For quite some time Storylines has been wanting to explore the unsung stories of women’s work that have gone largely unshared across the generations. A project like this would shed light on the pivotal role that women played in homes, livelihoods, and communities.
To set this in motion we needed to identify where this would take place and what the project would look like. We decided that a feasibility study would set us on the road to developing something tangible. Fortunately for us we were awarded funding for exactly this from the Cornwall Council’s Community Capacity Fund; part of the Good Growth Programme, which is delivering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.
Together with the brilliant Hypatia Trust, we set about unravelling the theme and developing a project to shine a light on the everyday work of women in West Penwith.
Some of the many roles of women in our lives
As part of the feasibility study we had a lovely session at the Hypatia HQ with a group of women to explore the theme. Over half a day we shared stories of the pivotal women in our lives, discussed how the theme (which is vast) could be approached and shared memories of care we’d all received and given. A big thank you to everyone who came and shared so openly, as well as to Hypatia for hosting us and the delicious lunch!
Behind the scenes we were lucky enough to work with Sally Noall, who set about researching the theme and locality in more detail. This will be a huge help for our next phase of project development and we’re excited to see what grows out of this seed.
