Project Respect: Mural Unveiling and Resource Launch | WHISE & City of Casey

Public space tells us whose lives mattered, whose work counted and whose stories are worth remembering. Yet across Australia, women remain strikingly absent from the statues, plaques, street names and landmarks that shape our shared history.

On Wednesday 9 September, join Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE) and the City of Casey as we launch a new community mural celebrating Lady Casey and the Project Respect toolkit.

The mural grew directly from Project Respect, an innovative partnership with local schools that invited young people to explore gender equality, respectful relationships, healthy masculinities, community safety and commemorative justice.

Students examined whose stories are visible in their community—and whose are missing. They proposed creating a permanent tribute to Lady Casey, an artist, writer, aviator and advocate who promoted women’s participation in Australian public life.

The City of Casey backed their vision by commissioning a mural developed in collaboration with students and community members. The result is more than a public artwork: it is a permanent, formally recognised place for women’s history in the heart of Berwick.

The event will also launch the Project Respect toolkit, documenting the partnerships, learning and co-design process that turned a classroom conversation into lasting change. The toolkit will enable other schools, councils and communities to adapt and replicate the model.

The mural will connect visitors with Lady Casey’s story on Her Place’s Finding Her map, contributing to a wider record of places that recognise women’s lives and achievements across Victoria.

What to expect:

• Morning tea on arrival
• The official launch and unveiling of the mural
• A panel conversation with people involved in the project
• The launch of the Project Respect toolkit
• An opportunity to view the mural, meet project partners and hear how the model can be used in other communities

This is commemorative justice in practice: young people identifying an absence, a community taking their ideas seriously, and a council investing in permanent change.

A single mural can transform one streetscape. A model that travels can help change the landscape.

Register here