A Womans Work is Never Done: 2016-17 Micro Commissions

Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire

Artist Brief
OVERVIEW
The National Trust seeks two or three emerging artists to produce site-specific temporary
commissions to be displayed as part of the exhibition A Womens Work is Never Done (delivery
by 2nd January 2017). The commissions are to draw inspiration from the key themes and
archival stories at the heart of the exhibition and to offer the visitor a contemporary
engagement with the topic.
The aim of the exhibition is to place the experiences of women and the work they did at the
heart of the Quarry Bank experience. The exhibition takes as a starting point the well-known
rhyme A man works from sun to sun, but a womans work is never done. It explores the diverse
work, both paid and unpaid, that women in the past undertook, drawing from the extensive
archives at Quarry Bank. Alongside the historic presentation, the exhibition seeks to explore
contemporary comparisons and experiences.
The core aim of these commissions is to make the mill relevant to current and new generations.
Exploring links between the experiences of women in the past and those of women today in an
accessible and innovative way, offering the audience a new way of engaging with this sometimes
complex topic.
There will be a fee paid of 250 per commission plus travel/expenses with additional exhibition
budget managed by the National Trust for installation, interpretation and documentation.
Curatorial support will be provided through the National Trust team. Site visits are encouraged
and the National Trust team will facilitate this.

CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. The Commission
3. Project Overview
4. Process / Budget / Timeline

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Quarry Bank Mill

Quarry Bank is one of Britains greatest industrial heritage sites. The complete site consists of
the imposing cotton mill, built in 1874; the home of the former mill owners; the apprentice
house, where pauper children who worked in the mill lived; the picturesque gardens and
woodland around the mill; and finally Styal village, where mill workers and their families lived,
as well as the farm, cooperative shop, school and chapels.
Quarry Bank is undergoing a transformative project which will open up and re-present the story
of Quarry Bank in a unified way. The Project will see new areas open to visitors, improved
infrastructure, exciting programming and community and formal learning work that will engage
deeply with local audiences.
The exhibitions programme is part of this wider thematic programme but is also an opportunity
to tell hidden stories or wider stories. These stories are informed by the extensive archive which
provides insight into the stories of the whole community, first brought together on site during
the early industrial revolution, and persisting to this day.

1.2 A Womans Work is Never Done

Women form the backbone of the Quarry Bank story, yet their experiences are often invisible.
This exhibition aims to address this imbalance. From mill work, trade and domestic service, to
child-rearing, politics, philanthropy and social work, alongside domestic chores of cooking,
cleaning and caring, women were vital parts of the economy, whether they were being paid or
not.
The exhibition aims to invite new perspectives on the established history of Quarry Bank,
placing women at the heart of the narrative. A number of themes will be explored as well as
presenting the stories of a number of women who lived and worked onsite, many of these
previously unknown.
By prioritising womens voices in the past we offer a forum for the discussion of issues affecting
women and girls today. Through community and learning outreach work and the incorporation of
artistic responses, this exhibition aims to provoke meaningful dialogue and to challenge
contemporary understanding of womens work.
The key messages the exhibition explores are:
1) What is work?
Womens experiences of work at Quarry Bank were many and varied, encompassing
industrial work in the mill, housework, trade and business, childcare, and campaigning
for political and social change. Does work have to be paid? How do we value unpaid
work?
2) Relationships
Building, maintaining and negotiating relationships was an important part of womens
lives, from the close confidences between apprentice house girls, to the adult female
relationships between women, with men and with family members. How does this link
into networking and social media use today?
3) Family

Women played a number of important roles within the family. These depended on the
choices made by women in relation to whether or not they married or remarried,
whether or not they chose to have children, and the need to provide and care for
older or younger family members.
4) Money
Money could be a contentious issue for women who had to negotiate dowries and
inheritances, a gendered pay gap, and who often managed household and business
budgets. Laws and practices surrounding entitlement, ownership, and the legal status
of women further shaped the way women negotiated money.
5) Public profile
When thinking about women in the past we often view them as the angel in the
house, a Victorian narrative which does not reflect the diversity of womens
experiences. Far from being hidden away at home, women fulfilled many public roles
and were a visible and integral part of society.
6) Careers/Graft
Women made choices about the work they did and the education they received, and
had ambition and intent. The way they felt about their lives, the positive and the
negative was a key part of their experiences and were diverse.

2. THE COMMISSION
2.1 Commission aims, objectives and themes
The main aims of the commissions are as follows:
-

To contribute an original piece of art work to the A Womans Work exhibition

To respond to the exhibition themes and the Quarry Bank site

To challenge assumptions about the role of women

Objectives:
-

To engage visitors with the issues set out in the exhibition in a unique and unexpected
way.

To stimulate discussion and debate over contemporary issues facing women and girls.

To offer visitors a new and original perspective of the Quarry Bank site.

Artists must engage with at least one of the key areas of discussion (set out above). The Quarry
Bank site itself should also be a source for inspiration. Some potential issues to explore could be
the following:
-

How do we define and value work?

What choices and challenges do women face with regards to work, relationships and
marriage, and children?

What is the role of education and ambition in womens work?

What forms of unpaid work do women undertake and how has this changed?

How important are networks to women and how are networks, communities and
relationships maintained by women?

These are suggestions only and the artists are encouraged to explore potential interesting
contemporary themes relating to the exhibition.

2.3 Materials / Specification / Location

- An open brief for materials
- Scale to be appropriate to the site and budget, but otherwise open.
- The commission is intended to be realised in the mill, in either the introductory gallery or else
in an alternative exhibition gallery. Potential sites will be identified during a site visit.
- The work will be on display between 25st January and 22nd April 2017. The dates by which the
commissions are to be delivered are set out above.

3. PROJECT OVERVIEW
3.1 Exhibition Team Members
Ruth Colton, Consultant Curator for Quarry Bank Mill and Lecturer at The University of
Manchester
Ellen Fenton, Visitor Programme and Formal Learning Manager, Quarry Bank
Kate Picker, Programming Officer, Quarry Bank

3.3 Planning & Maintenance

The commission should not require any planning permission. It is temporary work or art, which
should be maintained reasonable easily by National Trust during the exhibition period.
3.4 Copyright & Ownership
The work will be owned by the artists, and copyright will be retained by the artist.
3.5 Documentation
National Trust will document the work in progress, installation and in situ. Photography to be
arranged by the National Trust with input from the artist. Quarry Bank Mill and the National
Trust reserve the right to use these images for any press and marketing for an unlimited period.
The artist will be provided with images.
TIMELINES, PROCESS & BUDGET
4.1 Process and selection

The project team will be responsible for selection for the artist.
The project team are seeking to work with an emerging artists from the Manchester School of
Art for this 2016 commission. Some experience of undertaking public commissions is helpful but
not essential, more important is the quality of the artists ideas and their ability to engage with
the project.
4.2 Budget
The successful artists will receive 250 for their artwork. It may be possible to provide some of
this in advance for the purchase of materials with the rest on completion.
There is an additional exhibition budget which will be managed by the National Trust for
installation, artwork transport, interpretation and documentation.
4.3 Timeline
Artists should submit a proposal by the 10th October. The team will be able to facilitate a site
visit if they are notified within this initial period. Written proposals should be accompanied by
photos of previous work done. The team will select and notify successful artists by the 17th
October. There will be no interview, work will be judged solely on the proposal and
accompanying images.
Work should be delivered by 2nd January.

FURTHER INFORMATION
For queries relating to the commission ruth.colton@nationaltrust.org.uk or
Ellen.fenton@nationaltrust.org.uk
For more information on Quarry Bank