Five Minutes with The Hon Ashley Dawson Damer

Posted on 17 February, 2021

The Hon Ashley Dawson Damer is an accomplished author and one of Australia’s leading Arts philanthropists.

As Director of the Yuills group of companies since 2000, Ashley has a deep appreciation for performing and visual arts. She is an NGA Foundation Board member, trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW, and has served as director of Opera Australia Capital Fund since 2014.

Over the last thirty years, Ashley has been a member of the board of Festival of Sydney, the National Art School, the National Institute of Dramatic Art, UTS and more.

She became a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2014, and in 2020 was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government. She is the author of three books with A Particular Woman (Ventura Press, 2020) being the latest.

We caught up with Ashley ahead of her Kambri HERE I AM: Women Talk Series / The Power of Patronage – Women Supporting Women in the Arts where she will be in conversation with Maryanne Voyazis, Head of Development and Executive Director, National Gallery of Australia Foundation.

The HERE I AM Women Talk Series is inspired by the Know My Name initiative which is in cultural partnership with the NGA and is being held tomorrow, Thursday 18 February, at aMBUSH Gallery, Cultural Centre, Kambri.

In your latest book A Particular Woman, you talk about your involvement on the boards of some of the most prestigious Australian Arts organisations. How do you feel the role of women has changed within that time?

I have been surprised by the reaction to the final chapters of my memoir … women want to know more about the Board years; and not just women, some men too.

The role of women in the boardroom is gaining more interest and there is a greater awareness by governments for a more balanced approach to appointments.

However, women will suffer a lag time in achieving these ends as we ‘catch up’. Young women have more options these days and a greater advantage in acquiring skills.

In my twenties, wearing mini-skirts and flourishing a new-minted economics degree, being given a desk in the back rooms of research departments was what I was offered!

It has been said that “Boards need women more than women need boards” – but do you feel bringing the two together offers opportunities for both?

I most definitely do believe Boards need women; women with relevant expertise…should be given the chance to hold board positions where enormous good can be achieved in leavening the climate of male-dominated boards.

Why should philanthropists support the Arts and what can they achieve by doing so? And should they support artists or arts institutions?

Philanthropy comes in many guises and goes in many directions; it all depends on which area of philanthropy has appeal to the donor.

The Arts, both performing and visual, move across all boundaries having an impact in the spheres of medicine, education at all levels, benefitting both the privileged and underprivileged.

It is my belief benefaction allows the Arts to expand its reach exponentially and in ways often unforeseen by the benefactor. By supporting institutions, artists receive the benefit in, potentially, more balanced and professional ways.

What do you think we can be doing to better address the challenges women in the Arts world face today?

This answer requires greater space than available here. Let me say that the journey for women is ongoing and exciting as new horizons open up with support coming from myriad sources and which I will address during the Women Talk Series at Kambri.

Change is brought about by the actions of many, in many inventive and dedicated ways, and through the hard work of Foundation Boards, senior Curators, talented Directors, established Capital Funds e.g., Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet, their Boards of Directors and artists themselves.

Can patronage influence social change?

Patronage has always played a vital role in social change from the role of the Medicis in the impetus of the Renaissance to the actions of John Maynard Keynes in creating the Arts Council of Great Britain.