A living museum at the heart of your community, dedicated to the work of the botanical artist
Marianne North
Marianne North HQ is a community interest company and an exciting new venture to bring the world of the celebrated Victorian artist to life through a series of creative arts and educational projects.
Blending immersive technology and active participation to educate and inspire.
Marianne North (1830-1890)
Marianne North was a visionary Victorian artist, biologist, and intrepid traveler who defied the conventions of her time to document the world’s flora. Unlike many of her contemporaries who painted "ladylike" watercolors of isolated specimens, North traveled mostly alone, using bold oil paints to capture plants within their natural ecosystems across six continents.
Following the death of her father in 1869, North used her inheritance to fund a series of ambitious solo expeditions. Between 1871 and 1885, she visited 17 countries, including Brazil, Japan, India, and Australia, often navigating difficult terrain to reach rare botanical subjects. Her work was so scientifically precise that it served as a vital record in an era before color photography; several plant species and the genus Northia were subsequently named in her honor.
Our Team
Sophie Ansar MA
Director / Founder
Director, Founder, artist and photographer, Sophie is the captain of our MNHQ ship. The driving force behind the project, she has been researching Marianne North for 8 years and counting.
Her work has been in French vogue and exhibitions alongside David Lynch. She won best female photographer in Europe in 2000.
Her Marianne North-inspired montage was chosen to be exhibited in Hastings Contemporary’s first open exhibition, OPEN ODYSSEY 2026, out of 2,500 entries across Sussex, by a star-studded judging panel including Chris Packham and Fiona Banner.
She was the only Hastings-based artist to be selected.
Teri Sayers-Cooper
Director
Teri Sayers-Cooper is a creative practitioner and community arts specialist with over three decades of experience designing and delivering inclusive, people-centred projects. Her work sits at the intersection of creativity, community development, and social impact, using the arts as a powerful tool to bring people together, amplify voices, and inspire change.
With a background in arts management and extensive experience across local authorities, charities, and grassroots organisations, Teri has developed and led a wide range of initiatives, from participatory workshops and festivals to creative learning programmes for families and underserved communities. Her approach is rooted in collaboration, often using facilitation methods such as Asset Based Community Development and Open Space to enable participants to shape and own creative outcomes.
As the founder of Creative Force CIC, she has championed accessible arts opportunities, particularly in areas experiencing social and economic disadvantage. Her work prioritises inclusion, ensuring that people of all ages and abilities can engage meaningfully in creative activity.
Teri’s practice is defined by its warmth, adaptability, and strategic insight, combining artistic vision with practical delivery to create projects that are both imaginative and impactful.
Christine Blakemore
Director
Marianne North’s very own great-great niece! Just like her great-aunt, Christine is creative and adventurous, with a flair for performance and an eye for all that glitters. Oh, and she throws the best parties you’ll ever go to. (Trust us, we know.)
Star Arkana
Young Ambassador
Star has been researching Marianne North for nearly a decade and considers herself to be a world expert on the subject.
In her spare time, she is also an artist, musician, writer, serial bookworm and person-who-loses-her-glasses-a-lot.
She studied Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and has experience with both volunteering and performing at local festivals and events.
She has gone into local primary schools to give Marianne North talks and presentations, incorporating songs into her teaching methods to make education more fun and accessible for the children.
Star is also Young Ambassador for The Bright Foundation, and has been volunteering with them for three years.
Community Benefits
We are a community interest company bringing the life and legacy of Marianne North to new audiences through creative arts and educational projects.
Rather than operating as a traditional museum, we function as a living museum, delivering workshops, events and community programmes that explore Marianne North’s art, travels and contribution to natural history.
Our work connects history, art and nature while making heritage accessible and engaging for the wider community.
13 June – 13 September 2027
Marianne North: Star of Wonder Exhibition
We are delighted to announce an ambitious new exhibition for 2027 - the first immersive exhibition of its kind in Hastings.
At its heart is a remarkable painting held in the collection of Hastings Museum and Art Gallery: Damascus by Marianne North. This panoramic work becomes the starting point for the exhibition - a visual gateway into Marianne’s journey through the Holy Land.
Marianne North: Star of Wonder invites audiences to travel alongside her, following the path she took with her father during her time living in Hastings. Drawing on rarely seen material, the exhibition will bring together unseen works alongside a newly developed immersive experience.
Rather than presenting the work as a traditional display, the exhibition unfolds as a journey - moving through atmosphere, sound and space. Architecture, landscape and light emerge from Marianne’s paintings, allowing visitors to step into her world.
The experience will include live and performative elements inspired by the cultures encountered along her route - moments of music, movement and celebration that bring the journey to life.
This is a new direction for the project, expanding from research into a fully realised public experience.
Hastings Lodge
Marianne North HQ is located within the artist's former home.
Hastings Lodge served as the foundational sanctuary for Marianne North during her formative years. This grand residence, set within extensive and lush grounds, was where North’s obsession with the natural world first took root. Growing up in a household frequenting by intellectual elites and scientists, she spent much of her youth exploring the estate’s gardens, which provided her first subjects for botanical study.
Get in Touch
Please contact us by email - contact@mariannenorthhq.com - for further information on forthcoming events or projects or check the website for latest news.
Registered Office: 3 Marianne House 77 Old London Road Hastings TN35 5PQ