News
In Conversation: On Lace, Life and Lore
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On 27 May a lunchtime talk was held in the Glucksman Gallery with lacemaker Veronica Stuart and Prof. Elizabeth Kiely (UCC). Prof. Kiely is currently leading a research project entitled Lace, Life and Lore: Crafting Women’s Digital Stories, which is funded through the Collective Social Futures Interdisciplinary Research Fund.
The event was part of the Glucksman’s exhibition Labour of Love: Economies of Care in Contemporary Art and featured a lace artefact (shown above) on loan from Cork Public Museum at Fitzgerald Park. Taking this object as a starting point, Veronica discussed her own experience of lace making and reflected on the work of previous generations of lacemakers.
Ms Veronica Stuart is a renowned and popular teacher of lace making in Ireland and internationally. She is presently entering into her 39th year of teaching lace making in Ashton school in Cork city. She has been a national and international judge in the craft, and has won awards, including an international gold medal for her own lace making. She has taught several prize-winning students. She is a founding member of The Traditional Lacemakers of Ireland and a recognised curator of the craft of lace making. Among her most significant achievements is the revival of the ‘queen’ of Irish laces, Youghal Needlepoint.
Professor Elizabeth Kiely is based in the School of Applied Social Studies in UCC. Her teaching and research interests are in penal policy, youth policy, gender and women’s studies. She has in interest in oral and cultural heritage and is currently Chair of the Oral History Network of Ireland. She is currently leading a research project entitled Lace, Life and Lore, with colleagues and students and the Traditional Lace Makers of Ireland, which is funded by Collective Social Futures in UCC.
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