Timely exhibition highlights complex motherhood
Viewers have been moved by cathedral’s A Story of Hope
An exhibition in Newcastle Cathedral, appropriately starting with International Women’s Day and ending on Mothering Sunday, focuses on complex motherhood and how difficulties can be overcome.
You’ll find it in the far corner of the building, diagonally opposite the main entrance, a white booth with pictures outside as the centrepiece and with other pictures and poems arranged around it.
The pictures, including paintings, sketches and fabric pieces, are mostly dramatic and vibrant. The greater clue as to why it’s called A Story of Hope lies in the poems which express powerful emotions – remorse, defiance and determination as well as hope.
The exhibition is the climax of a six-month project involving regular workshops led by artist Harriet Mee and Her Circle, a support organisation for mothers at risk of child removal, in collaboration with Newcastle City Council.
The stories you’ll find on the website of Her Circle give an idea of the problems faced by the women it helps.
Harriet found that the women involved in the project were eager to share their stories.
“These women have gone through so much – trauma, healing, therapy – but they want to show that it really is possible to turn lives around,” she said.
“Some of them got their children back.
“One woman had her children removed twice in very different circumstances but now she’s fully free of addiction and has a stable home, and she is on that journey to heal her relationship with her daughter.
“She’s doing all sorts; she’s turned everything around. It’s incredible. These women are really inspiring.”
The cathedral, with its medieval stained glass window depicting the Madonna and Child, is an appropriate setting for the exhibition.
That familiar pose is mimicked in one of the artworks but where the child should be, there’s just a blank.
It sums up what some of these women have been through or fear, the removal of the person they hold most dear.
The poems were produced by the women working with Donna Stokes and Newcastle City Learning and an anthology is on sale in the cathedral’s retail space.
Some digital art was produced with Digital Voice for Communities.
The exhibition is hosted by the Cathedral Lantern Project which seeks to work and walk alongside people in difficult circumstances.
The Revd Canon Zoe Heming, Newcastle Cathedral’s canon for mission, says: “The Cathedral Lantern Project embodies our mission to uplift voices that are often marginalised.
“We hope that by bringing these narratives to light, we can create a safe and compassionate space where stories of struggle and resilience can be shared and heard.”
Amy van Zyl, CEO of Her Circle, says more children are removed from their biological parents in the UK than in any other European country, with the current number of 84,000 expected to reach 100,000.
Her Circle advocates for change, highlighting the need for independent family advocacy and anonymous support services.
“Nobody gets well on their own,” Amy says.
“The women who get well with us have a network of really healthy women around them.
“It simulates a healthy family around them, which they often don’t have at home. That’s why the art project wanted to look at those themes - to really explore them so the women could see and feel them, then present them outwardly.”
Councillor Lesley Storey, cabinet member for children and families at Newcastle City Council, called the exhibition “inspirational in every sense of the word”.
She added: “I felt moved to tears by the women's stories and amazed by the beauty, strength and creativity of the artwork and poetry.”
The work in the exhibition has been funded and supported by the city council’s artist residency programme 24/25, Newcastle City Learning (funded by North East Combined Authority), Digital Voice for Communities and Newcastle Cathedral.
The exhibition is on display until March 31.