Royal Portraitist

By Zariq Rosita- Hanif (@malaygirl.uk)

This workshop invites participants to step into Dorothy’s shoes by creating a portrait of a royal (not necessarily British!) based on their imagination with guidance from Dorothy’s work. However, their creations will be done in paper cut style using the least luxurious materials; scraps that are obtained from charity shops and Gloucester Resource Centre.

While the workshop explores the paper cut technique, it also highlights the basic composition of a portrait, specifically Dorothy Wilding’s style. The use of scrap papers to create a royal portrait is eco-irony as the proverb goes; “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. All materials will be provided.

The workshop setting will exude a royal party vibe with cakes, biscuits and tea served in chinaware. The participants are encouraged to dress as if they were attending a coronation.

ACTIVITIES

1. Discussion on Dorothy Wilding’s royal portrait photography.

2. Create your own royal portrait paper cut style using scrap papers.

Free entry. Booking is essential as spaces are limited, register using the eventbrite link below!

This workshop is part of the Gloucester Lates project – Gloucester Lates is a series of weekly workshops/by young people for young people , created by Hundred Heroines in collaboration with JOLT, and is running alongside the Dorothy Wilding Exhibition at the Eastgate Shopping Centre (Gloucester).

Location
23 Bell Walk (bottom of the escalator), Eastgate Shopping Centre, Gloucester.

This event is held in conjunction with Dorothy Wilding: 130 Photographs – the first exhibition of Dorothy’s work in the city where she was born.

Born in Longford in 1893, Dorothy Wilding left Gloucester for the bright lights of London, where she established her own studio by the age of 21.  This new, major exhibition features iconic portraits of the young Queen Elizabeth as well as images of some of Dorothy’s famous sitters, including Tallulah Bankhead, Cecil Beaton, Noël Coward, Vivien Leigh, Joyce Grenfell and Barbara Cartland. Other works taken in her New York studio in the 1940s and 1950s will include iconic portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and new stars of the 1950s, Yul Brynner and Harry Belafonte.

Curated by Sisters of the Lens, the exhibition comprises some of Dorothy’s iconic portraits reprinted in a large, contemporary style alongside smaller original prints and ephemera including books, magazines, coins and stamps featuring Dorothy’s work.

This project has been made possible through the generous support of the Ampersand Foundation and the Association of Independent Museums New Stories New Audiences grant scheme, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.