Vicki is a book artist and authorial illustrator, based at Krowji in Redruth. She works with a number of heritage organisations such as Kresen Kernow, Hayle Heritage Centre, Museum of Cornish Life and the Royal Cornwall Museum, bringing archival stories to life in creative ways through workshops and public events.

What motivates you to do what you do?  

“Working with archives is a constant source of motivation for my creative practice. I feel I have the best job in the world. Just being absorbed in research and finding out what happened to these inspiring women from history drives me forward.

Also having that haptic process of making in whatever I do. While I’m researching - I’m also sewing or drawing. Even when I’m waiting in the car, I’m writing, stitching or sketching something. I was the mum at the school gate in my car sewing, while waiting for my daughters to come out at the end of the day.”

Read the full interview with Vicki on our website.

For International Women’s Day this year (8th March), we happily collaborated with Penzance Library to curate a selection of women writers that are interesting and perhaps overlooked.

You can view this list here: https://hypatia-trust.org.uk/iwd2024

The Hypatia team had gathered their best suggestions and Penzance Library selected titles for display - and for book borrowers to discover!

Our Women in Cornwall team shared Herstories from the archive. The team are doing a marvellous job documenting the achievements of women in Cornwall, moving women from the margins of history to the centre. Follow: https://www.instagram.com/women_in_cornwall

During the 1990s an artist from New York came to live in West Cornwall. Her name was Ann Haggerty, and she became well known in the local artists’ community. Ann quickly made friends with Melissa and was a frequent visitor. She appears in the Cornwall Artists’ Index - see below.

When she settled in a small village near Albi in southern France, Melissa and Phil went to visit her, but after Ann moved back to New York they lost touch. So it was a complete surprise to receive a letter, in early 2023, saying that she had died and had remembered The Hypatia Trust in her will. She had written –

“To The Hypatia Trust, for the attention of Dr. Melissa Hardie, Director, the sum of five thousand dollars for the extraordinary work Melissa is doing through the Trust for women in the arts in Cornwall.”

It has taken until now to actually receive the donation, which translated as £3,845, but we are extremely grateful to Ann. The gift revived very happy memories of her and her kindness to many people.

In March’s newsletter we shared a taste of our Women in Word literary festival, happening 6th to 8th June this year. Tickets on sale from mid April.

We also had the call out for poetry films for selection for our poetry film event as part of the festival. We've received a healthy amount of applications so far! See all details on the what and how via the button below. The deadline to submit forms and films is Tuesday 30th April.

WHATEVER NEXT?
Bridget Crowley's Desert Island Discs

Thursday 18th April | 6pm | Hypatia HQ | £5

Join us for an evening of Bridget Crowley’s Desert Island Discs, with the help of Nigel Fairs, Bridget will be taking us through her "desert island discs" and memories of her extraordinary life in the Arts.

Bridget has had an extensive and varied career in the Arts. She trained to be a dancer at the Rambert School and for 23 years was Head of Dance and Theatre Training at Arts Ed. in London. She founded Dancers Anonymous, providing students with the opportunity to test out professional life in the theatre. She also wrote four children's books, one of which, Feast of Fools, was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award for mystery writers in America. After an MA in the History of Art at Birkbeck, she worked as an educator and Outreach Officer for the National Gallery. And there’s more…

Read more about Bridget on our Events page.

There will be a donation drinks bar.