The new exhibition at Fruitmarket will celebrate all the women artists who have contributed to the history of the gallery during the last half century.
Holly Davey was invited in 2022 to look through the gallery’s archives in what is described as a “controlled rummage” before making new work for the big birthday.
She was captivated by Scottish Sculpture ’75 an exhibition of eleven men, ten of whom were students at Edinburgh College of Art. Rather than dwelling on the men, Davey wondered who their female contemporaries were who had been missed out. Her research led her to sculptor, Ann Henderson, a 1945 graduate, who taught at ECA until 1976 when she died.
Henderson also features in The Unforgetting which is a way of Davey paying tribute to the 354 women who have shown their work at Fruitmarket since it opened in 1974. The work will see and hear about women whose stories could (and in her view should) be part of what we know today. Davey has crafted small terracotta figurines modelled on Henderson’s Little Bather to stand in for the women. She names them in an audio work which runs on a continuous loop with a printed script. This chorus of women will inhabit the gallery in this way inviting the audience to move around and through it.
There will be one live performance of the audio work featuring Jill Smith (formerly Bruce). She was the first woman to exhibit in The Manifestations of the Obsessions and Fantasties of Bruce Lacey and Jill Bruce at Fruitmarket in 1975. She is also a performance artist and will perform the script live beginning with her own name and ending with Holly Davey’s name.
Artist Holly Davey said: “It has been a privilege to be able to explore Fruitmarket’s rich history, looking at all aspects of the archive: meeting agendas; exhibition slides and photographs; letters from artists; shipping documents; publications; as well as the gallery’s dynamic exhibition history. It was an incredible experience to pull all these women’s names together in a process of unforgetting. I see it as a celebration rather than commemoration of women artists, past, present and in the future. I am only able to make this work because of all the amazing women that came before me. Their work made this possible.”
Fiona Bradley, Fruitmarket’s Director said: “This year Fruitmarket turns 50 and we are celebrating all year with a programme that brings the very best of Scottish, British, and international visual art and culture to Edinburgh. We have been looking back to look forward, working with artists to breathe life into our archive and we are excited to welcome Davey to share her discoveries and celebrate the many women in our programme over the last 50 years.”
Exhibition Preview
18 October 2024 5.30–7.30pm. Free. All welcome
Artist’s Talk and Performance
25 October 2024 6–8pm. Free. All welcome.
Davey will be in conversation with Ruth Bretherick and Fiona Bradley as part of an event featuring a performance by Jill Smith of the audio work which is at the heart of The Unforgetting.
Holly Davey The Unforgetting
19 October to 17 November
Fruitmarket Warehouse.
Open daily 11am–6pm. Free.
List of women who exhibited at Fruitmarket since 1974
| Jill Bruce (1975) |
| Marina Abramovic (1975) |
| Ida Biard (1975) |
| Sanja Iveković (1975) |
| Nuša Dragan (1975) |
| Joan Hills (1975-76) |
| Sarah Charlesworth (1976) |
| Eileen Lawrence (1976) |
| Tina Chaden (1976) |
| Anne Gauldin (1976) |
| Inari Krohn (1977) |
| Maryrose Pilcher (1978) |
