Best ways to celebrate Women’s History Month 2022
Women’s History Month is a time for us all to celebrate and learn about the histories, stories and experiences of women in the East End and beyond. From comedy sketches, to poetry workshops and all female sound systems, here’s a roundup of events to keep you busy throughout Women’s History Month this March.
Talks
Feminism, Photography and Resistance talks by Four Corners
This programme of online talks accompanies the gallery’s spring exhibition, Photographing Protest: Resistance through a feminist lens, and explores the relationship between photography and resistance from a feminist perspective. The programme includes four online talks throughout March and April, inviting various female artists and activists from around the world to take part in the discussions. All talks are free and will be held online. More information can be found here.
The experience of British Bangladeshi Women and Covid online talk
Brought to you by the BritBanglaCovid and Swadhinata Trust, this event aims to get British Bangladeshi women talking about their experiences during the pandemic for the purpose of reflection and healing. There will also be a discussion about the challenges ahead from different perspectives with writers, medical practitioners, experienced experts and community leaders. The event will be held on Sunday 13 March at 3pm. Book online for this free event here.
Films
Make Up film screening at Genesis Cinema
This International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8 March), Genesis Cinema and Cinesisters are partnering to present a special screening of Claire Oakley’s compelling debut film, Make Up. The film will be preceded by the presentation of two short films by Clare Macdonald and Aleksandra Czenczek, and the event is being held in collaboration with and supporting Solave Women’s Aid charity. Book your tickets here.
Championing women in film at The Castle Cinema
To celebrate Women’s History Month the Castle Cinema will be screening a number of films from around the world and across the ages that feature talented women in front of and behind the camera. Check their website for the full calendar of screenings.
Workshops & Activities
She’s a Hedonist: Poetry Workshop at Poplar Union
As part of Poplar Union’s Women in Focus festival, join writer and performer Laura Wyatt O’Keeffe, for this workshop using poetry, pop songs and post-it notes to explore female identity, the labels we are given and the stories we choose to tell about ourselves. Developed with a CBT practitioner and award winning poet, this workshop is a collaborative and joyful celebration of female power. Book your tickets for Sunday 13 March here.
Mohila Ongon Association International Women’s Day Celebration at the Brady Arts & Community Centre
This year’s theme is Break the Bias. There will be performances of live music, drama and dance by local women, a confidence building workshop, Zumba tasting session, a raffle, children’s art activities, face painting and games. A free lunch for the first 200 people will be given out on a first come first served basis. This action-filled event takes place on Sunday 13 March. Register for free here.
Arab Women Artists Now Festival at Rich Mix
Arts Canteen presents Arab Women Artists Now (AWAN) Festival – showcasing music, performance, spoken word, film and talks from Arab women artists from across the globe. Returning to Rich Mix for its seventh year, the AWAN week-long festival features an eclectic range of events from DJ sets to film screenings from 3 – 12 March. Check out the full programme and book your tickets here.
Magic Me present: Generation Rebellion – The Power of Intergenerational Activism at Poplar Union
Generation Rebellion brings together older and younger women from East London to explore being a team of women activists; redefining how generations can support each other to tackle the climate crisis. Join them on Thursday 24 March for a film screening, workshop and Q&A to encounter fresh perspectives and discover the power of intergenerational activism. Book tickets for this free event here.
Exhibitions
Women’s History Month Photo Show at the Brady Arts & Community Centre
This exhibition run by Alternative Arts includes portraits and images of women at work and play, at demonstrations and celebrations, exploring their identity and history. Included are: Sarah Ainslie’s images of women working in local food banks; Four Corners contributed archive images of women’s film and photography workshops from the 1970s; and, Jenny Lewis exhibits her portraits from her One Hundred Years project capturing one hundred women in the East End of London from the age of One to One Hundred. The show is running throughout March. Register here.
Photographing Protest at Four Corners Gallery
Four Corner Gallery’s new exhibition showcases striking images by female and non binary photographers from across generations, who have used their cameras to support political struggle and social change in Britain from 1968 to today. The show poses a challenge to the male-dominated history of protest reportage and asks what this means for the representation of resistance. The exhibition runs from 18 March – 30 April. Entry is free and no bookings are required. See more info here.
Fireflies at Autograph Gallery
Indian artist and activist, Poulomi Basu, uses photography, video and sound to explore the relationship between mother and daughter, navigating themes of trauma and defiance centred around patriarchal violence. The artist and her mother feature prominently in the collection, oscillating between lone figures and delicately composed portraits in which their bodies embrace. The exhibition runs from 4 March to 4 June. Book tickets for this free event here.
Good for Girls exhibition at St. Margaret’s House
Created in collaboration with Trapped in Zone One and curated by Mae Shummo, this exhibition showcases artwork by girls aged 10-14 from Tower Hamlets who attended creative workshops responding to this year’s International Women’s Day theme #BreakTheBias. The works will be displayed in St. Margaret’s House’s Gallery Cafe from 1-31 March. More information about the artwork and its creators can be found here.
Arts & Culture
Lady Lane Takeover at Canvas Café & Creative Venue
For three days only, from Thursday 10 – Saturday 12 March, Lady Lane Market and Lady Lane Kitchen will be taking over the Canvas Café & Creative Venue for a diverse three course dining experience combined with stalls and workshops from inspiring local women who all make their own goods. Lady Lane Market and Kitchen is London’s first women-led market, set up in Tower Hamlets to provide a supportive environment that encourages women from all backgrounds to trade at street markets and pop-ups. See more event info here.
Music & Theatre
Aliki Chapple in association with LittleMighty presents, 666 Comments at Poplar Union
In October 2010 cartoonist Gabby Schulz posted a comic strip on his website about online sexism. Over the next three days the comic went viral and the comments went bananas. 666 Comments is an attempt to stage that comment thread. Hilarious, provocative and occasionally plain terrifying, 666 Comments brings the virtual world into astonishingly vivid reality. Book tickets for this performance on 10 March here.
Women in Soundsystem: Seduction City Sound at Grow Hackney
Get down to Grow, Hackney on the 12 March for an all day/night dance at their canalside venue with an all female line up curated by Seduction City founder Marilyn Dennis, aka Lady Banton. With over 34 years DJ/Selector experience, Lady Banton started DJ’ing in the mid-eighties in North London, and Seduction City Sound remains one of the only female run soundsystems. Find out more here.
Samba De Raiz UK: International Women’s Day Special at Poplar Union
Celebrate International Women’s Day through music, culture and community with a return of the authentic, Brazilian, Roda de Samba on Sunday 20 March. Immerse yourself in traditional, old school samba music from the first half of the 20th Century, before orchestras, electric instruments and pop influences were incorporated into the genre. Find out more and get your tickets for the whole family here.
