Pat Farrell-Frederick highlights ageism in artwork

After teaching the technical aspects of textiles for what seems like a lifetime, a retired Pat Farrell-Frederick is now taking her love for art to a new level by addressing social issues.

The 77-year-old recently had one of her pieces on show at the Rotunda Gallery in the DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality exhibition in commemoration of International Women's Day. Her piece titled Senior Women Can Code, focussed on the issue of ageism - the stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination towards others or ourselves based on age.

"The older folks are often left behind regarding technology, but many still have the will to learn. These senior ladies have mastered binary coding and have presented themselves in a matrix showing off their hats proudly. They have overcome contempt in the form of ageism – (You too old to learn anything) and have outsmarted the adage 'You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.' Yes, our generation can learn and function in the new normal world," Farrell-Frederick said in her artist statement.

She hopes that her participation in the DigitALL exhibition can serve as inspiration for other people in her demographic – the dinosaur era – as some young people describe it. She believes it is important that people understand the necessity to confront their fears and areas of insecurity. She said although she still struggles with a lot of the technology, she has overcome quite a lot of it, and explained that this was the reason for submitting Senior Women Can Code for the exhibit. She said when she saw the call for submissions from the gallery, she told herself, “Aha! Here’s my chance maybe to put something out there that would tell older, senior ladies that they can do this.”

But this is not her first piece to be exhibited at the Rotunda Gallery. She said she has had pieces there almost every month for the past two or more years, and even at this stage she continues to be a mentor to less experienced artists and to encourage young people to get into her particular genre – the use of textile and fabric. The range, type and texture of fabrics she uses is unlimited, as she utilises whatever is available, as well as what is most suitable for the particular piece.

Over the years her work has been shown at many other exhibits, the first being in 2007 at the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago. This was also the first time that she sold a piece, defining her professional entry into the art world as a fibre/fabric artist.

Farrell-Frederick considers herself to be a creative, more specifically, a fibre/fabric artist, and her activities and environment easily bear this out. She told WMN cannot recall exactly when she made her initial entry into the world of fine art, but she feels like it was always a part of her life. She has had an interest in creative things for as long as she can remember, and the years that she spent as a lecturer at the John Donaldson Technical Institute afforded her the opportunity to share this love for art.

“I love teaching, I love teaching my subject area, I love giving the knowledge...But I’ve done art all my life, and I’ve tried many different mediums. I’ve tried everything – watercolour painting, pottery, oil painting, everything. All these forms of expression, even from when I was quite young have framed my world, I just love art.””

She recalled that while there she taught a course called Applied Art which introduced students to the concept of colour integration in clothing, posters and other elements.

“That, I also loved, because I like creativity and I also wanted them to understand that it’s really good to be creative.”

Satisfaction for a teacher often comes from seeing their students succeed, and Farrell-Frederick said she has maintained contact with several of her students who have themselves since gone on to teach as well.

Even her academic background speaks to art, being the holder of a first degree in Clothing and Textiles. Much of the content of the programme was science based with a heavy focus on chemistry, so it gave her a greater understanding of how the fabrics she would work with could be integrated into her art. Her inspiration, she said, comes in many ways. And while themed exhibitions such as the DigitALL exhibition challenge her in a different way because they offer direction in terms of what her design would look like, her imagination and her immediate and virtual environment are usually her sources. She said international artists who specialise in her preferred medium also form an element of inspiration.

And because many people still do not recognise her genre as "legitimate art,” she continues to lobby for its recognition and acceptance; hence her deep appreciation for the Central Bank of TT acquisitions of two of her pieces from a past exhibit, now on display at the bank. This stands out as one of her proudest moments as a professional artist.

“I consider this to be my greatest achievement, because it means I’ll go down in history.”

Farrell-Frederick is a member of the National Art Association and Women in Art, and will host her fourth ‘solo’ exhibition in October, at Arnim’s Art Galleria in Woodbrook. In addition, she’s in the process of writing her memoirs aimed at passing on her knowledge to her two children and grandchildren, as well as aspiring artists and supporters of her work and her journey. The consummate creative, she was anxious to add to the list that she also weaves using a variety of looms, and also integrates her woven work into her art.

”And this is why I did this piece, I am 77 years old, ah too old to be hiding mih age,” she said with a laugh.

Follow Pat Farrell-Frederick on social media @patfarrellfrederick