Gallery Oldham celebrates women at work in new exhibition

Gallery Oldham is set to host a major new exhibition celebrating women's contributions to professions traditionally dominated by men, opening on Saturday 17 January and running until Saturday 9 May. The free exhibition, titled 'Women. Portraits: Trades & Professions', features the work of leading contemporary artist Charlotte Hodes, who has created intricate papercuts and ornate ceramic vases that reimagine how we see women's work and identity.

Rather than traditional portraits, Hodes constructs imagined representations of women identified by the tools of their trade-from stethoscopes and telescopes to beekeeping smokers and gardening implements. The exhibition draws inspiration from Northern Roots, the visionary 160-acre urban farm and eco-park in the heart of Oldham, which promotes community, sustainability, and skills through activities like beekeeping, gardening, and forestry.

The exhibition takes the form of a non-linear 'mind map', deliberately disrupting traditional hierarchies and timelines to draw connections between past and present, fact and imagination. It references inspirational women from the Oldham and Manchester regions, including pioneering suffragists like Dr Olive Clayden, Oldham's first female GP, alongside contemporary changemakers such as beekeeper Damson Tregaskis and Northern Roots representatives Anna Da Silva and Kimo Morrison.

Charlotte Hodes describes the exhibition as 'a call for optimism' in challenging times, acknowledging women's historical struggles and triumphs while celebrating their ongoing empowerment and visibility. The show continues Gallery Oldham's commitment to platforming contemporary art that speaks to history, community, and social justice, offering residents a thought-provoking exploration of women's labour and legacy right here in the town centre on Greaves Street.