I was so impressed. Age makes no difference, culture makes no difference. All women want the same when it boils down to it.

Young participant

Women’s relationship to the home

Spinning Plates brought together six local older women and eleven girls from Mulberry School to explore the ideas and thoughts around women’s relationship to the home through exploring the libraries extensive collection of manuals and handbooks advising women on how to manage their homes.

Through discussion and exploring the collection the theme of the project developed as discussions revealed an interest in how women have passed on their knowledge and advice to their daughters and to other women. All the women discussed how they believed their own mothers had fewer opportunities than them. This resulted in a strong feeling from the group that women needed to be and do a great many things in a lifetime. The group explored this feeling through the creative art-forms of creative writing and photography which resulted in the making of a calendar, which participants sold at the private view of the library’s exhibition- ‘What Women Want’.

This stimulates my brain. Keeping in with the young people takes 20 years off my life.

Older participant

Calendars were also distributed through Magic Me, and the School sent copies to a wide range of friends and supporters.

Participants
Students from Mulberry School for Girls
Local older women

Artists
Sue Mayo (creative writing)
Frances Kearney (photography)

Funders
Lucas Tooth Trust