Anna FC Smith + Helen Mather
Photography by Livia Lazar
Images courtesy the artists
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Visit the artists in their studio, see them work and hear more about this extraordinary project.
Visits can only be made by booking a time slot HERE
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This Activation by Anna FC Smith and Helen Mather explores how Leigh women from pre-Peterloo Reform Societies were portrayed as witches and beasts; repurposing this imagery to create art that empowers people with a magical energy drawn from nature. The artists generate art and research with the local community and historians Ruth Mather and Yvonne Eckersley.
The interwoven elements are presented as folkloric objects, where banners and pikes stand like a forest populated with the beasts of the people. The project connects the community with their environment, history and agency, empowering them to roar together; sympathetic, empowered, and enfranchised. ​
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Throughout lockdown the artists have developed their collaborative practice with local participants who have continued to create responses from home. Their residency resumes at The Turnpike in Spring 2021, where they will develop an immersive space for co-creation as well as outdoor platforms for debate and performance.
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The project is part of The Turnpike's ongoing exploration of Bioregionalism; a political, cultural, and ecological set of views based on naturally defined areas.
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RELATED EVENTS
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WORKING CLASS WITCHES ON BROKEN PAVEMENTS
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Alt-pop poet, Louise Fazackerley, performs a selection of poetry chosen to reflect themes that mirror the life and actions of The Leigh Female Reformers of 1819. Her contemporary lived observations of life and politics in a northern town speak across the centuries and evoke an atmosphere of place; of hardship, of conviviality, and of everyday magic.
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SATURDAY 6 APRIL 6-7pm
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WITCHES IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICS - RAISING YOUR VOICE Pre-recorded conversation and live Q&A with political and LGBTQ+ activist Jess Eastoe.
SATURDAY 6 MARCH 2pm-3:30pm
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Artists Helen Mather and Anna FC Smith talk with Jess Eastoe about her contemporary experiences as a campaigner, activist and youth worker based in Leigh, drawing parallels with the Leigh Female Reformers of 1819.
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GLIMPSING SHAPESHIFTERS Performance, conversation and Q&A with artist Rachel Finney
SATURDAY 6 FEB 6-7:30pm
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Debut of pre-recorded performance by Rachel Finney for These Lancashire Women are Witches in Politics, followed by a conversation with artists Helen Mather and Anna FC Smith
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GLIMPSING SHAPESHIFTERS Performance, conversation and Q&A with artist Rachel Finney
SATURDAY 6 FEB 6-7:30pm
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Debut of pre-recorded performance by Rachel Finney for These Lancashire Women are Witches in Politics, followed by a conversation with artists Helen Mather and Anna FC Smith