'Observing Women at Work', Franki Raffles

This exhibition 'Observing Women at Work' is curated by Jenny Brownrigg. The exhibition has been produced in partnership with The Franki Raffles Archive, an Edinburgh Napier University research project, run by Dr Alistair Scott (Associate Professor, Film & Television, School of Arts and Creative Industries). The photographs are held by University of St Andrews Special Collections Division. The exhibition was supported by Zero Tolerance. The two research questions were as follows: What curatorial methodology can be used to present an exhibition of archival photographic work, namely Franki Raffles, in particular thinking of methods of presentation that have relevance with the originator’s aims and methods for the work? What are the ways in which Franki Raffle’s methods and aims can be compared to earlier women photographers looking at women’s labour? This exhibition is linked to my research of early women photographers and film-makers in Scotland. By researching Raffles' methods, process, outputs and other relating archival material, I was able to devise an exhibition plan in keeping with her way of working, and to also, in a fourth section, begin to open up the dialogue around her work with other earlier women photographers and their connecting subject matter and approaches. The publication includes introduction by Sarah Munro (Director, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art) and essays by Brownrigg, 'Observing Women at Work' and Dr Alistair Scott: 'Re-examining the aims and context of Raffles' photographic practice'. Works were on loan from St Andrews Library; Glasgow Women's Library; with permissions gained to reprint work from The National Trust for Scotland Canna Island; Doris Ulmann Galleries, Berea College, KY, USA; and The Hackney Flashers Collective. The outputs are: - Curator of the exhibition 'Observing Women at Work', Reid Gallery, GSA - Compiler of the accompanying publication 'Observing Women at Work', edition 300, 52pp - Essay 'Observing Women at Work', P33-40, 'Observing Women at Work', Franki Raffles (2017), published by Glasgow School of Art - Paper, Symposium 'Assessing the Legacy and impact of feminist photographer, Franki Raffles' 25.4.17, CCA, Glasgow Description: Franki Raffles (1955-94) was a feminist social documentary photographer, living in Scotland. This exhibition 'Observing Women at Work' presents a selection of photographs and material by Franki Raffles [1955-94] from three bodies of work, namely ‘To Let You Understand’ (1987-88); ‘Women Workers, Soviet Union' (1989); and material from the first ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign (1993), entitled ‘Prevalence’. 'Zero Tolerance' was a charity established by Franki Raffles and Evelyn Gillan, together with a small group of women who came together through working on Edinburgh District Council Women’s Committee projects in the late 1980s. Zero Tolerance was developed as a ground-breaking campaign to raise awareness of the issue of men’s violence against women and children. A fourth section of this exhibition goes on to contextualise Raffles' work with other key national and international women photographers including Margaret Fay Shaw (1903-2004), Helen Muspratt (1907-2001), Doris Ulmann (1882-1934) and The Hackney Flashers Collective. This feminist and socialist collective was set up in 1974 and included members Sally Greenhill, Elizabeth Heron, Michael Ann Mullen, Maggie Murray, Christine Roche, Julia Vellacott, Jo Spence and Ann Dekker. Franki Raffles was born in Salford and studied at University of St Andrews. Following graduation she moved to Lewis, then to Edinburgh. She documented the lives of women and their work during travels with her family in the 1980s across Russia, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Hong Kong and the Philippines. In 1992-93 she secured a Wingate Trust Scholarship to travel to Israel. In Edinburgh she also worked as a freelance photographer with schools and women’s groups. She exhibited in Stills Gallery, Edinburgh; Mercury Gallery, London; The Corridor Gallery, Fife; Pearce Institute, Glasgow; and First of May Gallery, Edinburgh