Wimples, crosses, and lepers Women of influence – Margaret Hansen Photo: Margaret Hansen
This week on Regional Wrap we go to Gisborne where exhibition Wimples, crosses, and lepers Women of Influence has just opened at Tairāwhiti Museum.
Makarori painter Margaret Hansen's latest work celebrates the lives of two aunts who were Catholic nuns.
Hansen has also written a book by the same name about her two aunts Marie and Alice, and her own musings growing up Catholic.
Marie and Alice were born in the early 20th century and they served in different orders - The Sisters of Compassion and The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary. It has taken Hansen 10 years of research to write about their history and illustrate with paintings.
As she painted and wrote, Hansen has rediscovered family secrets and stories as well as her own childhood memories.
