Domestic Dusters Curated by Vanessa Marr from dusters embroidered by women from across the globe

Women and domesticity — what's your perspective? Artist and academic, Vanessa Marr, has asked this question since 2015 and has invited women from across the world to embroider their responses onto dusters. Those displayed here are a selection from more than 800 contributions.

The project, curated by Vanessa and embroidered by women from across the globe, explores women's lived experiences and expectations of care, mental load, and the sharing — or not — of housework.

Each hand-stitched duster tells a story of rage, celebration, frustration or family. They include memories of mothers and grandmothers, tales of violence and homelessness, and reminders of both privilege and hardship.

This project fights against the tyranny of the kitchen sink through storytelling, stitching and activism.

Visit the Domestic Dusters project website for more information. Vanessa will be lecturing in St Andrews on Thursday 20 March 2025 at The Gateway, sharing insights into her stitch-based approach to research, work that resists gendered expectations of domesticity and positions embroidery and commonplace household cloths as the catalyst for feminist and change-making conversations. Find out more about the storytelling through craft lecture. Vanessa will also take part in a panel discussion on Saturday 8 March at the Wardlaw Museum.

You can also follow the project on Instagram: @domesticdusters.