During the pandemic, Katrina was part of a network providing practical and emotional support for local residents. As a Community Producer for the arts and heritage CIC Strike A Light, she led the establishment of a Westgate residents group and organised a large scale folk based community event, empowering people through art, empathy and compassion. She is now working on a project based at the Folk of Gloucester (a folk community hub), connecting the residents of Westgate with Strike a Light CIC and providing food for the community. 

In this image, Katrina combines her love of Gloucester’s history - in particular it’s powerful women such as the 10th century Queen Aethelflaed (also known as the Lady of the Mercians) - with an exploration of her own Irish heritage and personal history. 

She is wearing armour donated by the Folk, to reflect the steeliness shown by the people of Gloucester during challenging times over many centuries.

It has often been women who have carried the burden of care for others, and fought for change in ways that haven’t been recognised or celebrated officially. Katrina has represented this by bringing both strength and gentleness to the image.

Her armour and sword is balanced by a pair of delicate wings, hand made by her friends, Tink and Bronte Voice.

This faerie imagery is a nod to Queen Mab, a powerful figure in both Irish and English mythological traditions. Shakespeare described her as the ‘fairy’s midwife’, assisting with the birth of dreams and visions of the future. 

“That’s who I am, personally. I can be a bit of a fairy, and I like that side of me, I really do... We can lose that [fantasy] side from life because we’re adults and working and things are so serious… I like to embrace it and keep it as much as I can.”

A small pelican brooch represents a popular local pub, The Pelican (known as ‘The Peli’) on St Marys Street. This is an important meeting place for Westgate Street residents, with local stories connecting the pub to Sir Francis Drake. Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I also sometimes contained pelican symbols, representing both strength and maternal love.

Katrina stands next to the boating lake in Westgate Park, close to both the River Severn and Alney Island wetland nature reserve. A place of fun and recreation for Gloucester’s residents since Victorian times, this is one of Katrina’s favourite spots to rest and be close to nature. It’s presence in the photo shows both her own love of the water, and the importance of waterways in Gloucester’s history.

For centuries, Westgate Street was a main entry route for trade from the River Severn, and its buildings reflect this rich history, from post-war flats to Tudor merchant shops to the Roman street below. You can find out more about the street’s secret history in this short film created for Gloucester History Festival. 

Dreams, strength, kindness and the currents that connect us - this is a portrait of community on Westgate Street.