This month has been quieter on the surface. Since my last talk in April, I haven’t made much visible progress on the project strands I set out at the start of the year. The data-gathering remains paused, and I have not yet formed the group that will eventually help select artists for Abergavenny Library. Instead, the focus has shifted inward. Preparing for this month’s talk on Susan Hiller has meant spending time with an artist deeply concerned with belief, collective experie

February's talk on Niki de Saint Phalle was lively, conversational and genuinely productive. I'd prepared far more material than the hour could hold, so I had to abridge but that felt right for the room. Researching Niki de Saint Phalle's life and work was a joy, and the session drew out rich questions and comments throughout. One early contribution from an attendee introduced me to something I hadn't encountered before: the Matilda Effect, the phenomenon by which women's c