Blott Studio is ‘Marking the Martyrs’ in new exhibition

Coinciding with major celebrations and events nationwide, Blott Studio on King Street, Blackpool, will be hosting an exhibition entitled ‘Marking the Martyrs’, marking the death of Emily Wilding Davison, the first martyr to the Suffrage cause.

The exhibition, which opened on 4th June and runs through to 30th June 2018, is curated by Corrine Streetly, a practicing artist and curator for the studio for the past 14 years.  The exhibition will focus on the sacrifices made and the ongoing struggle that women still face, and will feature work produced by three regional artists, Zoe Cox, Tina Warren and Corrine Streetly, and three national and international artists:

• Hazel Reeves, MRBS SWA FRSA, winner of the Emmeline Pankhurst sculpture commission 2017, who will be exhibiting one of her acclaimed maquettes of Emmeline, titled ‘Rise up Women.’
• Sarah Maple, winner of Saatchi Gallery’s ‘4 New Sensations’ award for emerging artist in 2007, and a ‘Sky Academy’ arts scholarship in 2015.
• Jo Harrison, who designs and illustrates for various feminist organisations and charities, including the recently published book ‘Girl Up’, by founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, Laura Bates

Corrine Streetly, Artist & Curator at Blott Studio said: “As both curator and participating artist of the Marking the Martyrs ‘Feminist intervention’ exhibition, I feel privileged that such fantastic national and international artists Sarah Maple, Hazel Reeves and Jo Harrison have supported this venture, and it’s been great for myself, the other regional artists Tina Warren and  Zoe Cox, assistant curator and choral director respectively to meet them.
“There’s a real variety of works on show at the exhibition, all of which have definitely instigated lots of conversations and raised many important issues about art, women and feminism.  Also, there is a collection of original suffrage and anti-suffrage postcards.
“It’s been fantastic to see the gallery so full of people at the recent Preview event and we look forward to welcoming more people to the gallery until the exhibition finishes on 23rdJune.”
After a preview event on June 2nd which featured an unprecedented rooftop choral performance and town centre suffrage parade, the exhibition will be open every day to the public up to 9th June and thereafter until 30th June by appointment only.
Marking the Martyrs at Blott Studio will be open daily from 10am-5pm, closed Sundays.  After 9th June, viewing by appointment only by telephoning 07740 203607 or 07835 050950.

For more information, interviews or images, please go to www.blott.co.uk or call Corrine at 01253 620000 or email [email protected].

Blott Studio
Blott Studio provides a platform for local, regional, and visiting guest artists. Originally founded in 2000, Blott Studio or ‘Blott Artist Studios’ as the collective was originally named, has evolved over the past 17 years, going on to establish itself locally and regionally as a unique cultural ‘artist led’ venture. The Blott ‘concept’ has always been very much a team effort, relying on a team of enthusiastic artists and volunteers.

Corrine Streetly
For the past 14 years, Corrine has been a practicing artist and the curator of Blott Studio in Blackpool.  After graduating in Fine Art in 1995 Corrine completed an MA in Women’s Studies, focusing on women artists and their ‘place’ in the arts, past and present.  Her interest in feminism and women’s issues informs much of her work.
“The problem of woman,” André Breton wrote in 1929, “is the most marvellous and disturbing problem in the entire world.”
In 2015, she heard about the Mary on the Green campaign for a statue of Mary Wollstonecraft, pioneering human rights activist and author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the first book arguing for the equality of women and men.  She was genuinely shocked she had no monument, so produced a small portrait bust of her, exhibiting it at ’Be the Banana on the Patiarchy’s  Complacent stroll,’ a feminist intervention exhibition she curated in February 2016 for International Women’s Day.  Since then she has been sculpting busts of Suffragette & Suffragists, intending to exhibit them for the Vote 100 celebrations this year.

As usual, the concept dictated my method and media, and she felt traditional portrait representation is needed to counterbalance many of the anonymous yet remarkable women who have been left in the shadows of ‘his-story’.  People like to see and interact with faces, responding to likenesses and ‘read’ facial expressions, imagining the person’s character and disposition. Producing posthumous representations of these brave women, who should have been far more valued and celebrated, was a consciously deliberate act.

Corrine is continuously learning, experimenting in different media, and surface finishes. Despite the many warpings and bucklings, explosions & cracking, she’s hooked.  She has also produced two portrait paintings of two suffragettes who, in different ways, were martyrs to ‘the Cause.’ Mary Gawthorpe, from ‘up north’ and Mary Jayne Clarke, Emmeline Pankhurst’s younger sister.