JULY 2023 NEWSLETTER

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Congratulations to
Dr Jackie Skipper
Senior Consultant & Senior Geologist

Our very first Women in Word festival in June was a huge success with great audiences and attendees to all our events. The networking event got us talking and sharing, the poetry film evening allowed us all to view fifteen excellent films from Cornwall connected female creatives: Deborah O’Nyons, Julia Giles, Penny Florence, Rebecca Althaus, Sarah Tremlett, Olivia Lowry, Janet Mcewan, Tara Montane, Linda Cleary, Fiona O’Cleirigh, Jane Spurr, Hannah Temme, Laurie Huggett, Lally MacBeth.

The poetry reading and in-conversation with Karen Smith and Penelope Shuttle was inspiring and engaging not only for the work shared but for the in-conversation where Karen asked brilliantly thought out questions to Penelope Shuttle allowing captivating answer after answer. The festival finale was the literary costume ball in The Union ballroom and... what can we say... just delightful and fantastic. We had George Sand, the Red Queen, Anne of Green Gables, Bridgerton Girls, Alice in Wonderland, Miss Havisham and an amazing Dorothy who had arrived from the Wizard of Oz and many more - plus the fabulous DJ Nina!

Karen Smith, who was billed with Penelope Shuttle in the Saturday afternoon poetry reading event was also our Writer in Residence over the festival period. However as Karen was asking the questions in the Q&A we didn't get to hear much about her background and work so we wanted to share more here.

Karen Smith is a wild swimming enthusiast, librarian and poet from Uckfield, East Sussex. She recently began working in the castle library at Bader College and before that at the National Poetry Library, on London's South Bank. Since 2018, she's been collaborating with Kin'd & Kin'd, an Ecopoetry collective of writers and artists. Her pamphlet Schist was published in 2019 as part of the Laureate's Choice Series and she is currently working on a first collection, inspired by water.

We were honoured and thrilled to have Karen stay with us and to hear her work read live; pulling us into places of tenderness or power, into playfulness or reflection. Schist is a remarkable collection of poetry and it is no small thing that the book and Karen's work is celebrated by Carol Ann Duffy (Poet Laureate 2009 - 2019).

We'd love to share this short testimonial from Karen about the festival:
'I was very inspired by getting together with the other female creatives –
it felt very encouraging and supportive and I sense that there will be some collaboration and networking happening as a result!'

And also this amazing collage poem that Karen created for us at the end of her residency; we will be getting it framed and have it available to view in the bookshop soon but for now here's a photograph to whet your appetite.

Schist by Karen Smith and a range of titles by Penelope Shuttle are available to buy in our Women in Word bookshop.

We've loved our long time logo and it has served us well across our website, social media channels, publications, merchandise and marketing. However, the time has come to design a new logo that reflects our revised goals.

In the spirit of community and collaboration we have decided to do a call-out/competition to see what designs come in from you creative lot out there!

Our mission statement, vision and values are below – what image do you feel could best convey the heart of this messaging? Get in touch and send over your design to: hello@hypatia-trust.org.uk

Competition ends 31st July 2023

The designer of the winning logo will win £250 & be featured in our newsletter, across our social media channels and on our website.

The Hypatia Trust mission statement
Creating space to give voice to women

Our vision and values
Visible: Promoting women’s achievements
Strong: Advancing women’s equality
Collaborative: Together we are stronger

Terms and conditions:
Submissions will be received between 1st - 31st July 2023. All design formats accepted. Upon selection the winner will be awarded prize money in exchange for the intellectual property/copyright.

Coming soon…

This month we welcome Amy Colman and Astra Bunce-Mitchell from Falmouth University, they will be working together to produce The Hypatia Trust's first ever podcast. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!

What’s on @ Hypatia

Check out all our events at: www.hypatia-trust.org.uk/events

Thursday 20th July | 12pm-1pm | The Hypatia Trust | Ticket £5

In the middle of the nineteenth century there were more dressmakers and milliners in Penzance than in any the other town in West Cornwall. Janet Axten, MA, who is currently researching the history of women in the textile industry in West Cornwall, looks at why this might have been so. She also talks about some of the women who had their own businesses in the town, and reveals links with the ground-breaking Crysede Silk company in the first half of the twentieth century.

Tickets via our events page: https://hypatia-trust.org.uk/events/a-brief-illustrated-history-of-the-textile-industry-in-penzance-and-west-cornwall

Next month…

Gentle Things | 16th August | The Hypatia Trust

"Hear me, women of Olympus / Gods of Mitera / Your men are painful creatures / They have bitten me." 

Kass is a child of the king. Kass has the ability to bend nature and sense the shape of things to come. Kass has been taken from their mother and been given to the Gods. Kass can see their city burning.

Rocket Box presents an adaptation of Greek myth, written by one of the UK's most exciting emerging writers, Rach Horner. Told in Rocket Box's award-winning and vibrant storytelling style, Gentle Things is a production that combines music and movement to retell and re-examine the fall of Troy and the women at the heart of it. 

"Beautifully gentle storytelling." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Winners of the York Performance Award 2019

Tickets will go on sale at the end of July via Rocket Box's website.

If you’re unable to attend one of our events but would like to help someone else to, then don’t forget our Pay It Forward facility where you can donate to our free ticket fund.

Donators can pay into the Pay It Forward fund at any time, there is no need to specify a particular event. The aim is to be able to have enough in the fund to be able to release a number of free tickets per event.

Thank you for supporting access to the arts and community!

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The Hypatia Trust, The Regent, Lower Ground Floor,
54 Chapel Street, Penzance, Cornwall TR18 4AE, United Kingdom.