HRC Poster Collection
2025 Breathing
“Breathing,” 2025 HRC annual theme poster. Design by Melinda Takemura
2024 Time, Place, Everywhen
2024 marked the 50th year of the ANU Humanities Research Centre (HRC). To celebrate, the HRC supported research into different ideas of time and place and paying respect to Indigenous people through the theme of ‘everywhen'. 'Everywhen' brings together a sense of ever-present time with people, culture, law, the landscape and cosmos. While the term is associated with ANU anthropologist W.E.H Stanner, the fusion of time and place has deep origins and broad application.
2023 Repair
“Repair,” 2023 HRC annual theme poster. Design by Natalie Band.
2022 Mobilities
"Mobilities,” 2022 HRC annual theme poster. Design by Emi Cashman.
2013 Cities, Imaginaries, Publics
“Cities, Imaginaries, Publics,” 2013 HRC annual theme poster. The centenary of Canberra inspired the year’s theme and the image used. The focus on exploring meanings given to public spaces became localised in the conference “Shaping Canberra: The Lived Experience of Place, Home and Capital.” This is the last poster in the HRC Poster Collection. Conferences and events became increasingly, then only, advertised online. The tradition of annual themes remains, and for 2023, it is “Repair”. The 2013 poster is signed on the back by the designer, then HRC Programs Manager Leena Messina.
2012 Ecological Enlightenment
“Ecological Enlightenment,” 2012 HRC annual theme poster. The year, with a theme encompassing research across the humanities regarding climate change, delivered an important event. The “Anthropocene Humanities” conference, canvassing an emerging field, was part of the Annual Meeting of the global Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. The Consortium had not met in Australia since 1999 during “Religion, Society and Values” year. A major collaborative exhibition, “Antarctica”, was held at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery in association with the Meeting.
2011 World and World-Making
“World and World Making,” 2011 HRC annual theme poster. This poster provides the first mention of masterclasses, led by professors from Durham and Duke Universities, and a roundtable, with a panelist from the University of Chicago. Two workshops are also advertised, one with a presenter from the University of Nottingham, the other with another scholar from Duke University. Attracting eminent international researchers to Canberra, always an HRC goal, is highlighted in “World” year.
2010 Imagining Identity
“Imagining Identity,” 2010 HRC annual theme poster. The poster lists an exhibition at the ANU Drill Hall Gallery by Dadang Christanto, ‘Wounds in our Heart’. A performance by Christanto, an acclaimed Indonesian artist, was used as the feature image on the 2008 HRC annual theme poster “Re enactment,” and his work was also used on the 2003 HRC annual theme poster “Culture, Environment and Human Rights”. The image on this poster is ‘Les Sauvages de la mer Pacifique’, Jean Charvet, c. 1805. The poster is signed on the back by the designer, then HRC Programs Manager Leena Messina.
2009 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography
“Writing Political Lives – Curtin, Chifley, Fisher,” 2009 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography, delivered by David Day. As usual, this lecture was presented first at the National Library of Australia, and then at two interstate venues. In 2009, these were the University of Technology in Sydney and the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne. This was the last year that the lecture series was hosted by the Biography Institute of the HRC. Organisation of the Seymour series moved to the National Library in 2010. The photo is attributed to Gavin Warren.
2009 Cosmopolitanisms
“Cosmopolitanisms,” 2009 HRC annual theme poster. A diverse range of conferences and other events included a summer school and the Seymour Lecture. Someone had the unenviable task of stickering on each poster a date change for the “Reworking the Regency” conference held at the University of Melbourne. The image is named “View from a multi-storey carpark,” courtesy of Katie Hayne and Ursula Frederick.
2008 Re enactment
“Re enactment,” 2008 HRC annual theme poster. A summer school and an exhibition at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery are featured, both significant staples in HRC activities. A conference in honour of renowned historian Henry Reynolds, “Race, Nation, History,” is also noted. The image is: “Performance by Dadang Christanto, Tukgunung Tan Aren and Kilau Setanggi Timur, HRC ANU 2004.” The photo is attributed to Leena Messina, HRC. Messina, then Programs Manager for the HRC, also designed the layout of the poster and signed the back of it.
