from Restore Trust
An attempt to enliven the 16th-century interior of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire with some feminist conceptual art has led to a spat between opponents and supporters of J.K. Rowling conducted via embroidery. Gender Blog reports:
The National Trust has declared it is “deeply disappointed” by the unauthorised removal of some pink and blue stitching over JK Rowling’s name on a piece of art it commissioned. Here’s the full story:
On Monday 24 May, the Derbyshire and Staffordshire chapter of WRN – the Women’s Rights Network – put out a tweet thread about a piece of “collaborative” art work called A Virtuous Woman, which is currently on display at Hardwick Hall, a National Trust property in Derbyshire.
A Virtuous Woman was commissioned in collaboration with the University of Leeds. It was conceived and overseen by the artist Layla Khoo, who, according to the National Trust ‘has drawn inspiration from the 16th century Noblewomen Embroideries at Hardwick Hall’. The artwork invited “visitors to express their choices through participation”.
The idea seems to be that people were encouraged to stitch inspiring words and the names of women they would like to celebrate into some fabric.
And just when we thought the saga could hardly get any more weird, this update on 3 June: