Past Programs
Women - 2008
The Witch of Positano
27/11/2008
Born in 1930, artist and dancer Vali Myers left Australia at the age of 19 for post-war Paris.
Hers is a story of survival on the streets of Europe, in prison, and smoking opium with the likes of Jean Cocteau and Jean Genet. And then there's the tale of how she came to marry a Hungarian gypsy and live in her isolated 'wildlife sanctuary' near Positano in the South of Italy.
Vali's art; mystical and intricate portraits of herself, have caught the attention of the international art scene. Today she remains a cult figure who has among her friends Deborah Harry, Marianne Faithful and Patti Smith. She's arrestingly honest and a sight to behold. At 70, she's still turning heads with her shock of wild red hair, piercing eyes, tattoos and gypsy-like presence.
Dr Clair Isbister
18/09/2008
Paediatrician Dr Clair Isbister was the anonymous 'Woman Doctor' on ABC Radio in the 1950s and 1960s, offering child care and other advice, always leavened with a strong dose of common-sense. She later became more widely known through television and other public appearances; as a researcher; and as a pioneer of many practices at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.
Clair Isbister died in August 2008.
