a l t e r n a t i v e a r t s
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH in East London
1-31 March 2015
Women’s groups, artists, activists, performers, writers, arts, media and community organisations are celebrating WOMENS HISTORY MONTH in East London, and International Women’s Week in Tower Hamlets, with a remarkably diverse range of events and exhibitions.
ARTSADMIN
Toynbee Studios
28 Commercial Street E1 6AB
Aldgate East tube
www.artsadmin.co.uk 020 7247 5102
Thursday 12 March 7.30pm £5
STEAKHOUSE LIVE
Join Steakhouse Live for an evening of unusual performance in the Arts Bar & Café. There might be glitter, there might be pain, we might just have a cup of tea and a chat. Whatever happens, we know one thing for sure – it is going to be an unexpected ride.
Steakhouse Live is a women-led arts company who often curate pieces which interrogate gender.
Tuesday 17 March 6.30pm FREE
WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND THE ARTS: What can we learn from each other?
Artsadmin are inviting women from London-based businesses to join them in discussing ways that creative business and the arts can collaborate.
Artist Phoebe Davies will be drawing from her project Influences which started as a community arts project and has now flourished into a social enterprise, supporting the charitable beginnings from which it blossomed.
Thursday 19 March 7.30pm FREE
fanSHEN
In November 2013, fanSHEN embarked on a idealistic mission to transform the world into something to be experienced, rather than something which is consumed. We noticed how much of our lives we spent focussing on beginnings and endings. The middle bits – the journey – were getting lost somewhere along the way. You are invited to an evening that is part launch, part workshop, part chat. Being a human being is ample qualification to join us; you don’t need to be a professional artist. Expect gentle disorder, low-level craft activities, and a lucky dip.
BACKYARD COMEDY CLUB
231 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green E3 0EL
Bethnal Green tube
www.backyardcomedyclub.co.uk 07788 722907
Thursdays £5, Fridays £10, Saturdays £13 shows start 8pm
Tickets can be bought via the website
During Women’s History Month a number of brilliant female comics will be appearing at the club in our mixed bills.
Thursday 5 March
Tania Edwards – has been a finalist in countless comedy contests. You don’t get to be a serial finalist without some serious funny.
Thursday 12 March
Stella Graham – naturally funny stand-up comic and writer, with great gags and killer banter. Ballsy, intelligent and inappropriate, without the bullshit.
Thursday 19 March
Katherine Fearns – comes from Canada where she developed her confessional and brutally honest storytelling style of comedy, sweetly charming her audience with frank observations on relationships.
Friday 20 & Saturday 21 March
Diane Spence – has performed all over the world. Some people describe her as ‘charming, warm & friendly’ and ‘shocking, outrageous and filthy’, so it really depends on your personal taste.
Thursday 26 March
Hayley Ellis – her natural warmth and girl-next-door charm make her impossible to dislike.
Robyn Perkins – her charm and innocence juxtapose the subject matter at hand, resulting in a truly unique performance.
Stephanie Laing goofy and peculiar, her material is a mix of silliness, filth and unusual observations.
Friday 27 & Saturday 28 March
Tiff Stevenson – a stand-up comic, actor and writer. Known for her honest material and instantly likeable disposition.
Sunday 29 March 7pm £5/£3 concs
Suspiciously Cheap Comedy with MC Kiri Pritchard McLean, Kath Hughes of Gein’s Family Giftshop, Goose and the world famous mime artist ‘The Boy with Tape on his Face’.
BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE
230 Bishopsgate EC2M 4OH
Liverpool Street tube
www.bishopsgate.org.uk 020 7329 9200
Tuesday 3 March 7pm £5
GOING THROUGH THE CHANGE!
The London premiere of the film by Anne-Marie Sweeney made for National Women Against Pit Closures (NWAPC) showing a fearless, feisty movement that has reverberated throughout the struggles of working-class women over the past 30 years. Speakers at the premiere include Anne-Marie Sweeney (filmmaker), Brenda Procter (Chair of NWAPC) and Rose Hunter (Joint Sec of NAWPC)
Thursday 19 March 6.30-8pm £10/£8 concs
WAR AND PEACE
Led by social historian Dr Michelle Johansen this hands-on workshop event is a unique opportunity to explore the lives and experiences of ‘ordinary’ Londoners during war time through diaries, letters, photographs and ephemera held in the historic Bishopsgate library and archive collections.
