Written out of history? is an event in association with the Alliance of Jewish Women and their Organisations (AJWO).
Women didn’t get obituaries in newspapers of record. Positions of high office didn’t bear their names. They may have been written out of conventional history, but as you walk the paths of Willesden Cemetery it’s apparent much can be discovered about their lives and times.
Join Hester Abrams, Curator and Project Leader of the House of Life, for this talk to mark Women’s History Month. Hester will share some of the research that has fed into the new exhibits and displays at the House of Life heritage experience and will highlight outstanding women whose influence is still felt today.
Hear about translators and poets, a scientist, an actress, an artist, a benefactress, a letter writer and a Suffragette, among many others. Sign up to the event to find out who they are.
Biography
Hester Abrams has been leading the project to transform Willesden Jewish Cemetery into a public heritage site since 2016. She has shaped the visitor experience, overseen the work of staff, consultants and volunteers and led fund-raising and marketing. As curator, she has uncovered the majority of research into the cemetery and written new permanent displays, developed guided walks and produced events and exhibitions.
In previous lives Hester was Director of Jewish Book Week and a Reuters correspondent.
Hester will be joined by Dr Nadia Valman, Professor of Urban Literature at Queen Mary, University of London, who will be offering some remarks after the presentation.
Nadia is an Advisor to the House of Life and author of, among other works, The Jewess in Nineteenth Century British Literary Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Eliza Davis