| Claire Smith (1979) |
| Jody Pinto (1979) |
| Tamara Krikorian (1979) |
| Anthea Lewis (1979) |
| Kaye Lynch (1979) |
| Ellen McCann (1979) |
| Patricia Quinn (1979) |
| Mary Toms (1979) |
| Maggi Hambling (1980) |
| Gillian Barlow (1980) |
| Elizabeth Ogilvie (1980) |
| Marischa Burckhardt (1981) |
| Lesley Foxcroft (1981) |
| Susan Hiller (1981) |
| Edda Renouf (1981) |
| Sam Ainsley (1981) |
| Katherine Keil (1981) |
| Linda Taylor (1981) |
| Judy Wilkinson (1981) |
| Elizabeth Blackadder (1981) |
| Louise Bourgeois (1981) |
| Lee Krasner (1981) |
| Janet Sobel (1981) |
| Jolanta Banaszkiewicz (1982) |
| Emilia Bohdziewicz (1982) |
| Lidia Cankova-Kubasiak (1982) |
| Maria Chojnacka (1982) |
| Kazimiera Frymark-Blaszczyk (1982) |
| Hanna Jung (1982) |
| Ewa Korczak-Tomaszewska (1982) |
| Dobrosława Kowalewska (1982) |
| Danuta Kowalska (1982) |
| Lilla Kulka (1982) |
| Aleksandra Mańczak (1982) |
| Izabella Marcjan (1982) |
| Jolanta Owidzka (1982) |
| Aleksandra Pukaczewska (1982) |
| Janina Tworek-Pierzgalska (1982) |
| Evelyn Williams (1982) |
| Patricia Hayes (1982) |
| Sonia Lawson (1982) |
| Shirazeh Houshiary(1982) |
| Nathalie du Pasquier(1983) |
| Mary Kelly (1985) |
| Atsuko Tanaka (1986) |
| Catrina Beevor (1986) |
| Christina Norton (1986) |
| Melanie Sainsbury (1986) |
| Helen Chadwick (1986) |
| Cindy Sherman (1986) |
| Marina Abramovic (1986) |
| Zarina Bhimji (1986) |
| Sonia Boyce (1986) |
| Veronica Ryan (1986) |
| Lubaina Himid (1986) |
| Houria Niati (1986) |
| Lina Gopaul (1986) |
| Avril Johnson (1986) |
| Gwen Hardie (1987) |
| Kate Whiteford (1987) |
| Nancy Spero (1987) |
| Cindy Sherman (1987) |
| Lynn Ahrens (1988) |
| Lesley Banks (1988) |
| Marie Barbour (1988) |
| Jane Brettle (1988) |
| June Carey (1988) |
| Fionna Carlisle (1988) |
| Ashley Cook (1988) |
| Anne Elliott (1988) |
| Beth Fisher (1988) |
| Karen Forbes (1988) |
| Leila Jay Galloway (1988) |
| Mhairi Gray (1988) |
| Katherine Keil (1988) |
| Martha L. MacDonald (1988) |
| Janice McNab (1988) |
| Jacki Parry (1988) |
| Helen Douglas (1988) |
| Aenne Biermann (1988) |
| Marlene Dumas (1989) |
| Marie–Jo Lafontaine (1989) |
| June Carey (1989) |
| Gweneth Leech (1989) |
| Karen Forbes (1989) |
| Gillian Ayres (1989) |
| Adriana Guerriero (1989) |
| Helen Flockhart (1990) |
| Aileen Paterson (1990) |
| Karen Forbes (1990) |
| Louise Turmine (1991) |
| Susan Porteous (1991) |
| Mary Bourne (1991) |
| Karen Forbes (1991) |
| Claire Barclay (1992) |
| Permindar Kaur (1992) |
| Anna Milsom (1992) |
| Tina Addison (1992) |
| Lesley Punton (1992) |
| Sarbjit Kaur (1992) |
| Linda Taylor (1992) |
| Brynhildur Thorgeirsdóttir(1992) |
| Hulda Hákon (1992) |
| Svala Sigurleifsdóttir (1992) |
| Eileen Lawrence (1992) |
| Mary Ellen Solt (1992) |
| Nathalie du Pasquier (1993) |
| Sheena Wellington (1994) |
| Fiona Banner (1994) |
| Ruth Farrington (1994) |
| Kerry Filer (1994) |
| Lucy Gunning (1994) |
| Karen Henderson (1994) |
| Mona Kher (1994) |
| Christine Kummer (1994) |
| Kerry Kyriacou (1994) |
| Geraldine Marks (1994) |
| Ruth Mylius (1994) |
| Mariele Neudecker (1994) |
| Effie Paleologou (1994) |
| Anita Ronke (1994) |
| Diana Lorenzo Saxby (1994) |
| Kerry Stewart (1994) |
| Pansy Napangati(1994) |
| Sonda Turner Nampitjinpa (1994) |
| Louisa Napaljarri Lawson (1994) |
| Emily Kngwarreye (1994) |
| Lady Nungarrayi Robertson (1994) |
| Bessie Nakamarra Sims (1994) |
| Maggie Napanangka White (1994) |
| Sheila Napaljarri Brown (1994) |