Friday 27 March 1.05pm-1.55pm FREE no need to book
JACQUIN TRIO
Concert presented by the City Music Society with Jessie Grimes/clarinet, Kay Stephen/viola, Charis Hanning/piano.
As winners of the St Martin-in-the-fields Chamber Music Competition 2012 and finalists of the Royal Overseas League Competition, the Jacquin Trio are persuasive advocates of music for the distinctive combination of clarinet, viola and piano.
Sunday 8 March, Fridays 13 & 27 March
SOCIAL DANCING
Swing Pit 8 March 6.30-10.30pm £10/£8 concs adv £15 on door.
Grab your dancing shoes & Lindy Hop away at Swing Patrol’s largest Swing Pit venue. Take the beginner taster class at the start of the night and then enjoy the sounds of vintage DJs & live bands.
Bishopsgate Ballroom 13 March 7pm-11pm £10/£8 concs
Come and dance with friends old and new. You don’t need to bring a partner. You can wear whatever you like. With a taster lesson to get you started they’ll be playing the best Ballroom and Latin tunes to get you on the floor and keep you there!
Swing Den 27 March 7pm-11pm £8/£5 concs adv /£10 on the door
If you are new to swing dance and are looking for a social dance event to help you get started come along to the Swing Den. There’ll be a taster class at the start of the night and then assistants will be on hand throughout the evening to help you gain confidence and make your first steps. This is a night to just have fun!
COURSES
Bishopsgate Institute has a wide ranging programme of short courses in History, Photography, Film Studies, Languages, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Performing Arts, Meditation, Mindfullness, Yoga & Pilates. For further information see www.bishopsgate.org.uk/courses
CASS FACULTY OF ART, ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Foyer Gallery 59-63 Whitechapel High Street E1 7PF
Aldgate East tube www.thecass.com 020 7320 1903
2-31 March Mon-Fri 10am-8.30pm Sat 12noon-5pm FREE
ON BEAUTY
An installation of photographic portraits of women made by staff and students from the Cass whose approach to making work is as diverse as the women represented.
LMU Room 100 41-47 Commercial Road E1 1LA
Monday 9 March 6pm for 6.30pm screening FREE
LOOKING FOR LIGHT: JANE BOWN
A film by Luke Dodd and Michael Whyte.
A moving portrait of the photographer Jane Bown: her quiet determination working in an almost exclusively male world; her unique working method; how the sorrow of her early childhood informed her unique photographic style. She worked for the Observer for 65 years making unforgettable images of hundreds of subjects including Samuel Beckett, Mick Jagger, Queen Elizabeth II and Bjork, to mention a few. Using basic equipment and often relying on available light, she honed a deceptively simple technique to produce her highly distinctive and indeed iconic photographs.
CHISENHALE DANCE SPACE - by the Canal
64-84 Chisenhale Road E3 5QZ
Mile End tube
www.museumofwater.co.uk 020 7247 5102
Sunday 22 March World Water Day 10am-5pm FREE
MUSEUM OF WATER by Amy Sharrocks
A collection of publicly donated water and accompanying stories.
The Museum invites you to consider ways in which you enjoy water: do you swim in pools, do you splash in puddles, do you drink from taps?
We currently have over 580 bottles in the collection, ranging from water from a holy river in India to a burst London water main, a melted snowman, Hackney rainwater, a new born baby’s bath water to water from a bedside table said to be infused with dreams.
Choose which water is most precious to you. Find a bottle and put it in. Tell us why you chose this water. We will keep it for you.
Accumulating over two years in different sites worldwide, Museum of Water is an invitation to ponder our precious liquid and how we use it. For more information contact cat@artsdamin.co.uk
CLAPTON SALVATION ARMY
Art in the Community
122 Lower Clapton Road E5 0QR
Clapton Stn/Hackney Downs Stn
www.artographylondon.com 020 8985 3902
3 March – 9 April Tues-Thurs 9.15am-2pm Fri 10am-2pm Sun 10.30am-1pm FREE
HOW I SEE IT
Alix Edwards and Art in the Community
Large banner artworks exploring the colours & feelings of Spring.
