Featured speaker
Francesca Owen
Former Olympic synchronised swimmer. Now she makes her pictures underwater.
RARA founder Bridget Wood got to ask Francesca (Frankie) Owen a handful of questions for our speaker series.
What would you take lessons in tomorrow, purely for fun?
Sewing clothes! Or painting :) I've also considered pinch pots, ha!
What's the last thing you did for the first time?
Photographing a bunch of 65+ year olds doing a sunrise skinny dip!!
What habit from elite sport helps your art, and which have you had to lose?
The creativity of performing as a synchronised swimmer has definitely helped my art, because I try to capture that same emotion in my imagery. Pushing myself has helped in so many parts of life too, knowing you need to get out of your comfort zone, because that's where a lot of the magic happens.
What I've had to try to lose is the perfectionism. I remind myself that not everything can be perfect, and try to get out of my own head. That's been hard. It can turn into second-guessing my selects, and worrying about what people will think if it's not an amazing image, or whether I'm good enough at what I'm doing.
What's been your biggest "pinch me" moment behind the camera?
Capturing the Tokyo Olympic synchronised swimmers for the first time. I didn't have long with them because of their training schedule, but it was amazing to have creative freedom. It felt like coming full circle, photographing the girls right before the Olympics, where I once was.
(Also, Bridget was with me when we found out my images had made VOGUE!!!)
You recently became a mother. Has that changed your mind about anything?
Definitely. It's allowed me to become more present, and in a way to dig down and find my own self-confidence. It's also shown me how to appreciate the little things in life more: that morning coffee, the little smiles, and the connections to the ones we love, our work and the world.
At RARA, we're all about women supporting women. Who should we know about right now?
- CLOFounded by Faye. A creative account sharing other creatives' work, with a monthly newsletter you can join, with topics to comment on and engage with. It makes freelance work feel less lonely at times.
- Mária ŠvarbováMária Švarbová studied architecture before turning to photography. Her imagery is very rigid and interesting, and she uses water a lot in her work, which intrigues me.
- Tess GuineryTess Guinery, author of The Apricot Memoirs, a book full of beautiful quotes.
See Francesca in person
Hear Francesca at RARA, live.
From Olympic pools to the pages of Vogue, she's joining us at Mondrian Gold Coast in February.
Around her, it's two days with women who will make you braver about what you actually want.
Get your ticketCan't make it in the end? Your ticket can go to another woman, free, up to 14 days out.
- The Aperitivo by the pool on Monday night
- Two full summit days, with up to two creative workshops
- Long lunches, barista coffee, morning and afternoon tea
- A small group to meet before you arrive, so you've got people to find on the first night
Her prints
Take the water home.
Francesca's underwater work is sold as fine art prints. Each series opens in her shop.