| Clarise Nampijinpa Poulson (1994) |
| Mabel Napaljarri Jurra (1994) |
| Ruby Nakamarra Collins (1994) |
| Norah Napaljarri Nelson (1994) |
| Jane Witz (1994) |
| Maria Blaisse (1994) |
| Andrea Burkhard (1994) |
| Karina Holmes (1994) |
| Kyoko Kumai (1994) |
| Emily DuBois (1994) |
| Anne Mieke Kooper (1994) |
| Vibeke Riisberg (1994) |
| Cynthia Schira (1994) |
| Bobbi Shortlidge (1994) |
| Luisa Cevese (1994) |
| Tracy Mackenna (1995) |
| Claire Barclay (1995) |
| Marina Abramovic (1995) |
| Carol Rhodes (1995) |
| Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir (1995) |
| Patricia Macdonald (1995) |
| Joanne Tatham (1995) |
| Sam Taylor-Wood (1996) |
| Ariane Lopez-Huici (1996) |
| Lisa Milroy (1996) |
| Yoko Terauchi (1996) |
| Lucia Cheung (1996) |
| Louise Cattrell (1996) |
| Susan Gamble (1996) |
| Lisa Milroy (1997) |
| Fiona Rae (1997) |
| Jane Harris (1997) |
| Alison Watt (1997) |
| Zarina Bhimji (1998) |
| Jane Brettle (1998) |
| Angela Bulloch (1998) |
| Claire Carter (1998) |
| Helen Chadwick (1998) |
| Shirley Chubb (1998) |
| Rachel Cohen (1998) |
| Hannah Collins (1998) |
| Cynthia Cousins (1998) |
| Judith Dean (1998) |
| Tacita Dean (1998) |
| Cathy de Monchaux (1998) |
| Tracey Emin (1998) |
| Harriet Fuller (1998) |
| Pamela Golden (1998) |
| Catriona Grant (1998) |
| Susie Gray (1998) |
| Jun Hasegawa (1998) |
| Mona Hatoum (1998) |
| Lucy Heyward (1998) |
| Susan Hiller (1998) |
| Lubaina Himid (1998) |
| Jo Holland (1998) |
| Shirazeh Houshiary (1998) |
| Carol Hudson (1998) |
| Sarah Jones (1998) |
| Karen Knorr (1998) |
| Chara Lewis (1998) |
| Katrina Lithgow (1998) |
| Rachel Lowe (1998) |
| Patricia MacKinnon-Day (1998) |
| Mari Mahr (1998) |
| Wendy McMurdo (1998) |
| Therese Oulton (1998) |
| Cornelia Parker (1998) |
| Liz Rideal (1998) |
| Carol Robertson (1998) |
| Caryn Simonson (1998) |
| Maud Sulter (1998) |
| Sam Taylor-Wood (1998) |
| Estelle Thompson (1998) |
| Gillian Wearing (1998) |
| Kate Whiteford (1998) |
| Jane Wilbraham (1998) |
| Jane & Louise Wilson (1998) |
| Hermione Wiltshire (1998) |
| Verdi Yahooda (1998) |
| Yoko Ono (1998) |
| Stephanie Smith (1998) |
| Joy Gregory (1998) |
| Marie–Jo Lafontaine (1998) |
| Zarina Bhimji (1999) |
| Tone Myskja (1999) |
| Margaret Barron (1999) |
| Shauna McMullan (1999) |
| Janice Mcnab (1999) |
| Joanne Tatham (1999) |
| Clara Ursitti (1999) |
| Zoe Walker (1999) |
| Lucy Skaer (1999) |
| Rachel Dagnall (1999) |
| Deganit Berest (1999) |
| Sigalit Landau (1999) |
| Kiki Smith (1999) |
| Laurie Clark (1999) |
| Anya Gallaccio (1999) |
| Paula Hayes (1999) |
| Lisa Milroy (1999) |
| Jo Self (1999) |
| Anne Bevan (2000) |
| Susan Hiller (2000) |
| Runa Islam (2000) |
| Lucy Mckenzie (2000) |
| Aleksandra Mir (2000) |
| Shirin Neshat (2000) |
| Annette Heyer (2000) |
| Patricia Ellis (2001) |
| Tracey Moffatt (2001) |
| Gemma Iles (2001) |
| Clare Woods (2001) |
| Pernille Spence (2001) |
| Louise Scullion (2001) |
| Anne Elliot (2002) |
| Catriona Grant (2002) |
| Kate Gray (2002) |
| Michele Lazenby (2002) |
| Rachel Mimiec (2002) |
| Anne Morrison (2002) |
| Michelle Naismith (2002) |
| Janie Nicoll (2002) |
| Louise Scullion (2001) |
| Zoe Walker (2002) |
| Jennifer Beattie (2002) |
| Michelle Naismith (2002) |
| Anna Ray (2002) |
| Alison Hayes (2002) |
| Judy Spark (2002) |
| Myfanwy MacLeod (2002) |
| Luanne Martineau (2001) |
| Shannon Oksanen (2002) |
| Victoria Morton (2003) |
| Rachel Baker (2003) |
| Anna Best (2003) |