Free arts workshop Friday 13 March 10am-12.30pm. Everyone welcome.
DARNLEY GALLERY
1a Darnley Road, E9 6QH
Hackney Central Stn/London Fields Stn
www.centreforbetterhealth.org.uk 020 8985 3570
23-27 March Mon-Fri 9am-5pm FREE
MMMother
Ruth Collins, Susan Collyer, Gabriela Fabrowska, Hester Jones, Alana Lane, Tracey McEachran
How do women view themselves? Having learned to identify through sex and gender we look at who we are and how much of this introspection feels synchronised with internal and external expectations. In its broad sense it is a response to the tension between the social construct and an individual reality of femininity.
ESPACIO GALLERY
159 Bethnal Green Road E2 7DG
Shoreditch High Street Overground
www.espaciogallery.com 07947 628694
3-15 March Tues-Sun 1-7pm FREE
REV IT UP
Tina Viljoen, Bridgitte Boldy, Laura Bello, Christopher Guest, Sally Grumbridge, Maureen Nathan, Isabella Fouque, Vera Akotuah, Elizabeth Power, Gabriela Giroletti, Marianne Frank, Rosa Cives, Lindsay Terhorst North, Valerie Montgomery, Renee Rilexie.
For Women’s History Month 2015, ‘Rev It Up’ reclaims a male – dominated phrase and gives it a feminist twist, celebrating the power of passions of women and unleashing a creative roar to blow away the cobwebs and frighten the horses.
Sunday 8 March Special event to celebrate International Women’s Day contact rilexie@gmail.com
FOUR CORNERS
121 Roman Road, Bethnal Green E2 0QN
Bethnal Green tube
www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk 020 8981 6111
Tuesday 10 March 6.30pm for 7pm start FREE
THE RUGGED ROAD: Two Hundred Years of Women Adventurers
Women throughout history have been explorers and adventurers, tackling enormous challenges and extreme conditions. Yet the names of Theresa Wallach, Florence Blenkiron, Annie Londonderry and Bessie Stringfield are buried in history while the names of Thesiger, Hillary and Fiennes are celebrated. Recently returned from hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Four Corners' Technical Director Lyn Turner will attempt to excavate some of the extraordinary feats of women adventurers who fearlessly bucked convention and set out to explore beyond the limits of their society.
To book a place contact: info@fourcornersfilm.co.uk
Friday 20 March 6.30pm for 7pm start FREE
HACKNEY FLASHERS: Work of a Women’s Photography Collective 1974-1980
Speakers: Sally Greenhill, Liz Heron, Michael Ann Mullen, Maggie Murray, Christie Roche, Julia Vellacott discuss their experiences working in a collective in the 1970s, with screening of work. To book a place contact: info@fourcornersfilm.co.uk
HACKNEY CENTRAL LIBRARY
1 Reading Lane, E8 1GQ
Hackney Central Overground
www.hackney.gov.uk 020 8356 3000
4 March-30 April Mon-Thurs 9am-8pm Fri 9am-6pm Sat 9am-5pm FREE
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT SUMMER
Alix Edwards
Installation and photographic images and painting exploring how we can create ‘beautiful’, ‘feminine’ images of protest that move people – and how we can translate inert static statistics into vibrant and emotive art.
A free workshop with Alix Edwards will explore the shapes and colours in this exhibition. Contact the library for details.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK IN TOWER HAMLETS
7-14 March
Women’s Groups across the borough will be celebrating with a wide range of activities following the theme of Find Your Voice. Organisations involved include Account 3, East London Chinese Community Centre, HEBA Women’s Project, Jagonari Women’s Resource Centre, Kollun, Leaders in Community, Limehouse Project, Lincoln Area Regeneration Group, Mohila Ongon Association, Muslim Women’s Collective, Nari Diganta, Neighbours in Poplar, Newlon Fusion and St Katharine’s Foundation, Poplar HARCA, Praxis, Simple Gifts: Unitarian Centre for Social Action, Spitalfields City Farm, St Hilda’s East Community Centre, Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, Women’s Health & Family Services.
