A new exhibition exploring the heritage of women in the fishing community opens in Hull at the weekend.
Fisherwomen, by award-winning photographer Craig Easton, opens at the Hull Maritime Museum on Saturday 24 August
Easton’s work will bring together three strands of the fisherwomen’s story: their heritage, their journey and contemporary portraits, including new commissions of Hull’s own fisherwomen.
The exhibition will feature more than 20 large portraits and landscapes, plus an audio visual presentation with almost 100 images and a voiceover by Hull fisherwomen Dawn Walton.
Dawn Walton in Hull 2019. Picture: Craig Easton
It will highlight the role played by women in the modern fishing industry – much carried out entirely behind closed doors in processing factories, sheds and smokehouses.
Easton said: “Women have been the backbone of fishing communities for centuries and in the long tradition of the east coast herring trade, their work was done come rain or shine on bustling quaysides as they gutted and packed the salted fish into barrels.
“Now, working almost entirely out of sight of the public, my aim with this work is to connect today’s fisherwomen to that long heritage and to celebrate the essential role they still play in the modern fishing industry.”
One of the images being shown as part of the Fisherwomen exhibition.Councillor Marjorie Brabazon, chair of Hull Culture and Leisure, said: “Fishing fleets have long depended on female workers to process their catch and this exhibition captures the fisherwomen at work in refrigerated factories.
“We are particularly fortunate to work with Craig and add some of his portraits to our permanent collection so visitors fully appreciate the tough conditions they work in but also highlight an unseen part of the fishing industry.”
This free exhibition will run from Saturday 24 August to Sunday 27 October. The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm and Sundays from 11am to 4pm.