| Joan Heemskerk (2003) |
| Nina Pope (2003) |
| Karen Guthrie (2003) |
| Honor Harger (2003) |
| Inka Essenhigh (2003) |
| Yoko Ono (2003) |
| Shirin Neshat (2003) |
| Michelle Naismith (2003) |
| Rosalind Nashashibi (2003) |
| Simryn Gill (2003) |
| Ana Mendieta (2003) |
| Cindy Sherman (2003) |
| Francesca Woodman (2003) |
| Louise Bourgeois (2004) |
| Lara Almárcegui (2004) |
| Hilla Becher (2004) |
| Elina Brotherus (2004) |
| Andrea Fraser (2004) |
| Dominique Gonzales-Foerster (2004) |
| Angela Grauerholz (2004) |
| Lisa Milroy (2004) |
| Sarah Morris (2004) |
| Lalie Nicolas (2004) |
| Ellen Gallagher (2004) |
| Eileen Agar (2005) |
| Roni Horn (2005) |
| Sharon Lockhart (2005) |
| Marisa Merz (2005) |
| Louise Hopkins (2005) |
| Pia Rönicke(2005) |
| Sarah Lucas (2006) |
| Lee Miller (2006) |
| Marijke van Warmerdam (2006) |
| Christine Borland (2006) |
| Cornelia Parker (2008) |
| Salla Tykka (2008) |
| Gillian Wearing (2008) |
| Lucy Skaer (2008) |
| Janet Cardiff (2008) |
| Laure Albin-Guillot (2008) |
| Aenne Biermann (2008) |
| Kate Craig (2008) |
| Mona Hatoum (2008) |
| Dora Maar (2008) |
| Carolee Schneemann (2008) |
| Ellen Willmott (2008) |
| Claire Barclay (2009) |
| Eva Hesse (2009) |
| Kate Davis (2010) |
| Monika Grzymala (2010) |
| Sandra Vasquez de la Horra (2010) |
| Louise Bourgeois (2010) |
| Helen Chadwick (2010) |
| Susan Hiller (2010) |
| Claude Cahun (2011) |
| Florence Henri (2011) |
| Yayoi Kusama (2010) |
| Pipilotti Rist (2011) |
| Karla Black (2011) |
| Ingrid Calame (2011) |
| Anna Barriball (2012) |
| Jyll Bradley (2012) |
| Filipa César (2012) |
| Dorothy Cross (2012) |
| Tania Kovats (2012) |
| Alison Turnbull (2012) |
| Ruth Jarman (2012) |
| Louise Bourgeois (2013) |
| Tania Kovats (2014) |
| Lygia Clark (2015) |
| Fernanda Gomes (2015) |
| Jac Leirner (2015) |
| Lygia Pape (2015) |
| Mira Schendel (2015) |
| Phyllida Barlow (2015) |
| Uta Barth (2015) |
| Carol Bove (2015) |
| Sarah Braman (2015) |
| Tacita Dean (2015) |
| Ann Veronica Janssens (2015) |
| Sara Barker (2016) |
| Vivienne Koorland (2016) |
| Kristina Cranfeld(2017) |
| Yulia Kovanova (2017) |
| Jennifer Levonian (2017) |
| Deborah Pearson (2017) |
| Jac Leirner (2017) |
| Jacqueline Donachie (2017) |
| Laura Genevieve Jones (2018) |
| Eve Mutso (2018) |
| Emily Speed (2018) |
| Scout Stuart (2018) |
| Lee Lozano (2018) |
| Tacita Dean (2018) |
| Emma Hart (2018) |
| Helen Douglas (2019) |
| Stephanie Black-Daniels (2019) |
| Joanne Dawson (2019) |
| Courtney Kessel (2019) |
| Alison O’Neill (2019) |
| Aniela Piasecka (2019) |
| Farah Saleh (2019) |
| Megan Wynne (2019) |
| Senga Nengudi (2019) |
| Sabine Passarelli (2019) |
| Janet Cardiff (2019) |
| Pip Thornton (2020) |
| Karla Black (2021) |
| Tania Kovats (2021) |
| Howardena Pindell (2022) |
| Jyll Bradley (2022) |
| Farah Saleh (2022) |
| Sequoia Barnes (2022) |
| Sekai Machache (2022) |
| Nazia Mohammad (2022)Rhona Warwick Paterson (2022)Eve Mutso (2022) |
| Hayley Tompkins (2022) |
| Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (2022) |
| Linda Aloysius (2023) |
| Chila Burman (2023) |
| Penny Goring (2023) |
| Emma Hart (2023) |
| Josie KO (2023) |
| Rosie McGinn (2023) |
| Rebecca Moss (2023) |
| Janette Parris (2023) |
| Anne Ryan (2023) |
| Laura Yuile (2023) |
| Leonor Antunes (2023) |
| Florence Peake (2023) |
| Zarina Bhimji (2023) |
| Sarah Wood (2023) |
| Jane Hyslop (2024) |
| Holly Davey (2024) |
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