Full programme available from info@alternativearts.co.uk
LON-ART Seeds of Creativity
www.lon-art.org 07446 612107
Sunday 8 March 1.30pm
WOMEN AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Sainsbury Wing Entrance, Trafalgar Square WC2N 5DN Leicester Sq tube
An introductory and interactive visit looking at gender and women’s roles in the history of art with art educators Maria Gonzalez and Jessica Jukes. Registration £5 email: info@lon-art.org
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM
Romney Road, Greenwich SE10 9NF
Cutty Sark DLR
www.rmg.co.uk 020 8858 4422
Monday 2 March 1pm FREE
THE QUEEN’S HOUSE QUEENS
Join curator Katy Barrett on a tour of the Queen’s House. Commissioned in 1616 by Queen Anne of Denmark, James 1’s wife, and finally finished around 1638 for King Charles 1’s Queen, Henrietta Maria. The tour will focus on Queens who have lived in the house.
2 & 9 March 2pm-3pm FREE
THE WOMEN’S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE 1917-19
Visit the Compass Lounge to view the Caird Library and Archives collection of manuscripts and photographs detailing the birth and short life of the First World War Wrens.
14 & 25 March 2pm-3pm FREE
AT SEA: A Portrait of a Scottish Fishing Community
Meet in the Museum Shop to join this talk to find out more about British fishing communities and the role that women played sustaining them. The session will start at the oil panels of ‘Working Boats from around the British Coast’ by Alan Sorrell before moving on to the Caird Library and Archive to look at Paul Duke’s series of photographs of a fishing community.
NSH ARTS GALLERY
439 Mile End Road, E3 4PB
Mile End tube
www.nsharts.org 077111 61377 www.variantspace.com
21 February – 21 March Fri-Sun 12noon-6pm FREE
CULTURAL BONDS Curated by Variant Space
Sanaa Hamid, Sara Foryame, Nasreen Raja, Farida Bhula, Romina Khanom, Yekinni, Nasreen Shaikh Jamal A Lail. Wejdan Rada, Taman Sheika, Shamsia Hassani, Ma Al Shazly, Daughters of Lahore (Afshan & Noshi Ejaz), Sarah Al-Derham, Nadine Ijewere, Zarina Muhammad, Sofia Niazi, Latifa Al-Darwish & Rouda Al-Meghaiseeb, Amani Alsaad.
Variant Space is a platform for female Muslim artists from diverse cultural backgrounds to showcase their work. As the media often misrepresents the social fluidity of such groups, Variant Space aims to reverse their assumptions, serving as a vehicle for empowerment, and sharing narratives authored by the individuals they represent. The exhibition focuses on the concept of ‘Cultural Bonds’. The artists navigate a range of identities – from Eastern to Western and beyond.
RICH MIX
35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch E1 6LA
Shoreditch High St Overground
www.richmix.org.uk 020 7613 7498
Friday 6 March 7.30pm £7/£5 concs Upstairs
TAMASHA presents MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS
Tamasha presents a special one-off showcase by two exciting new voices in theatre – Tuyen Do and Elena Procopiu, with new performances exploring the relationships between mothers and daughters specially developed for International Women’s day.
Friday 6 March 8pm £8 Upstairs
SCOTTEE: FRAFF – International Women’s Day Special
Fast paced poetry piss-up for those of us who don’t like poetry. Each month a bunch of performers who wouldn’t normally do this sort of thing for money give it a go. Curated and compered by Scottee – a dyslexic who thinks poems should rhyme. Featuring Jayde Adama, Barbara Brownskirt, Angel Rose, Amy McAllister.
Saturday 7 March 11am FREE, Evening concert 8pm £12/£10 adv Main Space.
ARAB WOMEN ARTISTS NOW (AWAN)
One day festival to celebrate International Women’s Day with spoken word, music performances, film and a panel discussion on the challenges faced by artists in their work.
Contemporary art exhibition in the Lower Cafe Gallery
5-28 March
Saturday 7 March 7.30pm £10/£8 concs Upstairs
DOUBLE BILL: IEVA KUNISKI’S ‘Women’s Tales’/RACHEL BURN ‘Threshold’
Ieva & Rachel take over the upper floor theatre and gallery for a relaxed evening of dance, art, music and poetry. The choreographers present their pieces and invite collaborators to share their work with them. Featuring Ieva Kuniski, Rachel Burn, Charlie Ford, Renu Hossain, Terry Braun.
