Lecturer's work featured in national showcase

A project featuring a lecturer from LJMU will take centre stage next week (Monday 14 June – Saturday 19 June) at the British Academy’s Summer Showcase.

The showcase is an annual free festival of ideas, bringing humanities and social sciences research to life.

On Tuesday 15 June (1pm-2pm), an event will focus on the War Widows’ Stories project, led by Dr Nadine Muller, ‎senior lecturer in English Literature and Cultural History at LJMU.

The War Widows’ Quilt is a moving piece of collaborative art that relays the realities of war widowhood in Britain, past and present.

Made from second-hand armed forces shirts by more than 100 war widows and their families, its squares tell stories of love, loss and grief that connect women across generations, from the Second World War to the Falklands, Iraq and peacetime.

The event explores the power of creativity at the centre of the War Widows’ Stories project, asking how the meditative process of stitching and sewing can offer an outlet for the memories of those we have loved.

Nadine said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to continue working with the British Academy and to showcase the work of the War Widows’ Stories project and the wonderful women at its heart.

“The War Widows’ Quilt is a really extraordinary and striking piece of art. While we were looking forward to being able to show it to people in person, it’s exciting to think that through this virtual event so many more people will be able to hear about the quilt and the stories and processes behind it.

“They can also share their own experiences of stitching and making as a means of coping with life and all the challenges it throws at us.”

Nadine - a recipient of the British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award 2018 - will be joined by artist Lois Blackburn and Mary Morelan, MBE, a war widow and former chair of the War Widows' Association. The chair of the event is Sue Prichard, senior curator: Arts, Royal Museums Greenwich.

You can sign up to watch the event live for free and have the opportunity to submit your question during the audience Q&A. Join the conversation online too, using the hashtag #ForCuriousMinds.

This event will have live subtitles provided by StageTEXT, delivered by MyClearText.