Through my work as facilitator of Mothers Who Make Coventry, between April 2025 and April 2026 I worked with Compton Verney’s Folk Art curator Ila Colley and University of Warwick historian Dr Tara Morton to develop brand new opportunities for Hub. We explored Tara’s incredibly vast and rich research into feminist histories with a particular focus on women’s artist atelier workshops and the Great Suffrage Pilgrimage from Carlisle to London of 1913 which camped over on the Compton Verney grounds at the invitation of Lady Min Willoughby de Broke on 18th July 1913.
Over the course of the year this unfolded through fascinating conversations, workshops, talks and tours thanks to Dr Tara Morton, participants from the group, discussion with Nirmal Puwar and a creative workshop with Birmingham-based poet and author Liz Berry in January 2026. More information about the initial development of the collaboration can be found in this blog post on the Compton Verney website.
The culmination is Lost Journals: a year-long exhibition at Compton Verney in the Folk Art gallery and an accompanying book presenting 14 diverse new works by Ania Bas, Dion Ellis-Taylor, Elizabeth Grove, Kim Hackleman, Kate Ingram, Phoebe Last, Polly Merredew, Hannah Moreton, Jazz Moreton, Julia O’Connell, Sinéad Patching, Geeta Sarcar, Janet Tryner and myself.
Lost Journals speaks to gaps within the archive due to the women and activists who were ‘too busy doing to document’, something that continues to chime today with contemporary demands and expectations on mothers and women. It was a unique moment to collectively reflect on and platform those overlooked voices and experiences of daily life whilst paying homage to the incredible, relentless activism, spirit and ingenuity of the Suffrage campaigners. Lost Journals is part of Ila Colley’s wider Folk Exchange project finding new ways to interpret the folk art collection.
My own work is titled The Pool of Clarity, a personal piece of writing on cyanotype thinking about autonomy, access to artist studios, taking risks, solidarity with other female artists, and feeling free.
This has been such a rewarding project to see come into fruition for Mothers Who Make Coventry.
The works are on show on the top floor of the Folk Art gallery at Compton Verney from May 2026 – May 2027.
The Lost Journals publication is available to purchase for a small donation towards the Hub’s activities. It was hand-bound at The Leather Conservation Centre with head of centre Rosie Bolton’s guidance, please get in touch with me if you’d like a book for yourself or a venue you work at or library collection – we would love to distribute this widely: adelemreed@yahoo.co.uk
Book details: 32 pages on recycled paper, full colour, A5.
Hand-bound in Crawford’s 4-ply waxed linen thread in ‘Plum’.
ISBN 978-1-83709-722-7