2008 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography
“Biography: The Past has a Great Future,” 2008 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography, delivered by Richard Holmes. Besides the delivery of this lecture at the National Library of Australia, an unprecedented three interstate venues are listed for the later presentation of the lecture. These are the University of Technology in Sydney, the Law School at the University of Melbourne, and the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane.
2007 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography
“Biography and the Struggle for the Soul of Australia,” 2007 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography, delivered by Professor Jill Roe. Following tradition, this lecture was presented at the National Library of Australia first, and then at two interstate locations, in this case the NGV Australia in Melbourne and the National Maritime Museum in Sydney. The Biography Institute of the HRC, which organised the Seymour Lectures and is listed on other relevant posters, is described in some detail here.
2007 Annual Theme Poster
2007 HRC annual poster listing conferences and events. Since the adoption of HRC annual themes in 1977, this is the second year without one; the first was in 1988. This was because the Centre had signalled in 2005 that from 2007, focus on a central theme would be diversified into three broad “Research Platforms”. Posters after 2007, while still displaying an overall title for the year, reflect this greater variety. The artwork is “A View of Philip James de Loutherbourg’s Eidophusikon” by Edward Francis Burney, 1782, held by the British Museum.
2006 Shakespeare and Political Thought
“Shakespeare and Political Thought,” 2006 HRC conference. The description of this event is an effective summary of a driving intent behind the HRC overall: “Our aim is to bring together converging interests across disciplines and institutional structures.” The conference was sponsored by the Research Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Network for Early European Research.
2006 Remembering Lives: Biography, Memory and Commemoration
“Remembering Lives: Biography, Memory and Commemoration,” 2006 HRC annual theme poster. The poster promotes a remarkable number of HRC collaborations with different institutions across the ANU, including the National Institute of Social Sciences and Law, the Australian Dictionary of Biography, the Cultures of Human Rights Network, and the HRC initiated Centre for Cross-Cultural Research. The artwork is Characters and Caricaturas by William Hogarth, 1743.
2006 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography
“Virtual Lives – History and Biography in an Electronic Age,” 2006 Second HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography, delivered by Dr Lawrence Goldman. In keeping with the first Seymour Lecture in 2005, this event occurred in Canberra first, and then in two other Australian cities. The lecture was delivered at the National Library of Australia, the University of Melbourne, and the State Library Theatre in Western Australia.
2006 Conference: Breaking the News
“Breaking the News,” 2006 HRC conference. This was the concluding event in the Humanities Writing Project, a collaborative initiative undertaken with the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney, and funded by the Australian Research Council. For the event, scholars across disciplines were invited to relate a research breakthrough moment in a manner that a non-specialist might appreciate, and then have their attempts critiqued by a lay jury.
2005 HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography
“Walking Upon Ashes: The Footsteps of a Modern Biographer,” 2005 First HRC Seymour Lecture in Biography, delivered by Dr Brenda Niall at the National Library of Australia. The lecture series was organised by the Biography Institute of the HRC after a donation from Dr John Seymour and Dr Heather Munro. The poster notes the later dates for Dr Niall’s delivery of the lecture at two interstate universities; a feature of the series was presentation first in Canberra, and then in two other Australian cities.
2005 Cultural Landscapes
“Cultural Landscapes,” 2005 HRC annual theme poster. The HRC 2005 Annual Report notes this theme “attracted an unusually wide range of participants from across the entire spectrum of the humanities and beyond.” This poster lists the inaugural lectures in two series. The first is the Freilich Foundation’s Alice Tay Lecture, exploring law and human rights. The second is the Seymour Annual Lecture in Biography, the specific poster for which is also held by the HRC Poster Collection. The image is Country NW of Tableland, Aug 22 by Samuel Thomas Gill, 1846, courtesy of the National Library of Australia.
2005 Conference 'Desert Gardens: Waterless Lands & the Problems of Adaptation'
“Desert Gardens: Waterless Lands and the Problems of Adaptation,” 2005 HRC conference held at the National Library of Australia. This major conference was part of the 2005 “Cultural Landscapes” series and focussed in part on the modification in Australia of traditional notions of the garden. The artwork is The Clianthus Dampierii or Desert Pea of Sturt, Charles Frederick Somerton, 1863, held by the National Library of Australia.
