Exhibition features 20 'incredible' women

The artist behind an exhibition honouring 20 "incredible" women whose achievements have shaped history said it was "very exciting" to see it on display.

The women have been depicted in a series of portraits by Doncaster-based artist Chinwe Russell, and are being showcased at Streetlife Museum in Hull.

Marie Curie and Florence Nightingale are among the women featured, along with women whose stories are less well-known, such as Josephine Cochrane who invented the dishwasher.

Russell said: "The idea behind it is to show what women are capable of achieving around the world when given the opportunity to do so."

Russell said she was inspired to produce the collection after she watched a TV series based on Hürrem Sultan, who started life as a slave but went on to become an Ottoman queen.

She said: "I wanted to find other women like her, and that's how this exhibition came about.

"It's a body of work celebrating incredible women from around the world who have battled against all odds to change their circumstances."

Russell said she felt it was important to include well-known women in the collection, but also women whose stories might be less well-known.

They include Marie Maynard Daly, the first African American woman to get a PhD in Chemistry in the US, and Maria Montessori, who developed a child-centered approach to early childhood education.

Russell said it was "very good" to see the collection "so close to home again."

The exhibition, 20 Historical Women Who Changed the World, will be on display at Streetlife Museum in Hull until Sunday 12 April.

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