Summary

This image is of Marion Rak at Goomalibee taken by Tagen Baker on 13 August 2016 as part of The Invisible Farmer Project.

This particular image shows Marion Rak standing in a garden on the property of her friend Cath Marriott.

Originally from Sydney, Marion Rak married into the farming lifestyle, as her husband was a member of a strong farming family in Victoria. Once established, she and her partner eventually started up their own farm in Mount Bruna in 1988, where they specialised in cherries, wine grapes, and olives. Marion s peaks passionately about farm administration, farming practices, irrigation techniques, and dealing with crises within the industry.

The Invisible Farmer Project was the largest ever study of Australian women on the land, uncovering the histories and stories of Australian women in agriculture. It began as a pilot project (2015-2016) and evolved into a three year (2017-2020) nation-wide partnership between rural communities, academic, government and cultural organisations, funded by the Australian Research Council.

Description of Content

Woman standing near a tree (pictured torso up), a brick wall in the background.

Physical Description

Digital colour photograph

Significance

As a visiting research associate for Museum Victoria, and a PhD student in Utah State University's Department of Environment and Society, Tagen Baker had the opportunity to explore the diverse landscape of Victoria and interview and photograph women farmers as part of The Invisible Farmer Project-to learn from them about their histories, responses to climate change, and how they adapted their agricultural practices to sustain themselves and their families. Tagen wanted to know how their experiences have been similar or different to women in her home state of Idaho, USA. How have women been key agents of change embedded in their environments? How do women farmers provide unique perspectives and contributions to the futures of agriculture and to their communities?

As part of her research process, Tagen asked several women farmers if she could photograph them with an item of value. This item opened up a unique opportunity to communicate and learn about the farmers' lives. The item chosen was not only symbolic as a physical item of value, tangible and necessary, but a portal into a storytelling journey, a symbol of their rich and unique life experiences.

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