Tuesday 10 March 8pm £14, £10 Adv/£5 concs Main Space
THREE 4 IN CONCERT
From Bach to Rachmaninov, come and enjoy a very special evening of glam-informal chamber music by some of the greatest composers with pieces introduced by the performers Kate Conway and Emma Dogliani
Friday 13 March 7.30pm £10/£8 concs Upstairs
IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
Hagit Yakera Dance Company
A poignant piece of contemporary dance delving into the very nature of human experience. At times heart warmingly light and playful, at times stark and deeply entrancing, the choreography moves us in very personal ways.
Friday 20 March 8pm FREE Main Space
MUSIC TO CHANGE LIVES
Shurer Dhara’s ‘Music for Development’ initiative has been life changing for the slum children of Dhaka. Culturepot Global presents a thought provoking talk by Rezwana Choudhury Bannya on this inspirational programme, following which she will unfold her repertoire of tagore songs and invite children on stage for a delightful performance of music & dance.
Saturday 21 March 7.30pm £12/£10 concs Upstairs
YERMA
Amina Khayyam Dance Co present a Kathak interpretation of Frederico Garcia Lorca’s anguishing story of Yerma, who suffers the heart breaking social torment of a childless marriage that forces her to commit a horrific and irrevocable act. Featuring Debasish Mukherjee, Lucy Rahman, Amina Khayyam.
Saturday 21 March 1pm FREE Upstairs
DOUBLE BILL: FADE TO BLACK and COUNTING STARS
Delving deep into the underworld of Britain’s nightclubs, Counting Stars examines the degrading working conditions of some of Britain’s most exploited people through the prism of the doomed love story of Sophie & Abiodun.
Fade to Black is a darkly funny urban fairytale which questions; what does it mean to be alive anyway? Featuring live music and developed in collaboration with people who have experienced depression. Preliminary research supported by the Tom McGrath Trust.
Featuring Lean O’Kassi & Athia Gupta
Thursday 26 March 8pm FREE Main Space
OFF THE GRID/KHIYO
Film documenting an island in Bengal, focussing on those battling the loneliness of a disconnected life. With Khiyo, a band giving Bengali heritage music a London sound. Q&A with film director Meghna Gupta after the film’s screening. Also featuring Sohini Alam and Oliver Weeks.
Saturday 28 March 7.30pm £10/£8 concs Upstairs
SHOW ME THE EDGEWARE ROAD
A moving, funny and poignant look at the lives and experiences of Middle Eastern women exiled in London. Five leading female Middle Eastern artists, based in the UK, conspire to unveil the discord and harmony of mixing saffron and wine. Featuring Houda Echouafni, Alia Alzougbi, Rajha Shakiry, Mojisola Adebayo
Sunday 29 March 3pm & 7.30pm £8/£6 concs Upstairs
OF BLOOD AND FIRE
As part of Freedom Week, Komola Collective bring to life some of the diary entries of Jahanara Iman, a Bangladeshi writer and political activist. ‘The Mother of Martyrs’ as she is popularly known, for her campaign to bring to trial the war criminals of the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. Featuring Sohini Alam & Leesa Gazi.
TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY LIBRARY & ARCHIVES
277 Bancroft Road E1 4DQ
Stepney Green tube
www.ideastore.co.uk/local-history 020 7364 1290
Thursday 5 March 6.30-7.30pm FREE
GRANNY’S GIRLS: Archive film screening
The 60s were just beginning to swing when the BBC broadcast this documentary about the lives and relationships of women from a close-knit Bethnal Green family. This 30 minute film will be followed by the opportunity to discuss the changing roles of local women.
Saturday 7 March 1pm-4pm FREE + complimentary refreshments.
WOMEN IN THE ARCHIVE: Open Day and Zine Workshop
-Opportunities to browse through historical photographs, documents, newspaper clippings, audio recordings and much more which illustrate the variety of women’s lives in the East End over the last 150 years.
-Zine Workshop – this is your chance to add to our archive of women’s history in Tower Hamlets. Drawing on original photographs, newspaper cuttings and archive material, create your own Zine about a local woman or an aspect of women’s history or experience, for permanent preservation in our collections. A Zine is a home-made magazine, creative skill is welcome but not at all necessary. All materials supplied.
