Friday, July 21 saw the launch of the HerStory of Rye exhibition of photographs and oral history interviews celebrating the lives of women working in Rye in the 2020s. This project has followed on from the popular 2022 calendar featuring women of Rye, the brainchild of photographer Susan Benn and the then mayor, Rebekah Gilbert.
As a result of the success of the calendar, Susan approached the writer and oral historian, Bronwen Griffiths and together they applied for a National Lottery grant and with the support of Simon Parsons at the Rye Heritage Centre, to record oral histories, produce an exhibition of the women’s portraits at the heritage centre and around the town. Part of the project was to commission an archival website to make the photos and interviews easily available to the public. The bid was successful, and work began on the project in the summer of 2022. Ali Casey joined the team to help co-manage the project and with the help of volunteers, including local women and students from Rye College (all given professional oral history training), 50 women were interviewed about their life and work throughout 2022 / 2023.
The launch of the exhibition enabled those involved with the project to view the exhibition at the Rye Heritage Centre where photos of women are on display along with excerpts of some of the interviews of the women featured. The outside of the centre is hung with large portraits of the photographed women and more portraits can be seen around the town: on the station platform, at the entrance of 3 East Street, site of Rye Castle Museum and Ypres Tower, on the Methodist Church in Church Square and at several other locations around the town. All the photographs tell the viewer something about the women, capturing their characters, skills, and interests, by seeing them in the context of their work or hobbies or roles, and it is quite amazing to see the impressive range of jobs, talents and responsibilities on show.
At the launch party, Susan told the gathered guests: “The enthusiasm for the project has been remarkable. The thing that is important too, is that I think that when I was at school, I didn’t know what the jobs were for people. People said that you’d be a housewife, a nurse or a teacher. The thing that amazes me is the breadth of skills here that women have, often volunteers, and is phenomenal, and if you are a student and have access to these stories you learn a lot about who is here. There is a lot of talent here in Rye and it’s time that we celebrated the women so that’s what we are doing!”
Bronwen Griffiths thanked those involved: “We approached the Heritage Lottery working in conjunction with Rye Heritage Centre, and we could not have the project without Rye Heritage Centre; they have been integral to it. The funding comes to an end at the end of this month, but the website will continue and our intention is to slowly add to the website. We are all volunteers so could not interview everyone that we wanted to this year, but if any volunteers would like to come forward that would be great. We worked with Rye College giving young people training and giving them skills in interviewing, important skills in life.”
Rebekah Gilbert explained: “It’s so fabulous the way that this grew and that there is this network of women in Rye who said, ‘Why don’t you photograph so and so?’ who said, ‘Why don’t you photograph someone else?’ and it grew and evolved and it’s this wonderful community that we have. And behind the idea was that we could make this living archive because if you go back in time a hundred, two hundred years ago, women were working in Rye: they were shearing sheep, skinning fish, they were selling things, all the incredible variety of things they do, but there just aren’t those pictures. So it is an evolving living archive that we can hand over to the next generation. Not only are we collecting for the future but nurturing for the future too.”
The photographs can be seen in the heritage centre along with audio clips from some of the interviews. Others can be seen around town and each photograph has a QR code linking to the website. As the website continues to be developed over the next twelve months more women will be added to those 115 women who have taken part so far. On the site you will see their portraits, as well as some of their biographies and you can hear audio links to 55 oral history interviews.
If you would like to become a volunteer interviewer to take this archive forward please get in touch with Ali Casey at ali.casey63@gmail.com
Image Credits: Kt bruce , Juliet Duff .
What a great idea – I must look out for it – and please Susan, contact Sally Bayly, particularly as you’re part of Sally’s Yoga group – Sally has become such a strong influence in Rye, with her teaching and her performing and has become so much an integral part of my group performing at the Rye Arts Festival.
Sally has her portrait (standing on her head on a paddle board as you do!) between her two doors in The Mint.
I can’t wait to find them around town! Looks great!
Will the pictures attached to buildings cause damage to the buildings if the holes made by attaching them when taken down allowing water to enter .Or will the holes be made good ?
Congratulations to Susan and Bronwen on this fantastic project. Rye and Robertsbridge were chosen as pilot sites for the HAIRE project – Healthy Ageing through Innovation in Rural Europe and out of this research came the idea to record oral histories.
We are just getting going in Robertsbridge and will certainly come over to Rye to see the results of this excellent project.
Thankyou for asking. All the holes will be made good when the photographs are taken down in early September.
Thanks Sue… and looking forward to hearing how your oral history project develops in Robertsbridge.
Wonderful. So lovely to have these living stories of people now.
Inspiring, not only for the women of today, but also those we have yet to meet.
Love it – girl power