Stories of the Mature Woman
Stories of the Mature Woman is a group exhibition exploring the richness, resilience and evolving identities of women later in life. Curated by Carolyn Macleod and presented in partnership with Pure Arts Group, the exhibition is currently showing at the Bannatyne Hotel.
Developed through a participatory creative project, the exhibition brings together women’s reflections on their lives through art, writing and making. The resulting works challenge the idea of the ‘mature woman’ as a fixed or finished identity, instead presenting ageing as an ongoing process of growth, change, and self-definition.
Working across painting, textiles, sculpture and mixed media, participating artists include Edith Pargh Barton, Fran White, Chérie Lubbock, Gillian Hollis, Liz Hammond, Anigna Gates, Gillian Mary Baizley and Carolyn Macleod. Each contributes a distinct perspective, resulting in a layered and nuanced collective portrait of later life.
The exhibition highlights creativity as a lifelong process, often rediscovered or reclaimed, where experimentation and uncertainty are integral rather than limiting. Alongside identity, the exhibition reflects on legacy, care and how women wish to be remembered: not only through achievements, but through relationships and everyday acts of connection.
Importantly, the exhibition embraces the complexity of ageing. While many works speak to growth and liberation, others acknowledge disconnection, invisibility, and the challenges of navigating a changing world. Reframing ageing through a language of possibility, growth, strength and expansion, this exhibition offers a timely and thought-provoking counter-narrative.
Not finished. Still becoming.
Also featured, on 5 May, is a writing workshop to be delivered by award-winning memoirist Joelle Tamraz. Exhibition runs 16 March – 26 May 2026 | Bannatyne Hotel, Hastings: tinyurl.com/2hembfmu
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