TOWER HAMLETS IDEA STORES
www.ideastore.co.uk 020 7364 2649
The Idea Stores are presenting a series of events on the theme of Women in War
IDEA STORE BOW Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm
1 Gladstone Place, Roman Road E3 5ES 020 7364 5775
IDEA STORE CANARY WHARF Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am -5pm, Sun 12-6pm
Churchill Place E14 5RB
2-31 March FREE
JENNY MATTHEWS PHOTOGRAPHY ‘Women in War’
Throughout the whole of March the Idea Stores in Bow and Canary Wharf will be hosting an exhibition by the radical woman photographer Jenny Matthews who has been documenting social issues since the early 80s. As a feminist she has felt it important to record women’s lives and their struggles. In recent years this has led Jenny to photograph the effects of war on women in other parts of the world. Jenny will be giving a talk at the Idea Store in Bow.
IDEA STORE CHRISP STREET
1 Vesey Path, East India Dock Road E14 6BT 020 7364 1506
Sunday 8 March 2pm-4pm FREE
NURSE EDITH CAVELL Film Screening
Anna Neagle stars in this film about Edith Cavell, the British Nurse celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping over 200 soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War. Her subsequent execution by the German’s received worldwide condemnation. Presented on International Women’s day.
Thursday 19 March 6.45-8pm FREE
East London was the hub for Sylvia Pankhurst’s suffragettes and the fight to gain the vote for women. On the occasion of Women’s History Month, author and tour guide Ian Porter talks about these momentous events, focussing on the places in Tower Hamlets that acted as a backdrop to this historical struggle.
Tuesdays 2pm-3.30pm FREE
STORIES OF WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR ONE
Sit back and relax as we read the work of female writers and poets who wrote about life during World War One. Enjoy an interesting discussion over tea and biscuits, whilst gaining valuable insight into this transformative period of history.
3 March – Vera Britten; extract from ‘Testament of Youth’
10 March – Pat Barker; extract from ‘Regeneration Trilogy’
17 March – Louisa Young; extract from ‘My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You’
24 March – Female Poets and Poetry
31 March – Willa Carthe; extract from ‘One of Ours’
IDEA STORE WHITECHAPEL
321 Whitechapel Road E1 1BU 020 7364 4332
Thursday 5 March 10.15am-12noon FREE
BOOK BREAK
Join the regular attendees of Book Break, a time of shared reading and discussion of short stories and poetry for this special session on Women and WW1
Wednesday 18 March 7pm-8.15pm FREE
POETRY GROUP
Join the regular attendees of Poetry Group, a time of shared reading and discussion of high quality poetry for this special session on Women and WW1.
Tuesday 24 March 4pm-5pm FREE
GIRLS BOOK CLUB
Come along and join in reading War Girls, a collection of short stories by famous authors such as Anne Fine and Adele Geras, about the effect of WW1 on women.
COURSES
Come into an Idea Store and enrol for Idea Store Learning Courses 020 7364 5665 www.ideastore.co.uk
WORLDWRITE CENTRE
Millfields Lodge, 201 Millfields Road E5 0AL
Hackney Central Stn, Bus 242
www.worldwrite.org.uk 020 8985 5435
Thursday 5 March 7.30pm FREE
SYLVIA PANKHURST: Everything is Possible
Documentary film tracking the life and impact of East End heroine Sylvia Pankhurst. A famous suffragette, internationalist, anti-imperialist and communist, the film brings to life her ideas, campaigns and politics. The film is packed with facts from primary sources, rare images from museums and archives, interviews with historians and compelling testimony from Sylvia’s son Richard Pankhurst and his wife Rita.
