She was born into a life of immense wealth and privilege but revelled in issues her peers were “ignorant or afraid of.”
Scots novelist and playwright Naomi Mitchison wrote more than 80 books and her work is lauded for being ahead of its time, exploring themes of self-determinism and equality across gender, race and class.
Now, a new exhibition celebrating the life and work of the Edinburgh-born social justice campaigner, who died in 1999 at the age of 101, is to open in Glasgow in the autumn.
Her London home was a haven for creatives and saw the company of writers such as Aldous Huxley, W.H. Auden, E.M. Forster and Wyndham Lewis.
However, she spent the latter half of her life in Carradale, on the eastern shores of the Kintyre peninsual, where she was heavily involved in local life and the politics of the small fishing communities of the Clyde.
She had an incredible life
The exhibition is the culmination of free, community arts workshops that were held in Carradale,Tarbet and Glasgow.
The three locations mark the traditional fishing route along the Clyde to The Briggait, which once served as Scotland’s largest fish market and is now operated by Wasps as a major arts centre.
The workshops were led by award-winning artist Rhona Taylor - a Wasps tenant herself - and the Clyde Fisherman’s Trust as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories.
In each location, the artist worked with local adults and children to explore and respond to different elements and themes in Naomi Mitchison’s work and discuss the relationship between the Clyde’s rural and urban areas.
“Naomi Mitchison wasn’t just a prolific writer, but was a lifelong campaigner and also did some amazing work bringing contemporary artworks to schools in Argyll,” said the artist.
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“She believed that art shouldn’t be confined to big cities, which I couldn’t agree more about.
“She had an incredible life, and lived much of it in Carradale, so it’s great and very fitting to be working with people in her local communities on this project.”
Educated at London’s Dragon School, where she was the only girl, she married married Gilbert Richard (Dick) Mitchison in 1916 while he was briefly home from fighting in Flanders.
Her husband's life peerage in 1964 entitled her to call herself Lady Mitchison, but she never did.
During the interwar period she had seven children – five surviving beyond childhood – and wrote 25 books.
She was a practical feminist and while writing helped run the North Kensington Women’s Welfare Centre, a contraceptive clinic. She also stood – unsuccessfully – as a Labour councillor.
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Her 1935 book We Have Been Warned examined feminism, communism and socialism, and it was noted for its unflinching look at free love, sex, rape, and the use of abortion in lieu of suitable contraception.
The book was initially rejected and was finally published in a heavily censored form.
Naomi’s socialist leaning grew from the brutality of the war, the many deaths of her friends and the knowledge that she and her company were truly privileged.
She travelled to Russia with her husband in 1932 to experience Marxism first-hand – where she found the women as tied by traditional expectations as they were in Britain.
In 1937 the Mitchisons moved to the Carradale Estate where she involved herself in all aspects of running the estate including driving tractors, hauling nets and sitting on the Highland Panel where she was regularly frustrated by the dismissal of her “female voice”.
She wrote extensively about her experience of living and working within a small fishing community.
When asked on her 90th birthday whether she had regrets in life, she replied, "Yes, all the men I never slept with. Imagine!".
The exhibition opens on Sunday September 18 and will feature a collective sculptural installation incorporating the creative contributions of the community groups.
Marie Christie, Head of Development at VisitScotland said: “We are delighted to be supporting Clyde Fisherman’s Trust project through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund.
“Events play an important role in our communities as they sustain livelihoods and help to celebrate and promote our unique places, spaces, and stories.”
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