Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery in Truro hosts the iconic dress during January 2027, with various events and interactive opportunities scheduled to take place during the exhibition. As part of this wide-reaching programme, the museum’s creative response will be led by Community Artist Bec Applebee, who has been commissioned to lead a collaborative project reflecting the spirit of The Red Dress and framing it in a Cornish context. The Rudh (‘red’ in Cornish) project will result in a cape created out of a series of patches embellished with the work of many hands, to be unveiled at the end of the exhibition.
Bec explained further: “Our starting point will be looking closely at the dress itself, but we’ll also take inspiration from elsewhere in the museum, including the incredible Mineral Gallery. By exploring ideas around Cornwall’s history, landscape, nature, culture and identity, I’m hoping to draw out two things alongside participants – what is at the heart of Cornwall for them, and what do they hope for in the future.” Community groups will be invited to take part in the workshops in order to create the cape, with some open to members of the public too; all public workshops will be free of charge with a suggested donation for participants keen to support the ongoing work of the museum. Emma Gibson, Programme and Engagement Manager at Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery, said: “We’re excited to be working with Bec, an experienced community artist, to deliver this participation project and we can’t wait to see the results. It’s the perfect continuation of the themes of The Red Dress Project as whole – community, creativity, and storytelling – and we know that Cornwall has so much to offer on all those fronts.”