GET ACTIVE
There are a wide ranging number of important issues confronting women today – so get active and join a campaign or start your own! Here are a few suggestions and organisations that can help:-
End Female Genital Mutilation www.endfgm.eu www.theguardian.com/end-fgm
Who Needs Feminism www.whoneedsfeminism.com
No More Page 3 www.nomorepage3.org
Daughters of Eve www.dofeve.org
Everyday Sexism www.everydaysexism.com
Loose the Lads Mags www.losetheladsmags.org.uk
Demand the Impossible www.demandimpossible.wordpress.com
Counterfire www.counterfire.org
Object www.object.org.uk
Equality Now www.equalitynow.org
End Violence Against Women (EVAW) www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk
Million Women Rise www.millionwomenrise.com
Black Feminists www.blackfeminists.org.uk
Just the Women www.justthewomen.com
The Women’s Room www.thewomensroom.org.uk
Karma Nirvana www.karmanirvana.org.uk
Occupy www.occupylondon.org.uk
Muslim Women’s Network UK helpline www.mwnhelpline.co.uk
Change www.change.org
London Feminist Network www.londonfeministnetwork.org.uk
UK Feminista www.ukfeminista.org.uk
The Fawcett Society www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
Women’s Resource Centre www.wrc.org.uk
Equality and Human Rights Commission www.equalityhumanrights.com
Women’s History Month in East London is co-ordinated by Alternative Arts www.alternativearts.co.uk info@alternativearts.co.uk
TOWER HAMLETS SPORTS DEVELOPMENT
8-14 March Sport4Women
www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/sports 020 7364 2433 / 07956 456743
In celebration of women/girls we present a special series of sports/leisure activities across Tower Hamlets.
Sunday 8 March 12noon-2pm FREE
Mile End Stadium, Rhodeswell Road E14
Mother & Daughter Ride with Tower Hamlets Cycling Club
To book places email towerhamletscyclingclub@yahoo.co.uk
Monday 9 March 5.30-9pm Entry £3.40
Whitechapel Leisure Centre, 55 Durward Street, E1 5BA
Basketball, Badminton, Circuits, Dance Aerobics, Fitness Challenge, Football and Free Beauty Treatments.
Tuesday 10 March 4pm-9pm MAIN EVENT FREE
York Hall Leisure Centre, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green E2 9PJ
Cardio Tennis, Bokwa, Zumba, Badminton, Table Tennis, Aqua Jog, Water Aerobics, Smoothie Bike, Fitness Challenge, Cheerleading, Bollywood Dance, Beauty Treatments.
Wednesday 11 March 5pm-8pm FREE
Splash Youth, Tower Hamlets, Community College, 116 Poplar High St E14 0AS
Football, Badminton, Basketball, Beauty Treatments
Saturday 14 March 10am-2pm
Mile End Leisure Centre, Burdett Road E3 4HL
Women and Girls Basketball Tournament. Only £8 to enter per team.
WHITECHAPEL GALLERY
77-82 Whitechapel High Street E1 7QX
Aldgate East tube
www.whitechapelgallery.org 020 7522 7888
Open Tues-Sun 11am-6pm Thurs until 9pm
Friday 13 & Saturday 14 March 11.30am-6pm £25 for 2 days £15 for 1 day
ABSTRACT ART AND SOCIETY Symposium
An in-depth exploration of abstract art over the last 100 years to today. The discussion will exlore how abstract art has been used to envisage change in societies globally. Speakers include Tanya Barson, Curator, Tate; Briony Fer, Professor of Art History, UCL.
Thursday 19 March 7pm £6.50 Creative Studio
AMALIA PICA: ABCABC, A READING
The artist’s new immersive event centres on an abstract film by Rafael Ortega, made from her work A B C, and a performed narration.
Thursday 26 March 8pm £6.50 Zilkha Auditorium
SPIN THE SIGNS
Caroline Bergvall, writer, invites radical DJs to the finale of her residency with writer and cultural critic Sukhdev Sandhu as MC for the night.
Saturday 28 March 3pm £6.50 Zilkha Auditorium
ANNA PARKINA: THE DREAM OF THE VOLUNTEER
Playing with light and shadow, the Russian artist weaves the performer’s body together with image and fabric. With music by pianist Sophie Agnel.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
On the First Thursday of every month, over 130 galleries and museums in East London come together and run free events, talks, workshops, private views and exhibitions, during a special late opening until 9pm. Find out what’s on this month at www.firstthursdays.co.uk
IDEA STORE WHITECHAPEL
321 Whitechapel Road E1 1BU 020 7364 4332
FILMS
Monday 9 March 6.30pm (1st floor) FREE
A Very Long Engagement / Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles (2004)
French 133mins Cert 15 English subtitles
This film tells the story of a young woman’s relentless search for her fiancé, who disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Thursday 12 March 7pm (1st floor) FREE
Many Wars Ago / Uomini Contro (1970)
Italian 101mins Cert U Dir: Francesco Rosi English subtitles
On the Trentino front where the Italo-Yugoslar armies were facing the onslaught of Austro-Hungarian gunfire, a disastrous attack upon the enemy position leads to a mutiny among the decimated Italian troops.
