Costume design exhibition explores tropes about women with disabilities and chronic illness

Thanet-based costume designer and textile artist Katie Hogben is presenting a brand new costume design exhibition as part of her creative project, Breaking Apart the Sick Girl Trope.

The exhibition will run from Thursday 27th October to Wednesday 2nd November at Pie Factory Margate.

Breaking Apart the Sick Girl Trope is an art project exploring tropes in storytelling associated with women who have a chronic illness or disability. It looks at all forms of storytelling – including novels, short stories, plays, poetry, film, TV, fine art, and video games.

The project started in early 2022 with five free creative online discussion sessions for women and non-binary people with personal experience of chronic illness or disability, investigating common ‘sick girl’ stereotypes that are damaging, and proposing authentic alternatives.

The project’s climax is a free entry exhibition at Pie Factory Margate. Visitors will be able to see costumes created specifically for the exhibition visualising common damaging tropes and authentic experiences of women with a chronic illness or disability.

There will also feature artworks from women and non-binary people who took part in the creative sessions, presenting their own examples and interpretations.

The exhibition will include quotes from literature and examples of famous paintings that present damaging tropes, as well as a handling collection so you can see and feel up close some of the details of the costumes presented.

There will also be an online version of the exhibition for those unable to travel to the gallery space in Margate.

Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Frances Dade and Bela Lugosi in Dracula

Katie Hogben is a costume designer, textile artist, writer and producer. Since 2010 she has led on costume design and production on more than 20 theatrical productions, films and photoshoots, receiving training at London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins. She has an MA in Screenwriting from the National Film and Television School. Katie also works in arts marketing, her experience including Thanet’s own Power of Women festival, Turner Contemporary and Philharmonia Orchestra in London.

In her creative work, Katie has a particular interest in the experiences of the most vulnerable in society. In 2012, Katie set up the project Revealing the Invisible, which explored the aspects of chronic illness that are invisible, such as Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue, Brain Fog and Depression, through fine art exhibitions, writing and film.
Find out more about Breaking Apart the Sick Girl Trope and artist Katie Hogben at www.thesickgirltrope.wordpress.com