2004 Asia-Pacific
“Asia-Pacific,” 2004 HRC annual theme poster. The choice of theme was, as “Latin America” had been in 2002, a conscious effort by the HRC to engage with scholars outside of Europe and North America. The ANU Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies played a strong role in many conferences for the year. A summer school is also advertised, a periodic and significant HRC activity first mentioned on the annual theme poster for 1981, and a tradition that was revived in 2002. The artwork is 'Papeete Harbour in the Island of Tahiti' by John Duncan King, 1846, held by the National Library of Australia.
2003 Culture, Environment & Human Rights
“Culture, Environment and Human Rights,” 2003 HRC annual theme poster. This HRC theme proved remarkably popular, attracting 1000 participants to a wide variety of conferences and events. This was the highest attendance since “Sexualities and Culture” year in 1993. The poster particularly details HRC support, units, and short courses for postgraduate students; in previous years, the HRC had set a goal of increasing activity in this regard. The image is “1001 earth humans” by Dadang Christanto, 1996.
2002 Research Theme: Latin America
“Latin America,” 2002 HRC annual theme poster, front. The HRC adopted a goal in 2002 of expanding collaboration and interchange with scholars outside of North America and Europe, and the annual theme was chosen to promote this. An extremely broad range of conferences and events included four exhibitions of contemporary Latin American art at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery.
2002 HRC Visiting Fellows
“Latin America,” 2002 HRC annual theme poster, back. The comparatively large number of Visiting Fellows named here includes several notable scholars from Latin America. The poster lists that this was the 30th anniversary year for the HRC.
2001 Exhibition: Cook and Omai – The Cult of the South Seas
“Cook and Omai – The Cult of the South Seas,” 2001 National Library of Australia exhibition, in collaboration with the HRC. This exhibition was held in tandem with the HRC and NLA conference “Exoticism in the Eighteenth Century” (see 2001 HRC annual theme poster). The exhibition attracted an audience of 30,000 people. The artwork is by Johann Jacobe, ‘Omai, a Native of the Island of Utietea’ (after Sir Joshua Reynolds), held by the National Library of Australia.
2001 Enlightenment - reverse
“Enlightenment,” 2001 HRC annual theme poster, back. The useful summary of the scope of the yearly theme is an interesting addition.
2001 Enlightenment - front
“Enlightenment,” 2001 HRC annual theme poster, front. One focus of this widely interdisciplinary conference series was, as the back of the poster (following) makes clear, the “many and varied critics” of the eighteenth-century European Enlightenment, including Indigenous or non-European peoples. This prong of investigation perhaps influenced the choice of artwork for the poster: The Dream of Reason Produces Monsters, by Francis Goya, 1797/8, held by the National Gallery of Victoria.
2000 Law and the Humanities - reverse
“Law and the Humanities,” 2000 HRC annual theme poster, back. The list of Visiting Fellows here provides a glimpse into what has always been a governing precept of the HRC: to attract outstanding national and international scholars and provide them with the space, time and stimulus needed for significant research, often connected to the yearly theme.
2000 Law and the Humanities - front
“Law and the Humanities,” 2000 HRC annual theme poster, front. The substantial number of conferences in this series investigated law in a variety of contexts, including with respect to feminism, disability, imperialism, Australian human rights, and Chinese culture. Two conferences were held at international venues, in London and San Diego. The “Human Rights, Human Wrongs” conference lists the HRC’s Freilich Foundation, which was established in 1999 by a donation from Herbert and Valmae Freilich to promote research into the causes and amelioration of bigotry. The image used on the poster is by Thomas Rowlandson, 1819, held by the British Museum.
1999 Religion, Society and Values
“Religion, Society and Values,” 1999 HRC annual theme poster. The “Humanities, Arts and Public Culture in Two Hemispheres” conference, held at the Queensland Art Gallery, was a significant one. It brought together directors of humanities centres nationally and internationally (Europe, Canada, and the USA), and fostered Australia’s connection with the international Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. The artwork is: ‘The days and nights in the wilderness’ by Colin McCahon, 1971, held by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand.
1998 Home and Away – Journeys, Migrations, Diasporas
“Home and Away – Journeys, Migrations, Diasporas,” 1998 HRC annual theme poster. The conference “Ireland and Australia 1798 - 1998” held at La Trobe University proved the most popular in this series, with 400 attendees. The HRC had begun a tradition of Irish/Australia conferences when it held “Nationalism and Culture in Ireland” in 1980 as part of “Romanticism and Revivals” year. The David Moore photo is titled “Migrants arriving in Sydney,” 1966.
