Processions

We took part in Processions, a mass participation artwork in London on Sunday 10 June to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which gave the first British women the right to vote.

Processions invited women and girls across the UK to come together on the streets of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London on Sunday 10 June to mark this historic moment in a living, moving portrait of women in the 21st century.

Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange is one of 100 organisations that worked with women artists up and down the country,  as part of an extensive public programme of creative workshops to create 100 centenary banners which formed part of this vast artwork. The banners represented and celebrated the diverse voices of women and girls from different backgrounds.

A group of eight women and girls worked with textile artist/illustrator and Elizabeth Loveday to create our banner. Each participant chose a British iconic female figure they wanted to represent, who are as diverse as the group . The goddess Hera, protector of women, is portrayed on either side of the figures.

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

• Cathie Ashley
• Faye Dobinson
• Rae Dougan
• Tracy Flett
• Cat Gibbard
• Jen Gourley
• Sheelagh O’Donnell
• Tamsin Young

ICONIC WOMEN FEATURED

• Gina Miller
• Audrey Hepburn
• Zaha Hadid
• Amy Johnson
• Olive Morris
• Karen Ingala Smith
• Beatrix Potter
• Angela Carter

All of the banners that were in Processions were photographed for the Google Arts & Culture webpage.The ultra-high resolution camera used to take the photos mean that you can zoom into the images and see each stitch in extraordinary detail. Our banner is in the South West section.

The book, Women Making History, is an illustrated companion to the banners produced for PROCESSIONS and is the first opportunity to see each of the 100 banners up close, in all their glorious detail, using the photos that were taken by Google Arts &Culture. If you would like to buy a copy simply use the code PROCESSIONS at checkout when making your order to take advantage of the special discounted price of £20 (rrp £25) plus p&p.

Processions is produced by Artichoke, the UK’s largest producer of art in the public realm, as part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s official arts programme for the First World War centenary. With support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The seamstresses and the banner travelled to the Procession from Penzance to Paddington by train, courtesy of GWR. GWR is a long-time supporter of the gallery and generously made it possible for all members of the group to represent Cornwall in London.