Why were there so many women involved in the spirit photography and spirit mediumship movement?

Join guest lecturer Lucy Cade to explore the mysterious origins of spirit photography and mediumship, which rose to popularity across Britain and the US during the Industrial period of the mid to late 1800s.

Through archival photographs and written accounts, Lucy Cade will establish the context for the birth of spirit photography and spirit mediumship. We will also find out about techniques, such as double exposures and ectoplasmic collages, which were largely pioneered by female mediums and allowed them to blur the lines between art and mediumship, almost pushing it into the realms of performance art.

We will find out how the lack of political agency and suffrage propelled countless women towards mediumship as a creative outlet and how the women of this movement made a creative life for themselves outside of the arts academy. We’ll also zoom out to look into the ripple effects of spirit photography on the art world which inspired the works of visionary painters like Georgiana Houghton and Hilma af Klint.

This lecture will give us a unique angle through which to explore feminism, creativity, Surrealism and Abstraction, as well as touch upon Victorian ideas about death and legacy.

We are committed to making our sessions as accessible as possible. If you are unable to pay the full amount for this class, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will provide you with a discount code.