Women Artists of the North East Library

From May – August 2022 the Women Artists of the North East Library will be resident at VARC & Tarset Village Hall to research the legacies of women artists in Northumberland, the work of local practitioners in Tarset, and explore the influence of the rural context on women’s creative practice in the region.

Whilst in residency with VARC the library will research VARC’s history and local networks to find out more about underrepresented legacies of women artists connected to rural Northumberland. Monthly ‘Open Library’ events with the Women Artists of the North East Library collection will take place at Tarset Village Hall (see news feed for dates and details).

“We look forward to meeting creative practitioners in and around Tarset and invite library donations from the local community.”

This residency period follows a research residency at Northumbria University (Jan-April 2022) researching the legacies of women artists and filmmakers connected to the university, exploring the influence of filmmaker Tamara Krikorian (1944-2009). And follows a 6 month research residency at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern art (MIMA) in the Tees Valley (July – Dec 2021) learning about the histories of women’s creative work in the Tees Valley, research in the MIMA Collection and co-commission with Fiona Larkin (2021-22).

In relation to this residency programme the Library has received ACE Project Grant funding for research and development.

About WANE Library

The Women Artists of the North East Library brings together research and donated material to form a cultural resource that contributes to the history of women artists working in the North East of England (inclusive of women-identifying, non-binary and trans-women).

Established in 2017, the project aims to create new contexts for exploring the character and legacy of the North East’s art scene in relation to the work of women artists. Through research, commissions and events the Library traces the influence of women who practiced, lived, studied, taught or exhibited in the North East of England.

The Library’s collection includes publications, audio, images and other forms of documentation that record historic and current artistic practice and programming across the North East. Always open to donations, the library works collaboratively with artists, communities and cultural organisations to expand and share its collection.

The Library is led by artists Holly Argent (Director), Tess Denman-Cleaver (Producer) and Taryn Edmonds (Programme Co-ordinator).

 More information can be found on their website – https://womenartistsnelibrary.wordpress.com/