Women of Cornwall Final Selection Now Live

In November 2024, the search began for 50 exceptional women of Cornwall to be selected, with the eventual aim of creating 50 plates of the chosen women.  The Art Centre Penryn asked the public to nominate women who had made a meaningful contribution to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

It said the women, who could be from the past or present, myth or reality, would be honoured in an art installation made up of 50 porcelain plates.  Director Megan Black said the centre invited everyone to take part and looked forward to receiving suggestions from the public.

By the Spring of 2025, a remarkable 234 women had been nominated, each of them highlighting and celebrating their fantastically varied achievements.

Here at the Daphne du Maurier website, we, of course, took the opportunity to nominate Daphne du Maurier.  

Throughout late March and most of April, an exhibition was held at the Art Centre Penryn, displaying the nominees' pictures and a write-up about each of them.  At the exhibition, there was also a video explaining the whole project, and the portraits created by members of the public at a number of Portrait Workshops, which had taken place across Cornwall, supporting the project.  

The 50 women for whom porcelain plates will be made.

Following the exhibition, work began to select the final fifty women from the 234 nominations.  Katie Bunnell, the ceramic artist who is leading the Women of Cornwall project, said:

Selecting 50 women from the 234 has been an incredibly challenging task.   

Art Centre Penryn and Katie Bunnell worked with Hypatia Trust, Kresen Kernow, Black Voices Cornwall, Access Cornwall and others to help in the monumental task of selecting just 50 diverse and inspirational women from the 234 suggested.  The final fifty are a snapshot of what people have said they value now, in the 21st Century, rather than a 'top 50'. 

A second round of funding is being negotiated now, and once that is in place, the creation of the porcelain plates will begin.  Once completed, they will tour venues across Cornwall before moving to their permanent home at the Art Centre Penryn.

We are absolutely delighted to be able to say that Daphne du Maurier has been selected as one of the final fifty, and so shortly, a porcelain plate will be made to represent her.

To read more about this wonderful project, please click here: https://www.artcentrepenryn.org/womenofcornwall

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