Artistic plaque attack is tribute to town’s women
AGUERRILLA art project will pay tribute to the overlooked role women have played in Macclesfield’s history.
Rosie’s Plaques will see six blue plaques made at the Silk Museum and then temporarily placed around the town centre.
Each will be a tribute to a woman or women whose achievements may have been forgotten or not celebrated sufficiently.
The six chosen are Egypt adventurers Marianne Brocklehurst and Mary Booth, silk designer Edith Buxton, Ellen Beech and Ann Osboston who were hanged for witchcraft, Beryl Footman, former head of Macclesfield High School for Girls, Hester Ann Roe, a Methodist writer and preacher, and influential weaver Margaret Moborn.
Nicola Turner, part of the project, said: “Just 12 per cent of heritage plaques are dedicated to nonmythical or non-royal women. This project aims to redress this balance.
“We create the plaques and then we try and find suitable locations for them.
“It is a way of raising awareness of the contributions women have made to society or to maybe highlight social injustices.”
Visitors to the Silk Museum, on Park Lane, can see the plaques being made on Saturday, June 18, from 11am to 3pm.
The following day there will be a workshop from 12.30pm to 2pm where people can make their own for their chosen Maxonian to be displayed in the museum.
It costs £15 per plaque (materials provided) and each will be returned after the display.
Ailsa Holland, who will lead the workshop along with Jo Bell, said: “We want to start a conversation about the way we remember women in Macclesfield and who is acknowledged for their achievements.
“Maybe this could be the start of more permanent memorials for these incredible people. Macclesfield was known as women’s town in the 20th century because of the high number of women employed in the silk industry.
“It feels fitting that we shine a light on some of the achievements of women.”
The six plaques will be presented by Ailsa at a free event on Friday, June 24.
A tour of the six plaques will take place on Sunday, June 26, from 11am to 12.30pm. It starts from the Silk Museum and costs £12.