It just makes me tingle to think that
such an important piece of work is here.
We're taking our star painting to places
a painting would never normally go to.
I feel very lucky and I also feel quite moved.
We're here in Waltham Forest: London Borough Of Culture 2019
at Wood Street Library for the fifth and final stop of Artemisia Visits.
So as the last stop on the tour
we wanted to bring the painting back to London
but again not into the centre of London.
We know that there are a lot of people who live in some of the
outlying boroughs who never have the opportunity to come into
the centre of London for many reasons
and 2019 is the inaugural year of the London Borough Of Culture
which will be Waltham Forest.
So it seemed a really natural fit to team up with the mayor's office
and the London Borough of Culture to place Artemisia in Waltham Forest.
Hi everyone, thank you very much for coming to this talk.
So obviously today I'm going to be talking to a distinguished visitor
that's come to the library today.
As the first female leader of my borough, to be in a position where
a masterpiece by a hugely important female artist, of a woman
coming to the borough, just felt absolutely extraordinary.
And I also feel quite moved because I know that there are children
and young people and older people in our borough
who don't feel empowered to go to central London and walk into the galleries.
And so for them to be able to see that work here in the borough
in the heart of their community
I actually think it will encourage people to go into central London
and feel as though that collection is really their collection
and it's there for them to enjoy as well.
We've taken Artemisia on a journey all across the UK
but it's wonderful to end up in London as we know that Artemisia
herself visited London.
She came to London in the late 1630s and that's quite unusual for a woman
to have travelled across Europe on her own in the 17th century.
So bringing Artemisia to a library full of stories, it's been fantastic
to be able to share Artemisia's story with other people and new audiences
including families and under fives.
Just to come to a community space with the art, it's just really
such a special experience.
I'm really pleased that we could be part of it.
It was great.
Well I just came in, just to use the library as usual and
I saw the painting this week.
It's really good to see quality art like that here in the local area.
There are a lot of children coming from different areas to see this one.
So I think it's a very good and amazing thing to see.
For the final stop of the tour, it seemed really fitting to bring
her into the heart of a community
where Artemisia's story has been inspiring people of all ages.
People have just been incredibly excited.
They've been sharing images of the work, they've been reflecting on it.
They're really excited that it's by a female artist.
They're thrilled that it's in a local building that they can walk to
or get the bus to.
So it is incredibly exciting.