Women of Castle

The social history of women at Castle is fascinating, but rarely celebrated and this will be the first time it has been explored to this kind of depth. 

Artist Bex Harvey is currently undertaking a commission with University College Durham Trust and University College to celebrate the social and cultural history of women at Castle. 'Women of Castle' is a really down-to-earth project; it’s essentially a social study on the female and female-identifying figures who have contributed to and are important to the history of the college. The work itself will have a number of outputs for the public and community of Castle to view: The Great Hall will play host to two, custom-made photographic light boxes that will illuminate the portraits of twelve different women who have contributed hugely to Castle life in many different ways. These images will rotate monthly, profiling a new important figure each month; the story of each woman also depicted in an accompanying publication. Furthermore, Bex is also producing an alternative historical tour of the building, which focuses exclusively on female and female-identifying individuals connected to Castle, and a number of other artistic and creative ‘interventions’ that all respond to the theme of celebrating the female social history.  

Most importantly, the aim of this commission is to engage and champion the entire Castle community. Students, academic staff, pastoral staff, housekeeping and catering staff past and present will be celebrated within this project, giving Castle as a community the opportunity to recognise and appreciate some of the amazing women who have been a part of the space throughout history.  

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