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Listener Week, Albinism, Steampunk

Three women on living with albinism, costume designer and steampunk fan Jema Hewitt, contemporary print-maker Rushka Gray and single parent by choice Carol Fox.

For the first of our listener week programmes we hear the experiences of three women with albinism, an inherited condition that affects the production of melanin, the pigment that colours the skin, hair and eyes. Sarah Ballard, Louise Taylor and Sara Krishan - all at very different stages in their lives - discuss what this genetic condition has meant to the way they live and to those around them.

Meet Jema Hewitt, freelance costume designer and craft writer, with a passion for steampunk - a subculture inspired by sci-fi. Her alter-ego Emilly Ladybird joins Jane to discuss the appeal of a parallel universe with its origins in the Victorian era and the recipes inspired by it.

We join listener Rushka Gray in her studio where she uses Victorian machinery to create contemporary art as part of her MA in Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art.

Carol Fox discusses the decision she made to have a child using donor sperm and her now adult daughter's hope to discover her father and half-siblings.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Anne Peacock.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Mon 30 Nov 2015 10:00
Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4

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Chapters

  • Albinism

    Three women discuss what living with the condition Albinism has meant for their lives

    Duration: 13:41

  • Steampunk

    Jema Hewitt on her passion for steampunk - a subculture inspired by Victorian sci-fi

    Duration: 08:30

  • Artists In Their Studios - Rushka Gray

    Liz Leonard meets Rushka Gray, an artist who uses Victorian machinery for printmaking

    Duration: 11:38

  • Single Parent By Choice

    Carol Fox on her decision to have her daughter by sperm donor, and being a single parent

    Duration: 07:36

Albinism Fellowship

An organisation providing for people with albinism and their families.

NHS - Albinism

for people with albinism.

Credits

Presenter Jane Garvey
Producer Anne Peacock
Interviewed Guest Sarah Ballard
Interviewed Guest Louise Taylor
Interviewed Guest Sara Krishan
Interviewed Guest Jema Hewitt
Interviewed Guest Rushka Gray
Interviewed Guest Carol Fox

Broadcast

  • Mon 30 Nov 2015 10:00
    Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4

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  • Woman's Hour

    Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.