Call to nominate women to be featured in art display

An art centre has asked the public to nominated 50 Women of Cornwall to be celebrated in a new art installation.

Art Centre Penryn said it aimed to highlight and celebrate women who have made “meaningful contributions to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly”.

It said the women, who could be from the past or present, myth or reality, would be honoured in an art installation made up of 50 handmade porcelain plates.

Director Megan Beck said the centre invited everyone to take part and looked forward to receiving suggestions from the public.

‘Highlight important women’

“We’re thrilled to be running this project to highlight women of Cornwall for any achievement, no matter how small, and which allows people to celebrate and acknowledge a woman who has inspired, supported or motivated them,” she said.

Katie Bunnell, a ceramic artist leading the project, said the first stage invites people to “highlight important women in their lives”, adding the response had been “fantastic” so far.

Ms Bunnell said: “The next challenge is to review people’s suggestions bearing in mind that our aim is to create an inspiring new art collection, shining a light on women’s contributions to Cornish culture across a broad spectrum of areas in history, myth and contemporary life.

“It is important to say that the final 50 will aim to be representative of all the valuable contributions women make in Cornwall, a snapshot in time rather than a definitive list.”

The art centre said the deadline for nominations was 30 November and the final 50 would be announced in the spring 2025.

Art Centre Penryn said the project had been made possible with a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and was also part-funded by the UK Government through the shared prosperity fund.