Inspiring women exhibited on collaborative artwork at St Albans Museum + Gallery
Inspiring local women celebrated at St Albans Museum + Gallery exhibition in And So She Did season. This art is about Lady Constance Lytton. Picture: St Albans Museums - Credit: Archant
Inspiring St Albans women are being celebrated in an exhibition at the new St Albans Museum + Gallery.
Artwork by Flea Cooke and John O’Leary is being showcased at the renovated town hall, which was finished in June, as part of its And So She Did season commemorating the centenary of women’s partial suffrage in 1918.
The pieces were created by the artists collaborating with the public, and are based on the lives of successful local women.
Featured personalities include the warrior queen Boudicca; suffragette Lady Constance Lytton; first female major of St Albans Margaret Wix; and Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill.
The only living person to be commended is Syeda Momotaz Rahim, a Bangladeshi activist who is founder and director of Hertfordshire All Women’s Trust.
She said: “As a grassroots woman of British Commonwealth heritage, it is an honour and a privilege to be among such noble women of St Albans.
“Young girls and women should not let their social or economic background hinder their progression or contribution to society and every girl or woman given the opportunity can shine and make a difference.”
Most Read
- 1 Woman in her 70s victim of St Albans 'distraction theft'
- 2 Trains between St Albans and Luton cancelled due to fire
- 3 Motorbike strikes barrier on North Orbital Road near St Albans
- 4 Man arrested following alleged St Albans M&S theft
- 5 Alex Lankshear goes pro after leaving St Albans City for a Championship side
- 6 Man threatened officers with 'bomb' at police station
- 7 Harpenden residents hit back at Green Belt homes bid
- 8 Dog owner avoids jail after hitting pet so hard that wooden pole snaps
- 9 Village prepares for return of Scarecrow Festival after three years
- 10 Cool off at London Colney's new Watersplash
Syeda organises an annual peace vigil for the victims of the Manchester terror attack, is a member of the St Albans Women’s Interfaith Group, and is fund raising for the building of a new Fleetville Community Centre.
Each canvass of the collaborative artwork highlights a different women’s background, skills, and services.
Museums Manager at St Albans district council, Kate Warren, said: “In this centenary year we wanted to celebrate the many pioneering women connected to St Albans and inspire our visitors.
“It was wonderful to see so many families engaged in the activities, creating artworks and bringing the Assembly Room to life over the course of two weeks. We are thrilled to be able to extend this celebration beyond the summer and display the works in the Assembly Room at St Albans Museum + Gallery.”
Numerous events were hosted as part of the And So She Did season from August 20 to 30, including craft sessions, theatre workshops, live comedy, suffragette jujutsu, and a talk.
The exhibition has been indefinitely continued due to popular demand - see it at St Albans Museum + Gallery.