Monday 16 March 6.30pm (1st floor) FREE
The White Ribbon / Das Weisse Band, Eine Deutsche Kindergeschicte (2009)
German, 144mins Cert 15 Dir: Michael Haneke English subtitles
In a north German village before WW1 strange events happen to certain individuals which could be ritual punishments for injustice. The abused and suppressed children of the villagers seem to be at the heart of this mystery.
EAST END WI
Gallery Cafe St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road, E2 9PL
Bethnal Green tube www.eastendwi.co.uk 07834 714765
Sunday 8 March 7.30pm FREE
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CONCERT
An evening of live music with amazing up and coming female singer songwriters Alice Barlow, Katherine Abbott, Priscilla Andersohn.
BIDDLE BROS
88 Lower Clapton Road E5 0QR
Hackney Central/Hackney Downs Station
www.cookiesjam.wordpress.com 07506 272519
Monday 23 & Monday 30 March 7pm-8pm Donations
HOT CHICKS AND TOUGH MAMAS
Performance by Angela Andrews sharing the stories of three women from the worlds of Jazz, Dance & Music. An autobiographical fantastical free flowing amalgam of Angela’s Life and tales told to her by veteran performers of the Jazz age. This is a piece of work in progress. After the performance there will be a taster dance lesson and Q&A session.
MUSEUM OF LONDON DOCKLANDS
No1 Warehouse, West India Quay E14 4AZ
Canary Wharf tube/West India Quay DLR
www.museumoflondon.org.uk
Saturday 7 March 10am-4pm FREE
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION
Join us in the Docklands to celebrate the women of London with lots of fun family events for all ages.
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/event/war-girls.htm 020 8876 3444
Tuesday 10 March 2pm FREE
WAR GIRLS – POETRY & PROSE BY WOMEN IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
War Girls is compiled and performed by actress Ruth Sillers in conjunction with an exhibition curated by the National Archives. Originally compiled and recorded as an audio CD, War Girls is a very powerful and moving anthology of women’s accounts of the First World War – letters, diaries and poetry. Some are the writings of well – known poets and novelists but many are of ordinary women living in extraordinary times.
WOMEN OF THE WORLD FESTIVAL 1-8 March 2015
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road SE1 8XX 020 7921 0713
Celebrating our Fifth Birthday
A packed programme of talks, debates, workshops and panels as well as a separately – ticketed series of evening events. Further details can be found at www.southbankcentre.co.uk
HOXTON MINI PRESS
Collectable books about East London
ONE DAY YOUNG by Jenny Lewis
Foreward by Lucy Davies
Published 12 March 2015
£12.95 Standard Hardback Edition
£45 Collectors Edition with limited edition print signed by artist.
Photographer Jenny Lewis has devoted the last five years to photographing Hackney mothers and their new born babies within 24 hours of their birth. Her aim was to pass on a powerful message that childbirth is a positive experience and nothing to be feared. The project has now been brought together in a new book, One Day Young, which is the latest addition to Hoxton Mini Press’s East London Photo Stories Series.
WOMEN’S SHORT STORY Competition
1st Prize £2,000. Closing date 16 March 2015 01912 048860 www.mslexia.co.uk/shortstory
ARVON residential creative writing courses
An annual programme of week-long courses at four remarkable houses in Shropshire, Devon, Yorkshire and Inverness-shire. Tutored by leading authors and offering the opportunity with workshops and individual tutorials for time and space to write. Grants are available to help with courses fees.
READING MATTERS:-
When I Grow Up I Want To be Mary Beard / Megan Beech/Burning Eye
This Changes Everything / Naomi Klein/Allen Lane
Eleanor Marx: A Life / Rachel Holmes/Bloomsbury
Austerity Bites / Mary O’Hara
Feminist Arts Manifestos: An Anthology / KT Press published as an ebook www.ktpress.co.uk
Supported by Tower Hamlets Council, Alternative Arts and all the participating venues, projects,
artists and performers.