1997 Identities
“Identities,” 1997 HRC annual theme poster. The conference “Indigenous Rights” was the most well-attended of this series, attracting 200 participants. The broad range of conference topics was, unusually, illustrated through a variety of images on the poster. From left to right: 'A Landscape Vision' by David Blackburn, 1995-6, Hart Gallery; Jan Vermeer’s 'Mistress and Maid', c.1670, Frick Collection; Parliament Forecourt Mosaic designed by Michael Tjakamarra Nelson, Aboriginal Artists Agency; “Syrian Goddess”, Yale University Art Gallery. The overall poster design is attributed to Jodi Parvey.
1996 Science and Culture
“Science and Culture,” 1996 HRC annual theme poster. The “Science and Other Knowledge Traditions” conference in this series, held at James Cook University in Queensland, attracted over 150 attendees, including many Indigenous participants. The “Re-imagining the Pacific” conference was also particularly popular, the opening public lecture attracting 450 attendees. Two conferences were staged in association with the National Library of Australia.
1995 Africa
“Africa,” 1995 HRC annual theme poster. The selection of this theme was a conscious move by the HRC to attract scholars from a wider geographical area than the existing preponderance of UK and USA academics. The theme was also chosen to stimulate academic investigation in an important area that was under-acknowledged and under-funded in Australia. The artwork, Hope and Optimism, is by John Muafangejo, 1984, held by the National Gallery of Australia.
1994 Freedom
“Freedom,” 1994 HRC annual theme poster. Four themed conferences were held, including one at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. The non-thematic “Roman Family III” conference attracted renowned national and international scholars in the field. The topic had been explored twice before (see HRC posters for 1981 and 1988) and advances in research was the focus. The artwork, Two finger exercise, is by Guan Wei, 1989, held by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
1993 Sexualities & Culture
“Sexualities and Culture,” 1993 HRC annual theme poster. The theme was criticised in both the press and some academic circles. The conferences and events for this year were, however, extraordinarily successful, attracting 1300 participants overall. The theme demonstrated the HRC’s dedication to innovative scholarship exploring under-investigated frontiers and was particularly effective in attracting younger scholars from emerging fields such as lesbian and gay studies.
1993 Conference 'Lips of Coral - Sex, Violence and Surrealism'
“Lips of Coral – Sex, Violence and Surrealism,” 1993 HRC conference held in conjunction with the National Gallery of Australia. This conference was one of the series held by the HRC for the 1993 “Sexualities and Culture” annual theme year. While derisively called the “whips and chains year” by some detractors, many scholars disagreed. The “strictly limited” places at this conference were quickly filled. The photograph is named as Dart by Max Dupain, 1935, held by the National Gallery of Australia.
1992 Europe
“Europe,” 1992 HRC annual theme poster. Three thematic conferences were held this year, two at the HRC, and one at Monash University in Victoria. The non-thematic conference “The Articulate Surface” was held in conjunction with the National Gallery of Australia and resulted in a major publication.
1991 Histories
“Histories,” 1991 HRC annual theme poster. The extra-thematic conference “Modernism and Post-modernism in Asian Art” was considered significant in putting forward perspectives from a less traditional and Eurocentric standpoint, developing debate that had begun during “Europe and the Orient” year in 1987. The illustration is signed Lia Verhelst.
1990 Biography & Autobiography
“Biography and Autobiography,” 1990 HRC annual theme poster. This poster lists the largest number of HRC conferences and events to date. The “Civilisation Symposium,” a collaboration between the HRC and the National Gallery of Australia, was linked with the major exhibition Civilisation: Ancient Treasures from the British Museum. The image is Untitled from a series of Self Portraits by Mike Parr, 1989, held by the National Gallery of Australia.
1989 Film and the Humanities
“Film and the Humanities,” 1989 HRC annual theme poster. The 1989 HRC Annual Report noted the remarkable level of collaboration that was required with other institutions, including the National Film and Sound Archive and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, for the organisation of the year’s conferences, due to the fact ANU “has never developed anything resembling a Department of Cinema (or Media) Studies.” The Centre was gratified that their choice of theme “has already had a modest impact on the ANU's thinking about film.”
