Elles sont tombées

Ruth HartleyEducation, Feminism, m’Other Art4 Comments

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban has filled me with despair for the future and hopes of women there and for women everywhere. I felt driven to once again show the paintings I made about the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre together with my installation about women. It is on show in the Foyer Rural in Labatut-Riviere […]

My Alphabet

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Children's Stories, Education, Reading, Writing Process4 Comments

ABCD EFG HIJK LMNOP QRS TUV WXYZ A Bright Child who could Read at 5 I couldn’t Pronounce the Sounds I’d never Heard Just because the Desks were Full I was sent up a Grade from Class One To Where the Kids were Big and Bold. But I was much too Young

How to be a published writer in Zambia – or anywhere in the world

Ruth HartleyBook Publishing, Education, Festival, The Shaping of Water, Writing Process, Zambia17 Comments

Writers Circle I want to thank Daniel Sikazwe very much or inviting me to take part with Mubanga Kalimamukwento, the author of The Mourning Bird. in this Writers Circle online forum.  Mubanga and I have published our books in different ways and I’m here to tell you about the decisions I made and why I decided to self-publish. First of […]

Mary Wollstonecraft, nude statues & feminism

Ruth HartleyEducation, Feminism, Slavery, Visual Arts8 Comments

Mary Wollstonecraft naked A statue to honour Mary Wollstonecraft, created by Maggi Hambling and commissioned by Mary on the Green, has been erected at Newington Green. It depicts a small, stern-faced, naked female figure with a bush of hair on her pubic mound rising out of swirling silver shapes and it has caused a great deal of outrage and criticism […]

Art, beauty, colonialism and Mpapa Gallery

Ruth HartleyAesthetics, Art Process, Colonialism, Creativity, Education, Mpapa Gallery, Visual Arts, Zambia6 Comments

Discussion about art and beauty – and art and colonisation – is challenging. My past connection with Zambia and Mpapa Gallery, and my present connection with post-colonialism and my own art are about how I live my life. It has been said that Mpapa Gallery was colonial in its support for artists. Mpapa Gallery wasn’t and couldn’t be colonial for […]