Listening to Feminist Art Histories: Researching and Sharing Voices from the FAMH Oral History Archive
Research supervisor
Dr Elspeth Mitchell, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, Leeds.
Project outline
Feminist Art Making Histories (FAMH) is a digital archive of long-form interviews with artists, curators and writers active from the 1970s to the present day in the UK and Ireland, exploring the relation between feminism and art. My research will form part of the FAMH team’s wider work to shed light on women's experiences within the art world through recovering their voices, honouring their engagement with feminism and political campaigns, and understanding their struggles. The compiled interviews in the archive include biographies of artists from a range of backgrounds and art practices.
I will begin my research by undertaking listening-based research and feminist archival interpretation to identify key themes within selected interviews. After identifying an area for further research (such as a specific artist, event or political movement), I will use the digital archive as well as other resources (such as art exhibitions) to conduct detailed research that will allow me to create accessible materials that share insights from the archive. These materials may include blog posts, social-media content and short audio pieces. Furthermore, I will help the wider FAMH team with the launch of the Feminist Art Lives podcast through creating audiograms and promotional social-media content.
Aims and objectives
The FAMH digital archive provides a space to share the stories and experiences of women in the art world with the aim to produce a rich, nuanced, and diverse picture of feminism, art, and politics. Through my research project I aim to create accessible materials that reflect a specific area of feminist art so that I can contribute to this important work of honouring the labour and struggles of feminist artists. I’m looking forward to the interactive elements of this project as I will use ethical and attentive listening skills to engage with the digital archive as well as developing independent research skills through visiting exhibitions and archives. Moreover, I will develop my digital literacy skills through using software such as Headliner and Canva to create audiograms and social-media content as I work to promote the archive and Feminist Art Lives podcast.
Motivation
As a Modern Languages student, I’m interested in understanding different perspectives and experiences within society. This corelates with my interest in feminist theory and of understanding the female experience within society across generations. I admire the FAMH’s belief that recollecting the past is essential to reshaping the future and I believe that with the uncertain political climate of today it’s vital we continue to reflect on the experiences of women in the past to ensure we can create more equal and inclusive environments for women in the future. I’m passionate about giving light to unheard voices, so to be a part of a project that allows female artists’ voices to be heard and made accessible to the public is a real privilege. The oral history aspect of the archive is also intriguing to me, as a grassroots method of sharing histories, the archive centres and celebrates the artists' own voices and experiences. Moreover, the female artists interviewed are from all over the UK and Ireland, have different backgrounds, and specialise in different forms of art; which correlates with my interest in intersectional feminism that I would like to further explore within this project.
Collaboration
I’m fortunate to be able to work alongside my fellow Laidlaw Scholar, Mabinty Kamara, as we conduct independent research as well as collaborating with the wider FAMH team, including Dr Elspeth Mitchell. I’m looking forward to working with the FAMH team on the launch of the Feminist Art Lives podcast, where I hope to learn more about the creative process of marketing and producing a podcast. My goal though our collaboration is to help bring innovative ideas on how to honour the life and work of the feminist artists within the archive.