1988 HRC Annual Poster
1988 HRC annual poster listing conferences and events. In Australia’s Bicentenary year, the HRC decided not to adopt an annual theme. Two conferences revisited past years. “Terra Australis to Australia,” held in collaboration with the Australian Academy of the Humanities, was inspired by 1981’s annual theme “Australia and the European Imagination.” The conference “The Roman Family” attracted double the number of participants who attended a 1981 conference held on the same subject, and discussion encompassed advances in analysis in the field.
1987 Europe and the Orient
“Europe and the Orient,” 1987 HRC annual theme poster. The two themed conferences, “Europe and the Exotic” and “The Occident and the Orient,” drew 255 participants between them. The HRC 1987 Annual Report notes that the Centre’s aim of bringing “Europeanists and Asianists from various disciplines into dialogue” had resulted in robust and constructive debate. Several events were held in conjunction with the conferences, including exhibitions at the National Library and the National Gallery. The poster layout is by ANU Graphic Design and the artwork is The Blue Feather by Paul Haefliger, 1932, held by the National Gallery of Australia.
1986 Feminism and the Humanities
“Feminism and the Humanities,” 1986 HRC annual theme poster. The three advertised conferences attracted a record breaking 600 participants. Half of these attended “Feminist Criticism and Cultural Production.” An exhibition at ANU’s Drill Hall Gallery was held in conjunction with the conference. The second conference was teamed with an exhibition on Australian women artists and activists at the National Library, while the third conference was held at the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with the Research Centre for Women’s Studies. The poster was designed by Lin Tobias.
1985 Hellenism
“Hellenism,” 1985 HRC annual theme poster. The four conferences in this series drew 450 attendees, and the HRC was gratified about attracting several leading international scholars. Two conferences were held interstate, one at the University of Sydney, the other at the University of Melbourne. The image shows the Peplos Kore, held by the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge, photography by Helen Goldberg.
1984 Landscape and the Arts
“Landscape and the Arts,” 1984 HRC annual theme poster. The HRC noted strong collaborations with universities across Australia and New Zealand in the organisation of this conference series. Two events were held in conjunction with the “Australia and the New World 1800-1984” conference, an exhibition organised by the National Library of Australia and a film screening organised by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. The conferences attracted 300 attendees. The image is from the collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
1983 Renaissance Year
“Renaissance Year,” 1983 HRC annual theme poster. This conference series was the most successful to date, with over 400 attendees. 200 of these attended the first conference the HRC held interstate, at the University of Melbourne. The HRC 1983 Annual Report particularly remarks on the diversity of scholars: “sociologists, economic and social historians, historians of ideas, anthropologists, textual scholars and musical historians as well as the linguistic and literary scholars who are the mainstay of the HRC.”
1982 Insight and Interpretation
“Insight and Interpretation,” 1982 HRC annual theme poster. The theme attracted diverse interest, achieving the Centre’s “aim to bring together in conference scholars who might not otherwise discuss their work with each other” (HRC Annual Report 1982). There were 175 participants in events for the year.
1981 Australia and the European Imagination
“Australia and the European Imagination,” 1981 HRC annual theme poster. The HRC remarked that the theme attracted scholars from a wider range of fields, including sociology, anthropology, and geography, than in previous years. The poster is the first to promote HRC activities beyond those encompassing the annual theme. The image was supplied by the Mitchell Library, Sydney.
1980 Romanticism and Revivals: Culture and Nationalism in 19th Century Europe
“Romanticism and Revivals: Culture and Nationalism in 19th Century Europe,” 1980 HRC annual theme poster. The HRC noted that this conference series provoked considerable national and international interest. This was especially so regarding “Nationalism and Culture in Ireland,” which was the first conference of its type in Australia.
1979 Drama Year
“Drama Year,” 1979 HRC annual theme poster. The HRC was gratified by the widening range of scholars who convened conferences this year – one came from the Faculty of Asian Studies at ANU and two were from the University of New South Wales.
1978 Medieval Year
“Medieval Year,” 1978 HRC annual theme poster. The “Waning of the Middle Ages” conference was held in collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. The “Byzantine Studies” conference aided in the establishment of the Australian Association of Byzantine Studies. Most conference convenors for the year were from the Faculty of Arts, ANU. The poster layout is by ANU Graphic Design.