Studio Orta

Studio Orta is pleased to present the new Historic England commission to commemorate the 100-years of the Suffragette movement, and in memory of 1,000 suffragettes that were imprisoned at Holloway women’s prison during their struggle to obtain the vote.
 
HMP Holloway in London was one of the most notorious sites associated with the Suffrage movement. It closed in 2016 and women were moved to HMP Downview. Since January 2018, Lucy Orta collaborated with them to design and create a series of stunning textile banners for the centenary Processions in London on June 10, 2018.

The design for the HMP Downview banners draws from historical perspectives on the suffragette campaign, hand-crafts and responsive workshops to collect testimonies, considering what it means to be a woman today, the power of the vote and our shared future. Volunteer students from London College of Fashion assisted the process: See blog The hand-embellished panels were assembled in Making for Change, an education training facility at HMP Downview established by the Ministry of Justice and LCF to equip prisoners with employability certifications before the end of their sentence.
 
Produced by Artichoke as part of 14-18 NOW, Processions marks the centenary of the women’s right to vote, in a living, moving portrait of women in the 21st century. Press contact Flint PR.