by Iona Wallace
Over the last year, I have had the chance to once again work with Hannah Frank’s work through
a project facilitated by the artist’s niece, Fiona Frank, in collaboration with Finley White & Meg
Gray who I have worked with on previous projects,and Mieke Cable-Henrichs (who has worked
with Fiona Frank before but this was my first time collaborating with her).
Our goal was to curate a permanent exhibition of Hannah Frank’s work using the archives held
at the care home she had lived in.
We wanted to tell a story using as few words as possible- Hannah’s art progressing and
changing overtime from her very early works such as Fairies in a Wood (1925) to her later
works Dream (1952); with her sculpture works completed from 1952 when she shifted to
working exclusively in sculpture throughout the rest of her life present throughout the exhibition.
The sculpture breaks from the timeline format present in the drawing and print works but shows
the similar motifs present throughout Hannah’s works and the imagery she returned to over the
course of her artistic career.
We were immensely lucky in this process as the care home has such a wealth of Hannah’s
works stored within the attic, meaning we had no shortage of material to work from and a huge
amount of freedom over what could be included. Further materials such as Hannah’s old books
that Fiona had donated to the Scottish Women’s Library and a huge archive of family photos
and artifacts kept in the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, provided an incredibly personal touch
to the gallery.
Although the gallery is of Hannah’s works we also had the chance to include some artistic
responses to her works by the late Myra Ostaccini and Brazilian artist Artur Soar. These works
are both beautiful tributes to Hannah Frank’s art and a deeply touching element of the gallery.
Underpinning everything we did within this gallery was a commitment to the truth of the space
we were working with: it is an active and functioning care home, people live and work here and
need to be able to continue to do both. In curating this exhibition we needed to respond to that.
A traditional gallery space allows for a great deal of freedom in what can be produced and
displayed but can also be unwelcoming or difficult for people to navigate. It was a challenge to
work within a space with a primary purpose that is not the display of artworks but it was one
which allowed us to work differently and incorporate different kinds of materials (i.e. printing
plates, books, family photographs).
Deviating again from a traditional gallery format, we sought to use as few words as possible
throughout the gallery. Large and wordy text panels were not an option in staircases and
thoroughfares as these spaces needed to still function, additionally we were aware that text
panels may also make it difficult for some of the care home’s residents to be able to fully interact
with the gallery. There is a minimal use of text and instead the works tell the story visually,
Hannah Frank’s artistic career developing as you move through the space. The subtleties of her
development from works with black as a dominant colour to bolder and brighter prints where
white becomes the dominant colour become clear in this format and do not need to be
explained in text form.
For us as curators, our history working with Hannah Frank’s work has made us well equipped to
deal with spaces that aren’t what is imagined when you say “art gallery”. In 2020 and early 2021
I was part of a team that worked on a feasibility study of how we could find a way to share and
display art during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following this, in Summer 2021, we delivered a talk
at the Aran Art’s Symposium over Zoom and as part of the Govanhill Art Festival curated an
outdoor exhibition of Hannah Frank’s work. This exhibition was a trail of Hannah’s works
throughout the Govanhill area, where Hannah lived when she was young, where each work was
hosted by a local business and could be experienced independently or as part of a small group
tour.
Our project this time around has been a beautiful development of several years of work with
Hannah Frank’s work, through university and beyond into our lives beyond that. It built on things
we have been working on for several years and allowed us to explore different elements of her
work- we have not been able to incorporate sculpture into previous projects or make a space
that allowed for such an in depth and intimate look at Hannah’s life and art.
Above all, having a permanent space with solid walls eliminated many of the challenges we had
in the past and created some new ones to work with.
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Hannah Frank’s drawing and print works are high contrast in nature, this is part of her stylistic
appeal and also greatly lent itself to the space we were working within. With clear contrasts and
boldly defined shapes their impact is not lost if viewed from a distance and is also more suitable
to some visual impairments.
Our inclusion of the printing plates and the sculptures within the alcoves allows for a tactile
experiencing of the artworks as well as visual. Moon Ballet, for example, has the print on the
second stairwell and the printing plate on the landing just before this.
Those with visual impairments can engage with this space and are encouraged to touch the
printing plates and sculptures and have a mode of engagement that suits their needs. The
printing plates allow you to feel out the lines of the works they represent, Hannah’s work being
monochromatic also means there would only be one printing plate hence the full image is
present. (In work with two or more colours, the printing process would necessitate as many
different printing plates as there are colours, therefore making the tactile element less
accessible).
In the space we created, engagement with the works, touching the plates and sculptures are all
welcomed. It allows for a different mode of engaging with the art on display than is typically
found in many large scale galleries and one which is better adapted to the residents of the care
home who will be living alongside the gallery.
To celebrate and formally open this space, we had an opening event in May. This allowed us all
to come together to discuss Hannah’s life & works and to see the final product of a great
amount of work. Throughout this whole experience the support of everyone involved has been
foundational to its success, so celebrating this together felt like a fitting way to open the space.
This was a truly transformational and unique experience for me, it is not every day you get to
curate an art gallery which such wide freedoms and supportive backing. I’ve been incredibly
lucky to have these opportunities to continue to work with Hannah Frank’s work and to have
been able to interact with such a large archive containing so much of her life and work.
Iona Wallace
July 2025