28th to 30th March 2025
Sophie Gaudier-Brzeska Centenary Celebration.
Location: Wotton Heritage Centre and the Chipping Clubroom.
Sophie Gaudier-Brzeska lived in Wotton-under-Edge from 1916 to 1922.
Born in 1872 Galicia to impoverished aristocracy living some seventy miles from Krakow in the Polish countryside of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire, Sophie died in Coney Hill Asylum, Gloucestershire UK in 1925. Over the weekend we will discover more about Sophie, her time in Wotton-under-Edge, the legacy she left behind and the impact her life is having on artists, writers and photographers that have discovered her work. A full programme of events will be published in due course.
Guests include:
Del Barrett from Hundred Heroines in Nailsworth www.hundredheroines.org/heroine/del-barrett/
Ania Ready photographer and writer from Oxford www.aniaready.com/
and our special guest from Essex University:
Dr Patricia Gillies Senior Lecturer, Department of Literature Film and Theatre Studies. www.essex.ac.uk/people/GILLI96604/Patricia-Gillies
Talk entitled: “Sophie Gaudier-Brzeska’s Construction of an Artistic Self: Poetry Notebooks and Journal”
On Friday evening, Del will be giving an illustrated talk following Sophie’s journey and illuminating the women photographers who would have been in her orbit between 1872 and 1925.
On Saturday afternoon, Ania will be speaking about Sophie’s legacy and influence on writers and artists100 years on.
Jeff Walshe, from the Heritage Centre, will provide a brief insight into Sophies life in Wotton-under-Edge.
The highlight of Saturday afternoon will feature Dr Gilles who has translated much of Sophies work and interpreted the depths of her thinking.
More information can be found on the Heritage Centre website. www.wottonheritage.com/
In addition to these highlights, on Saturday morning, visitors are invited to go on a walk past where Sophie lived or alternatively attend a further talk in the Chipping Clubroom.
There is also a Polish evening planned to be held at the restaurant in Long Street, Good Food on the Edge on the evening of the 29th of March. Advanced booking is recommended.
On Sunday at 2.00pm at the Wotton Cinema, there will be a showing of Ken Russell’s Savage Messiah close the weekend events. Tickets will be available online and on at the door.
The planned photography exhibitions inspired by Sophie, have been reassigned for a longer showing in Nailsworth Hundred Heroines at the end of April through May.
A memorial stone is planned for Sophies grave in Gloucester, contributions are welcome. www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-honour-sophie-gaudierbrzeska
For more information contact Jeff Walshe 01453 843060 or jeff@wottonheritage.com