration of her intention to lead a progressive council, embracing the new and refusing to be hemmed in by dated traditions. In 2020 she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to local government and to the community of Brighton.This dress has local historical significance for its association with Brighton's first female mayor, Councillor Di Lopez, who wore it to a Mayoral Ball in 1976. The dress exemplifies her flamboyant reputation, modern outlook and willingness to break norms. At the time, the dress was a radical choice for a Mayoral Ball, where women typically wore formal evening gowns. With her choice of dress, Cr Lopez was making a public statement, breaking away from dated traditions and announcing her intention to bring the Mayor's office into the 1970s. In this way, the dress also points to the wider social and political changes taking place both in Brighton and across Australia during the mid-1970s.Three quarter length chamois dress circa 1974. Machine stitched with a v-neck and full length sleeves and an uneven raw hem, the dress is decorated with narrow thongs of chamois embellished with red beads and blue feathers. The open-fronted bodice is laced with red ribbon and the skirt is decorated with a large blue wool cross stitch and a combination of blue wool and purple ribbon cross stitch. Made in the style of an Indian 'Wild West Dress'.di lopez, chamois, brighton, brighton council, brighton technical school, mayoral ball, 1970s, feminism

Debbie LLOYD Debbie Lloyd returned to study in 2005 completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Arts) degree at the University of Ballarat (now Federation University) in 2007, with honours the following year. She returned to the university as Artist in Residence in 2009. During her time at the University Debbie exhibited in many group exhibitions and her work was selected for the National Graduates Show at PICA in Western Australia. Debbie’s first solo exhibition was held at Space22 in Ballarat, towards the end of 2010. This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 1000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.Two artworks featuring a third dimension created with folded paper. Artist's Statement: "My artwork explores the visual experience that can be achieved using black and white, lineal patterns or by creating illusion and surface movement through the simple manipulation and repetition of forms. In these works I have used everyday objects, and shapes, repeated, reconfigured and recontextualised to provide the viewer with visual challenges that slow down and complicate the reading of the work. In the words of a former lecturer of mine, who kindly delivered the opening speech at one of my exhibitions – There is in Debbie’s work a belief in the transcendental power of repetition, a tribute in many respects to the fact that human kind is defined by nothing more noble and uplifting than its ability and obligation to persist." (http://100thgallery.com/gallery/debbie-lloyd/, accessed 08 May 2018) art, artwork, debbie lloyd, available, recycling, envelopes