As the world celebrated International Women’s Day last week, Level 3 Art and Design students from the College attended Poole Museum to see the unveiling of the ‘Her Stories’ project, a temporary display which they had they played a significant role in helping to create.
The display, which can be seen at the Museum until the end of this month, is the result of a collaboration between the Museum, the College and local artist Lorna Rees, Artistic Director of Gobbledegook Theatre. Using local history research, the project sought to unearth the hidden stories of Poole’s women and present them to museum audiences.
Lorna explained how the collaboration allowed her to create a striking display through the use of textile art: “It was fantastic to work with the College’s outstanding textiles department. Using textiles is a brilliant way to be a bit disruptive in the museum context, particularly when placed next to more traditional framed artwork.
“In 19th century Poole women were not allowed to own property or ships, so we decided to focus on this. We picked out the names of some of the ships women owned, many of which ironically had quite provocative names such as ‘The Antagonist’. The students embroidered these names so that they really stand out to the visitor. It gives the artwork texture, detail and interest. The skill level and imagination of the students was hugely impressive.”
Lena Abo-Rashed a student who worked on the project said: “I really enjoyed contributing to the work about such wonderful women and having it put on display.”
Shellean Salomon another student agreed: “Working with Lorna was amazing. She was so helpful and working as a pair was fascinating as we put our many ideas together to create an impressive piece of work. Going to the museum to see the work on display was incredible. I felt very proud.”
Christine Bill, Fashion & Textiles Lecturer at the College, was also thrilled with the outcome of the latest collaboration between the Museum and the College: “It was wonderful to witness the students contribute their tremendous creativity to this important local historical project. It was a great opportunity for them to work with a professional artist, and to see the outcome of their work on display in the museum.”
‘Her Stories’ will be on show to the public at Poole Museum until Sunday 31 March 2019.
