A MAJOR retrospective of the life and work of South Fremantle artist Dawn Meader will open at the Moores Building in Fremantle this week, celebrating a career defined by joy, community and spiritual exploration.

Ms Meader, renowned for her vibrant works and for helping beginners pour their hearts onto a canvas through meditation-led practice, died in 2023 after a brief illness.

Her son, Charlie-Moon Meader, said the exhibition would be both a public celebration and a deeply personal milestone for the family.

“We’re holding a major retrospective of her life’s work at the Moores Building from January 10–26, 2026,” he said.

“It’s a very personal show for us.

“Since she passed last year, we’ve been slowly archiving and restoring her work, and this will be the first time much of it has ever been displayed. 

“The exhibition explores her themes of love, community, spirituality, and the landscapes that shaped her.”

• Dawn Meader.

Born in Kent, England, Ms Meader migrated to Australia in 1986 and went on to study at the Claremont Art College, launching a career that spanned painting, sculpture and mosaics, alongside leading art retreats in Perth, Bali, India and Italy.

While she had drawn and painted since childhood, Ms Meader began using painting as a spiritual practice in her early 20s, expressing dreams and visions she experienced while meditating.

“My paintings come from the deepest place in my heart and often I am guided to paint an inner experience because it is about a deep healing that so many of us crave,” she previously described her work.

That philosophy underpinned not only her own practice, but also her teaching. 

Working with beginners and experienced artists alike, Ms Meader encouraged participants to release fear and self-judgment as much as they focused on technique.

While teaching others, Ms Meader said she mixed art techniques with “letting go”.

“When you paint from the heart, it ripples out into all areas of your life, allowing expansion and growth to come, fears to drop and the joy of truly being yourself to flourish.”

Her public works stretched far beyond Fremantle. They include a large glass mosaic for the baptistry pool at Geraldton Cathedral, created during the church’s major renovation in 2017 and completed through long, demanding days of design and installation.