Latest news with #HardwickHall
Sky News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Artwork referencing JK Rowling taken down by National Trust after being 'tampered with'
The National Trust says it has taken down a piece of art featuring JK Rowling's name after it was "tampered with by a member of the public". It has urged people "not to damage or tamper with artworks" once they are finished and on public display. Between April and November last year, visitors to Derbyshire's Hardwick Hall were invited to nominate a "contemporary Virtuous Woman", whose name was then sewn into the fabric, before it was put on public show in February. Until recently, the artwork, A Virtuous Woman, has continued to be on display, featuring the Harry Potter author's name, which was "stitched over by other participants" at an unspecified time. Feminist campaigner Jean Hatchet said on X last week that she had "corrected" the work by unpicking the stitching which was over Rowling's name. It comes after criticism of Rowling 's views on gender issues that have seen her called transphobic by activists, which she has denied. The National Trust said the piece has been "taken off display… to protect it from further tampering or damage". Ms Hatchet has criticised the organisation's move, saying she removed the "stitching with the correct tool", took "great time and care", and did not damage it. She told Sky News: "Everyone involved in managing this project behaved in a cowardly fashion after a vindictive individual performed an act of woman-hating. It should have been removed immediately. Because they wouldn't, we did." The stitched names of British queens, artist Yoko Ono, ex-prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, and singer Taylor Swift among others appear not to have stitching over them on the recycled textile. The work comes from artist Layla Khoo in association with the University of Leeds and the National Trust. A spokeswoman for the trust said: "The artwork was open to contributions for eight months and closed in November when the piece was finished and put on public display. "During the participation phase, JK Rowling's name was stitched on to the piece seven times and in two instances it was stitched over by other participants. "At the time the artwork was completed and subsequently hung, JK Rowling's name appeared five times without any overstitching. "We ask people not to damage or tamper with artworks once they are finished and on public display. "The piece has been taken off display for investigation and to protect it from further tampering or damage. We take all claims and incidents of damage to items in our care seriously and investigate each one."
Sky News
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Sky News
Artwork referencing JK Rowling taken down after being 'tampered with'
Why you can trust Sky News The National Trust says it has taken down a piece of art featuring JK Rowling's name after it was "tampered with by a member of the public". It has urged people "not to damage or tamper with artworks" once they are finished and on public display. Between April and November last year, visitors to Derbyshire's Hardwick Hall were invited to nominate a "contemporary Virtuous Woman", whose name was then sewn into the fabric, before it was put on public show in February. Until recently, the artwork, A Virtuous Woman, has continued to be on display, featuring the Harry Potter author's name, which was "stitched over by other participants" at an unspecified time. Feminist campaigner Jean Hatchet said on X last week that she had "corrected" the work by unpicking the stitching which was over Rowling's name. It comes after criticism of Rowling 's views on gender issues that have seen her called transphobic by activists, which she has denied. The National Trust said the piece has been "taken off display… to protect it from further tampering or damage". Ms Hatchet has criticised the organisation's move, saying she removed the "stitching with the correct tool", took "great time and care", and did not damage it. She told Sky News: "Everyone involved in managing this project behaved in a cowardly fashion after a vindictive individual performed an act of woman-hating. It should have been removed immediately. Because they wouldn't, we did." The stitched names of British queens, artist Yoko Ono, ex-prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, and singer Taylor Swift among others appear not to have stitching over them on the recycled textile. The work comes from artist Layla Khoo in association with the University of Leeds and the National Trust. A spokeswoman for the trust said: "The artwork was open to contributions for eight months and closed in November when the piece was finished and put on public display. "During the participation phase, JK Rowling's name was stitched on to the piece seven times and in two instances it was stitched over by other participants. "At the time the artwork was completed and subsequently hung, JK Rowling's name appeared five times without any overstitching. "We ask people not to damage or tamper with artworks once they are finished and on public display. "The piece has been taken off display for investigation and to protect it from further tampering or damage. We take all claims and incidents of damage to items in our care seriously and investigate each one."
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
National Trust in row over artwork that references JK Rowling
The National Trust has become embroiled in a row over JK Rowling. Last year, the Trust property of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire installed an interactive artwork titled A Virtuous Woman, which has since become the focus of a gender dispute. The large embroidery at the stately home allowed visitors to stitch onto it the names of inspirational women, with Marie Curie and Margaret Thatcher among the names stitched into the artwork. One visitor added the name of Rowling, who has become a vocal opponent of gender ideology and transgender access to women's spaces. Rowling's name was subsequently struck out with a series of new stitches in the colours of the transgender flag, while other names were left untouched. The writer Jean Hatchet, a supporter of Rowling, visited Hardwick in May and unpicked the stitches in protest. The National Trust has now responded to this protest by removing the contested artwork entirely while assessing what it called the 'damage' to the piece. Women's Rights Network for Derbyshire and Staffordshire, which supports the sex-based rights for women and girls, has branded the Trust's actions 'shameful'. The group urged the Trust to avoid 'complicity in enabling the disrespecting of a courageous woman's name'. The Trust said that it had no involvement with the artwork itself other than allowing it to be displayed at Hardwick. The piece was created by Layla Khoo, an artist at the University of Leeds. A disclaimer accompanying the piece stated that the names of women added to the artwork did not represent the values of either the artist or the National Trust. The Trust said that the artwork was open to be altered until November last year, after which it was not to be tampered with. This means that Ms Hatchet's intervention to remove the stitches in Rowling's name constitutes damage to the finished piece. A National Trust spokesman said: 'The artwork was open to contributions for eight months and closed in November when the piece was finished and put on public display. We ask visitors not to tamper with any art on display.' The Trust is now considering what to do with the artwork. The row over Rowling's name follows the Harry Potter author's increasing involvement in gender-critical causes. Her opposition to the belief that people can self-identify as men or women, and enter sex-based spaces, has led critics to brand her ' transphobic '. She was recently attacked in a new single by the singer Kate Nash. The spoken-word track, titled Germ, levelled accusations of gender-critical views being 'exclusionary, regressive, misogynist '.
