Grumpy Fannies Philosophy

The Grumpy Fannies project is a reclamation of the unreasonable angry woman, who indulges in gossip and granny-like activity. Only a small percentage of angry or unfiltered female experiences is exposed within Fine Art. Grumpy Fannies is action in creating and consuming space for women who want to take it and fill it with whatever they want!

The Grumpy Fannies is a textile crochet/knitting project for people who identify as women to sit down and create collaborative sessions driven by the participants. These weekly sessions are inspired by “mothers’ meetings” a place where women come to sit and gossip while taking part in some activity like drinking tea, knitting or reading etc. Gossiping is a term used by both men and women to enforce the patriarchal structure. However, the practice of gossiping is an exchange of information. Gossiping allowed men and women to learn more intimately about social structure and their own place within society, swapping information on whatever was going on around them. Not only did this exchange provide information but meant that depending on who a person was exchanging information with they could gauge their character and agender highlighting peoples’ beliefs and values. However, this gave women access to knowledge so was quickly policed by the term gossiping which permitted men and women. Gossiping meant women could then monitor one another and place guilt and shame into a shallow and ugly habit.

Each session will be creating a textile work between all women who participate while the final work intends to consume space and be taken seriously as an artwork the making is also fundamental in our reclamation. The sessions will be structured on women talking in whatever way they please whether that be ranting, gossiping, crying or laughing… yet the conversations and exchanges that take place will not be dictated by learnt shame but rather organic feminine indulgence of whatever they want. The current project is on going....