About
The ‘Face of Suffrage’ artwork, a floor-based, 200 metre-square photo mosaic, was made up of more than 3,700 images of females from across the West Midlands and beyond. When viewed from above, it showed Hilda Burkitt, a leading face from the suffrage movement in the West Midlands. A project by The People’s Picture, co-produced by GRAIN, with the support of Network Rail, Arts Council England, CrossCountry Rail and Heritage Lottery Fund made possible by National lottery players.
Artwork
The artwork was made up of a combination of historical pictures of women involved in the suffragette movement from the West Midlands in the early 1900s and of females today using photographs submitted by the public be part of the commemoration. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave some British women the right to vote and stand for public office for the first time. One hundred years on, we invited women and girls across the region and beyond to mark this historic moment.
Women’s Library LSE
LSE The Women’s Library history can be traced back to the women’s suffrage movement and the 1866 women’s suffrage petition. This marked the beginning of the organised campaign for the vote which ended in 1928 when women achieved equal voting rights with men in the Equal Franchise Act.
Photo Mosaic
Total Images
Square Metres
Years of Womens Suffrage
Artwork
The ‘Face of Suffrage’ artwork, a floor-based, 200 metre-square photo mosaic, was made up of more than 3,700 images of females from across the West Midlands and beyond. It was installed overnight at Birmingham New Street Station.
We invited women and girls across the region and beyond to mark this historic moment as part of a living visual portrait of women in the 21st century.
Installation Timelapse by Video Vandal
Hilda Burkitt – The Face of Suffrage
Evaline Hilda Burkitt (born 1876, died 1955) was the first suffragette to be forcibly fed – a total of 292 times. She had a job at the Birmingham (Women’s Social and Political Union Headquarters), near New Street station, and threw a stone at Prime Minister Asquith’s train as it pulled away, soon after he attended a male-only budget meeting. She was then imprisoned at Winson Green prison.
*(Image reproduced by permission of Hilda’s family)
Emma Sproson
Emma Sproson ( born 1867, died 1936 ) became Wolverhampton’s first female councillor, gaining the nickname “Red Emma”.
*(Image reproduced by permission of the Wolverhampton Archives)
Mary Macarthur
Mary Macarthur (born 1880, died 1921) led women chain makers of Cradley Heath to victory in their fight for minimum wage.
*(Image reproduced by permission of the Black Country Museum)
Explore
Zoom in and explore the collected pictures and stories of all those who took part from the comfort of your phone or armchair. It is made up of more than 3,700 images of females from across the West Midlands and beyond. The artwork was made up of a combination of historical pictures of women involved in the suffragette movement from the West Midlands in the early 1900s and of females today using photographs submitted by the public be part of the commemoration .
Maryam Wahid
Documentary & Fine Art Photographer
Maryam Wahid is a photographer based in Birmingham. She was selected for the acclaimed Portrait of Britain award 2018. She explores her identity and displays concepts of her religious and cultural heritage as a British Asian Muslim woman. Maryam created portraits of women from all ethnic backgrounds as a response to The Face of Suffrage photo mosaic. Her portraits convey power and solidarity in the diverse range of iconic women we have in Britain.
Agi Ch
Fine Art Photographer
Agi Ch is a Birmingham based artist who has exhibited throughout the West Midlands, most notably in 2015 in ‘Urban Life’ at the RBSA Gallery. Agi is Chair of the non-profit organisation, Frame Creatives, that supports photographers in the West Midlands by providing workshops, talks and exhibition opportunities. She is also Exhibition Secretary for the Disabled Photographers Society and produced an annual for their members.
Luca C Bailey
Portrait Photographer
Luca C Bailey is a photographer based in Birmingham. His series of portraits of women of all ages represents the ‘visibility’ of women today and the debt owed to the Suffragettes who fought for parity. The portraits were taken in Aldridge, West Midlands, the home town of Ellen Isabel Jones. Ellen was imprisoned in Holloway Jail in 1914 for her protests for women’s suffrage. These portraits of women today are a homage to her courage and her fellow Suffragettes.
“She sits within a prison cell
Despised and splendid, great, defamed.
Shame close about her, and with all
Shameless and unashamed”.
Hilda Burkitt written in prison: Winson Green 1909 (1 month) and Holloway March 1912 (four months). The Face of Suffrage celebrates the centenary of women over 30 gaining the right to vote in the UK and is composed of thousands of photographs tessellated to create a giant portrait of suffragist Hilda Burkitt (1876-1955).
Miranda Gavin | The Face of Suffrage
“Popular, faces are featured as the emblems of our time following in the footsteps of historic mosaics that often included famous figures from history and mythology as well as lesser-known faces as my ethos is about inclusivity. One of our latest projects is ‘The Face of Suffrage’ at Birmingham New Street. It is a floor-based, 200 metre-square photo mosaic revealing the face of a suffragette who has a ‘daring and brave’ story to tell. It is made up of more than 3,700 crowd-sourced photos and selfies of inspirational women and girls (who identify as female or non-binary), combined with hundreds of historical images drawn from archives and libraries and focused on women’s suffrage in the early 1900’s. The artwork commemorates 100 years of women’s right to vote and has a local and national reach from the West Midlands and beyond. The final portrait is of Hilda Burkitt (1876-1955)”.
Helen Marshall | Artist
