Hi, I’m Samar, the Speaking Volumes Intern!
I’m a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh, studying modern and contemporary art history, and I’ve been part of the Speaking Volumes team at Glasgow Women’s library since October. Since I began my university placement, I’ve been assisting with the development of Speaking Volumes, which is a collaborative project between My Bookcase, Glasgow Women’s Library and Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 2016. The project, spearheaded by artist and founder of My Bookcase, Cristina Garriga, aims to create a unique book collection and dedicated reading space that celebrates the often overlooked and under-acknowledged work of women writers.
During the project, I’ve held a curatorial role, working closely with artist Cristina Garriga, to realise her vision, and provide her with acquisitional and research-based support. I met Cristina, the library staff, and the dedicated team of Speaking Volumes volunteers, at an informal induction and craft making workshop in October. During this workshop, we got to know each other over endless cups of tea and through the creation of beautifully crafted DIY envelopes. Cristina introduced us to the project by explaining that the envelopes, and their letters, would be sent to Glasgow International’s artists and curators, asking them to reflect on the influence of women writers on their lives and work. Our initial induction was fun and inspiring, and since then, I’ve felt incredibly privileged to get to work alongside a team of such fiery and passionate women. Following that day, we’ve dedicated hours to collective brainstorming, planning, cataloguing and event programming.
That brings us to today! Shortly after our letters were distributed, we were met with floods of book recommendations for the project; proving the powerful impact of women writers on contemporary Scottish and international artists. Throughout this process, I’ve maintained and updated a shared database which logs information on the artists involved, the writers recommended, and the books to be ordered.
Although the library’s collection is varied and expansive, there are new literary works that must be acquired in order to showcase the full breadth of the literature that has been recommended for the Speaking Volumes Project. GWL’s lending library, which features work by pioneering female artists, activists, and writers from Scotland and beyond, has been entirely donated by the public. That’s why I’ve been working very hard for the past few weeks documenting all our incoming recommendations, sourcing relevant books from GWL’s lending library, and inviting specific individuals, as well as a number of publishers, to donate books from their collections. This has been a demanding task, with an ever-growing list of over two hundred books being recommended. It’s also a central role, in that, if there are no books, there is no exhibition!
Although it’s been quite challenging at times, I really enjoy the responsibility. Keeping the database, which is used as a point of reference for the whole team, up-to-date and user friendly has been really satisfying, because I really enjoy keeping neat and organised. Additionally, it’s been genuinely heart-warming when writers and publishers have responded with positivity and generosity when I’ve approached them with concerns to donations. It’s also really important to me that my hard work leaves a lasting impact on the library’s collection – and it will – as the Speaking Volumes acquisitions will become part of the library’s wider lending collection after the project has ended.
The past two months have been an especially exciting time for the project, as we’ve started receiving our first flurry of donations from publishers and writers! Watching the Speaking Volumes project physically take shape with the arrival of all these books has been really rewarding – and the next few weeks will certainly be filled with the continuously growing bustle of this project.
The Speaking Volumes exhibit will be on display during Glasgow International Festival (8 – 28 April 2016), alongside a series of talks by female publishers, artists, writers and academics – so keep a note in your diary, and an eye on our website.
