They are the faces of some of the most pioneering women of the 21st century.
And now photographer Anita Corbin’s decade-long project to capture 100 portraits of the era’s key female changemakers is set to be displayed in Suffolk.
Featuring famous personalities such as explorer Felicity Aston, boxer Nicola Adams, singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro and jockey Hayley Turner, the exhibition is coming to Palace House in Newmarket from February 14 until June 10.
Titled 100 First Women Portraits, the exhibition was created in 2018 to mark the centenary commemoration of the Representation of the People Act – which granted the vote to women over 30 years old and paved the way for universal suffrage.
Corbin first sprang to prominence in the early 1980s with her series of informal portraits of young women – Visible Girls – and went on to become a highly-regarded reportage and portrait photographer.
She then began to train her lens on “ordinary women achieving extraordinary things” in a variety of disciplines, including sport, media, faith, business and politics.
Corbin said: “From ages 18 to 102 years old and in fields of expertise covering everything from beatboxing to bomb detection, I wanted to create an impressive visual story of female potential, fantastic role models that will hopefully inspire other women and men, of all generations, now and in the future.
“In a long history dominated by notable males, 100 First Women Portraits asks: ‘What is it about women that can inspire you?’”
Befitting the exhibition’s location at the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art, there are plenty of sportswomen featured, including jockey Charlotte Budd – the first woman to ride in the Grand National.
Corbin added: “I have created these powerful images to offer emotional support to women who seek to be the best they can be, those women who want to aim high will look at my pictures and see they are not alone.”
Chris Garibaldi, director of Palace House, said: “As part of our raison d’être here at Palace House, we like to give the public fresh glimpses into our sporting and cultural past, present and indeed, future.
“I couldn’t be prouder that we are hosting such an inspirational exhibition as 100 First Women Portraits here at Newmarket.”
“I couldn’t be prouder that we are hosting such an inspirational exhibition as 100 First Women Portraits here at Newmarket.”
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