Programme
The Feminist Supermarket
“The lay-out is attractive and artistic in the extreme, and by the subtle use of colours and lighting, a very happy buying trend is introduced.” Self Service comes to Patrick Street, The Limerick Leader, 8 April 1961.
The history of the Ormston House building has long been an inspiration for our artistic programme, often reflecting the social, economic and political history of the city. Sixty years ago, Limerick’s first self-service store opened in Ormston House. Staffed by a mostly female workforce, the target customer was “the housewife”. When Jack Ormston donated marketing materials from the supermarket, we were struck by the slogan: “If you Hav’nt Visited us yet You’r Robbing Your Husband” [sic]. This prompted us to ask: What would a Feminist Supermarket look like? And how would that work?
Over the past four years, we have been researching these questions with artists, focused on residencies, community partnerships and participation. From this process, a range of activities and projects emerged under the umbrella of The Feminist Supermarket – creative workshops, commissioned essays, a mobile phone app, performances, recorded interviews, social activism, and virtual seminars. To mark our tenth anniversary, Ormston House proudly presents the first exhibition of The Feminist Supermarket with Ciara Barker, Denise Chaila and B+, Mary Conroy, Avril Corroon, Fiona Gordon, Zuhar Iruretagoiena, Ali Kirby, Niamh Porter, Fiona Reilly, and Lise Skou.
The exhibition draws on personal experiences and a range of research interests around diasporan histories and racial discrimination, ecofeminism and material waste, financial insecurity and housing conditions, mental illness and moral judgement, parenting and the spaces that women design for themselves. The artists use homegrown ingredients, supermarket goods, industrial materials, toxic by-products, as well as traditional media, to deploy different visual strategies. Through new commissions, displays and products, the Feminist Supermarket creates a chain of interconnected ideas and distinct contributions to feminist thought.
Acknowledgements
Ormston House is grateful to the artists and partners who contributed to the Feminist Supermarket throughout 2020 and 2021, including Farouk Alao, Ceara Conway, Edel Geraghty, LGBT+ Youth, Limerick Women’s Network, Breda Lynch, Sharon Slater, Piquant, and Fiona Woods. The Feminist Supermarket has also sponsored independent artist-led projects including Quaranzine edited by mother marx and Mankyy, and The Limerick Lady podcast hosted by Ann Blake and Emma Langford.
The Feminist Supermarket is curated by Mary Conlon and Niamh Brown. The exhibition will run until 4 December 2021. To book a curatorial tour, you can email us at info@ormstonhouse.com.
