Holly Laura Bates

Holly Bates is a Naarm/Melbourne-based emerging filmmaker and visual artist. Bates recently completed a Masters of Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts, graduating with first class. Her graduate film and directorial debut House of Whoreship had its World Premiere at Inside Out Festival (2023), with additional future premieres to be announced. Holly’s solo art practice has exhibited nationally in Australia at spaces such as BLINDSIDE Art Space, Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space and Metro Arts. Furthermore her collaborative practice Parallel Park has showcased at spaces such as Airspace Projects, UNSW Galleries, BUS projects, La Trobe Art Institute, Carriageworks and the 2021 Rising Festival. Bates has appeared in publications such as UN Magazine, Eyeline Magazine and recently was interviewed by VICE. Bates’s creative practice aims to dismantle and challenge the toxic film tropes historically used to depict sex workers on screen. Employing filmic methods that abandon the male gaze, Bates seeks to empower workers; honing in on the complexities and subtleties of interpersonal relationships and the day-to-day lived experience within the sex industry. Artist and filmmaker, Bates is driven to create conceptually rich worlds and stories, layered for both sex worker and mainstream audiences. Using humor and intersectional approaches to film-making, Bates explores personal narratives that are informed by her position as a queer feminist.