Rachel and Molly

Recent alumnae successfully launch feminist-surrealist publication: The Debutante

Recent alumnae Rachel Ashenden (English Literature, 2017) and Molly Gilroy (English Literature, 2018) fell in love with surrealism whilst studying at the University of Exeter and since graduating have collaboratively launched The Debutante, a feminist-surrealist art publication - which is now sold in numerous bookshops across the world. We recently caught up with them to find out more.

The co-founders and co-editors of The Debutante, Rachel and Molly, found their passion for surrealism during their studies at Exeter whilst undertaking Dr. Felicity Gee’s module ‘Surrealism and its Legacies’. This module had a profound impact on them both, and encouraged by Felicity’s inspiring methods of teaching, they both developed an avid interest in uncovering the lives and legacies of women surrealists. As it turns out, so many people across the world shared their interest, and they wanted to create something tangible for this community.

Whilst at University, they also were both involved in Exposé, the University of Exeter’s free and independent student newspaper, produced entirely by and for students every fortnight. Rachel worked in the role of Print News Editor and Molly in the position of Online Film editor in their respective final years of study. Their involvement fuelled their ambition and work ethic to get involved in self-publication, which would serve them well with launching The Debutante. After they graduated from Exeter, they both coincidentally relocated to Scotland and first of all began working on a surrealist blog.

In the summer of 2019, the two of them saw the documentary on Penny Slinger, ‘Out of the Shadows’ at Filmhouse in Edinburgh. Penny was visiting to take part in a Q&A after the screening, and they leapt at the opportunity to share a cup of coffee with her afterwards. Rachel and Molly said that: “We asked Penny if she had plans to publish her latest poetry. She said: ‘Yes, if there was a feminist-surrealist publication.’ We got the hint. That’s when we decided to launch The Debutante project. We wanted something in which we could platform other contemporary writers and artists, affiliated, either consciously, or unconsciously with surrealism. It’s also about making art history accessible and introducing surrealism to new audiences beyond the academy. We want The Debutante to become a part of surrealist art history too.”

In terms of how they put the content together for each edition, The Debutante strives to be ‘collage-like’ in its approach and submissions are accepted and encouraged from both writers and artists - whether that be flash fiction, poetry, prose or painting, collage, or sculpture. There is also lot of editing and shuffling around of pieces within the magazine; they want to make sure the framing and placement of the features contributes to an overarching narrative. Sometimes, Rachel and Molly know exactly where they want to feature an artist and whose work they want to come before and after it.

The issue 01 call for contributors was very open, as they wanted to see what the feminist-surrealists’ out in the world wanted to express. For issue 01, they framed  their submissions with the creation of our own ‘Feminist-Surrealist Manifesto’, as a way of introduction to their readers of this movement, re-dressing Andre Breton’s original ‘Manifesto of Surrealism’ (1924) almost a century on from its publication.  For issue 02, they wanted to explore a more specific theme:

“We are incredibly proud of the current issue, especially with its international approach which weaves reflections on the female surrealists of the period, whilst championing contemporary feminist-surrealist artists. ‘Feminist-Surrealist Odysseys’ explores the journeys contemporary artists take across borders, seas and inner psychological landscapes to explore their own sur-reality, alongside confronting ecological and transnational crises. For ‘The Feminist-Surrealist Manifesto’, we collaborated with Dr. Kelsey Ashe, artist and curator, to lead on our international contributors. As our Overseas Editor, Kelsey was able to reach out to artists such as Lucille Martin and Jo Darbyshire, which was a great asset.”

Rachel and Molly are currently looking ahead to arranging their third issue of The Debutante alongside their online webinar series, MUSES REDEFINED, and their intersectional reading group. When we asked them what their hopes and plans for the future currently were they said: “We’d love to organise more in-person events in the future, once it’s safe to do so. At the start of 2020, we launched The Debutante at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art amongst their surrealism collection. In celebration of International Women’s Day 2020, we collaborated with Cinetopia to host ELECTRIC MUSES at Leith Theatre, and curated a feminist-surrealist short film programme for this. These events feel like a lifetime ago.

“It’s hard to talk about our ambitions for the future because we’re unsure of the full impact of the pandemic on the arts. However, we’re ambitious people, and we want to keep The Debutante going. Not only because it keeps us going but also because feminist-surrealism is a hopeful movement. One of our contributors told us that issue 02 ‘opened up horizons’ for them during dark times. If we can keep doing that, we’re happy.”

The Debutante aims to engender a new movement of feminist-surrealism. It is a non-for-profit publication with funds directed to the next issue. Both co-editors have full time jobs elsewhere. The second issue of The Debutante is just out - available as a print or online copy. You can visit the website to find out more.

Date: 23 November 2020