Fionna Barber. Curated Exhibition: Con and Eva. Department: Art

Transcription

1 Fionna Barber Curated Exhibition: Con and Eva Department: Art Previously unseen archival material from the Lissadell Collection at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland and other sources forms the basis for a co-curated exhibition that challenges reductive gender stereotypes of both Irish republicanism and British suffrage through an exemplary focus on art, writing and the construction of spectacle.

2 Research Process At a time when the centenary of Ireland s independence was imminent, the research derived from a desire to uncover the part played by women through a re-evaluation of the public and private roles of both Constance Markievicz (Irish revolutionary activist, elected politician, artist) and her sister Eva Gore-Booth (Manchester-based pacifist, suffragist, playwright, poet).

3 Research Process Archive Research Lissadell Collection, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland: my research notebook Initial archival research identifying photographs and documents that could be used in the exhibition.

4 Research Process Archive images from Lissadell Collection Con in Ukrainian peasant costume at her husband s family estate in Poland a mark of her growing political sympathy for the peasantry (1902). Painting banner in support of Eva s suffrage campaign in Manchester (April 1907). Heroic return to Dublin with Eva after release from imprisonment in England following general amnesty for Irish political prisoners involved in the 1916 Easter Rising (18 June 1917) Selection of images for inclusion in exhibition panels on Art and Performing Identity indicating development of Markievicz awareness of the role of both performative spectacle and art practice in relation to political activism. Seel

5 Research Process Further research in online auctioneer s Catalogue I identified a previously unresearched image that appears in the exhibition panel on Markievicz as an artist and which indicates her growing interest in revoultionary politics T

6 statement This output develops from my earlier research around women, Irishness and representation in relation to the 20 th c. formation of the Irish nation, issues that still have a contemporary resonance for Irish women s lives in a postnationalist state. Directly resulting from my research carried out at the Lissadell Archives in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI, Belfast) between August and December 2015 the co-curated exhibition is my first key output to date from this ongoing project. Using archival photographs, artwork and documents the exhibition s ten laminated panels provide a compelling re-evaluation of the public and private roles of the two sisters Constance Markievicz (Irish revolutionary activist, elected politician, artist) and Eva Gore-Booth (Manchester-based pacifist, suffragist, playwright, poet). The exhibition s PRONI launch (May 2016) was almost exactly a century after Markievicz participated in the Easter Rising ultimately resulting in Ireland s independence from Britain. Its current tour of every Education and Library Board throughout Northern Ireland is evidence of the recognition of its contemporary cross-community significance in the re-evaluation of history in a postconflict culture. My research identified previously unseen visual material from PRONI and other sources. These images and their accompanying text challenge existing reductive stereotypes of both sisters in the literature around Irish republicanism and British suffrage through an exemplary focus on art, writing and the construction of spectacle in the interests of their different political involvements. The research opens up an important re-assessment of relationships between Irish women s cultural and political activism in struggles for Ireland s independence and women s suffrage and union campaigns in early twentieth century Britain. At a time when the centenary of Ireland s independence is being celebrated, this exhibition raises questions around a more complex and nuanced visibility of women s political activism in Ireland and beyond.

7 Research Outcomes The exhibition Con and Eva makes a significant contribution to the visual awareness of women as political activists, in addition to forming the basis for my ongoing research around the role of women artists in the Irish revolution and post-independence reconstruction ( ).

8 Research Outcome Con and Eva: Gendering Revolution at Irish World Heritage Centre Manchester 10 March 30 June 2017 The archival research resulted in the exhibition s ten panels that represent different aspects of the sisters lives and political activities. Photo: Fionna Barber

9 Research Outcomes Con and Eva Exhibition detail Performing Identity and The Importance of Art Photos Fionna Barber The two panels focusing most specifically on my research, although other archival material that I uncovered features throughout the exhibition.

10 Further Evidence Fionna Barber Manchester Histories Guest Blog

11 Further Evidence Con and Eva Exhibition: Northern Ireland Libraries Timetable 2016 July 4-29 Armagh, Co. Armagh August 1-20 Falls Road Belfast September 5-30 Strabane, Co. Tyrone October 1-22 Derry Central October November Shantallow (Derry) November 14-2 December Keady, Co. Armagh 5 December 23 December Brownlow, Co. Armagh 2017 January 2-31 Omagh, Co. Tyrone February 1-24 Lurgan, Co. Armagh March 1-31 Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh May 1-20 Dungannon, Co. Tyrone June 1-30 Newry Co. Down July 3-31 Downpatrick Co. Down September 3-30 Bangor, Co. Down October 2-21 Portadown, Co. Armagh PRONI Timetable for Exhibition tour round Library boards right across Northern Ireland Mixed unionist and nationalist uptake is very unusual. The history of Ireland s struggle for independence is still highly contentious within Northern Ireland s political affiliations in 2017.

12 Further Evidence Symposium and Launch at Irish World Heritage Centre Manchester as part of WonderWoman Festival by Irish Embassy s First Secretary for Community and Culture show significance of exhibition for the Irish diasporic community in Britain Curators Laura McAtackney (Aarhus University Denmark), Katherine O Donnell (University College Dublin), Fionna Barber with symposium chair Kate Cook (Sylvia Pankhurst Centre for Gender Research MMU) Photo Julie Mullaney Ruadhri Dowling (Irish Embassy), Julie Mullaney ( IWHC Culture Officer), Fionna Barber Photo Laura McAtackney

13 Further Evidence Fascinating today great exhibition and talks about women & revolution #conandeva IWHC Symposium and launch 10 March 2017 Irish News 10 March 2016 cover of PRONI launch, Belfast: Previously unseen archive material about Easter Rising leader Countess Constance Markievicz is to go on tour.