Work in Progress, National Portrait Gallery and Pallant House Gallery
Just before the end of Women’s History month this year I visited Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, a fave jaunt always as their collections of British art to my mind seem better curated than those at Tate Britain. A local friend had told me to look at a new mural on the ground floor..
Work in Progress was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) to celebrate the achievements of women in Britain. Inspired by the NPG’s collection, the seven-panel mural showcases 130 prominent and lesser-known women from the past 2000 years. It aims to shine a light on women who have made extensive contributions to British history and culture, and encourages audiences to question existing narratives.
The mural’s title and silhouette of an unknown woman on the last panel illustrate the fact that many women are yet to receive recognition, and that achieving this continues to be a ‘work in progress’. This in particular resonated with me; so many of the women featured in the damesnet blogs were overlooked during their lifetime, often with their achievements credited to their male colleagues/husbands/brothers etc.
The mural was created by artists Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake, a mother and daughter team. Haworth is well known for the Beatles’ album cover Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. They worked in collaboration with the Community Programme at Pallant House Gallery, the NPG’s Youth Forum, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, Murray Edwards College in Cambridge and Pathways to Wellbeing at the Holbourne Museum in Bath. Through a series of workshops led by the artists, community members chose a woman to represent, which was then added to the final work. Those participating produced a stencilled portrait on paper of a woman of their choice who has had a significant impact on British life. There is a short video on YouTube which tells more about some of the people who were involved in the process: https://pallant.org.uk/whats-on/work-in-progress/
The finished portraits were collaged together by Liberty Blake to create the final mural, which is 28 feet long – or 8.5 metres. It is made up of acrylic on paper.
The mural has been on display in the National Portrait Gallery since 2020 and a high-level reproduction was hung at Pallant House in February 2024. It is a celebration of the women who were catalysts for change in the arts, sciences and social activism, and asks why so many of these lives and endeavours have become unjustly marginalised or forgotten throughout history.
I don’t have a full list of the women represented in the mural, but hours of fun can be had trying to recognise the people there, and even more enjoyment could be had by making your own list.
Easter holiday entertainment anyone?
Fascinating, Barbara. I could only identify a few women but love the way they are portrayed.
Definitely a work in progress.
We definitely need to produce a damesnet version!