WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH in East London 2025

“Women have always been an equal part of the past, JUST NOT AN EQUAL PART OF HISTORY” the author Gloria Steinem has observed. Women’s History Month provides an opportunity for contemporary women artists, activists, writers and performers to present a diverse programme of events and exhibitions celebrating women in galleries, studios, venues, libraries and institutions across East London. Please make sure you can access them by checking with the projects directly. These programme details and updates can also be found online at www.alternativearts.org.uk

44 Copperfield Road E3 4RR Mile End tube, Limehouse DLR
www.acme.org.uk 020 8981 8811
Acme is a charity that provides artists with affordable studios, live/work spaces and a programme of artists support through residences and awards.

The following artists have chosen to be part of Women’s History Month:-

Caroline de Lannoy works across painting, text, sound and video exploring time, space and perception through a language of abstraction. She creates compositions that draw upon the spectrum of sensory perception and feelings, highlighting conversations between the visible and invisible. www.carolinedelannoy.net and www.instagram.com/carolinedelannoy/

Julie Pickard studied sculpture and painting. Her work has followed a meandering line, recording events, explorations and emotions from memories to free-improv/ music/musicians, sounds from trees, sky and wild animals. www.juliepickard.com

Victoria Helena Open Studio
Sun 9 March 12noon-3.30pm
Studio U, 15 Orsman Road N1 5RA Haggerston Overground
Victoria Helena has a multi-disciplinary practice investigating how we confront our own powerlessness in face of cataclysmic events, wrestling with the human condition on the brink of ecological, technological and psychological event horizons. A myriad of textures challenges the traditional notions of sculpture. www.victoriahelena.com

Rivington Place EC2A 3BA Shoreditch High Street Overground
https://autograph.org.uk 020 7729 9200
ABI MOROCCO PHOTOS: Spirit of Lagos
Until 22 March Wed-Fri 11am-6pm, Thurs til 9pm, Sat 12.30pm-6.30pm FREE
This exhibition captures the rich style and joyous spirit of Lagos in the 1970s through portraiture, documentary and street photography. Funmilayo Abe specialised in portraiture, documentary and street photography. Between 1967 and 1970 she apprenticed with a local female photographer known as ‘Nike Photo’ in Shogunle, where she honed her skill and enjoyed the solitude of the darkroom. Gaining respect in her community as a talented photographer, Abe established several studios from 1964 to 2021 both independent and with her husband John Abe.

Silk Street EC2Y 8DS Barbican/Moorgate tube www.barbican.org.uk 020 7870 2500
The Curve
CITRA SASMITA : Into Eternal Land
Until 20 April Mon-Sun 11am-7pm FREE
Citra Sasmita, an Indonesian artist, has her first solo exhibition in the UK: a new commission titled Into Eternal Land. Working across painting, sculpture, installation, embroidery and scent she invites visitors on a symbolic, multi-sensory journey through the 90 metre-long gallery to explore ancestral memory, ritual and migration.
Barbican Hall
KIM DEAL
Sat 1 March 8pm Tkts from £35
Alternative Rock icon Kim Deal makes her Barbican debut with Nobody Loves You More, her highly anticipated solo album. Accompanied by an ensemble.
MARIA SCHNEIDER + Oslo Jazz Ensemble
Sun 2 March 7.30pm Tkts from £20
Maria Schneider presents music from her critically acclaimed 2020 album Data Lords alongside the 19-piece Oslo Jazz Ensemble.
CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA with Katia and Marielle Labeque.
Sat 8 March 7.30pm Tkts from £15
Conductor Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic return to the Barbican for a 2-day residency of Shostakovich, Mozart and Mahler, joined by pianists and sisters Katia and Marielle Labeque who will perform Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos.
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA conductor Barbara Hannigan
Thurs 13 March 7pm Tkts from £18
The London Symphony Orchestra with Barbara Hannigan conductor and soprano singing and conducting in Britten’s sensuous Les illuminations joined by Stephane Degout baritone. Barbara Hannigan also conducts Roussel’s Le festin de L’araginee, Ravel’s Histories naturelles and Haydn’s Symphony No 104.
Thurs 20 March 7pm Tkts from £18
The London Symphony Orchestra with Barbara Hannigan conductor and soprano singing and conducting Claude Debussy’s Luonnotar, Claude Vivier’s Orion, Haydn’s Symphony No 39, Bartok’s The Miraculous Mandarin, joined by Gareth Davies, LSO Principal Flute.
The Barbican has many more wonderful women performing during March. Find them on the website.

230 Bishopsgate, Spitalfields EC2M 4QH Liverpool Street tube/rail
www.bishopsgate.org.uk 020 7392 9200
ARCHIVE TOUR Feminist and Women’s History
Wed 5 March 6.30pm-8pm Tkts £11/£5 concs
Join Colleen Goldspink, Library and Digital Archives Manager, to hear about feminist activists and organisations and tour the Women’s Feminist History Collection.
THE DANCE PROGRAMME at the Institute also provides a great opportunity for you to learn and enjoy Latin, Ballroom and Swing.
Find out more at bishopsgate.org.uk/whats-on/search
The Institute believes everyone’s history should be valued, and their special collections and archives document the people who have campaigned for social, political and cultural change.

www.blowthefuse.com
THE NON CONFORMISTS
Wed 19 March. Doors 7.30pm, Music 8pm Entry £12
Ryan’s Bar, 181 Stoke Newington Church Street N16 0UL Stoke Newington Stn
Swing, Latin and World influences. Soak up the vibes in this cosy basement bar.
DEIRDRE CARTWRIGHT’S ORGANIK TRIO
Fri 28 March Doors 7.30pm, Music 8.30pm-10.30pm Bar till 11pm
Tkts from £16 https://wegottickets.com/event/644808
St Mathias Hall, Wordsworth Road N16 8DD Dalston Kingsland Overground
A new trio led by guitarist Deirdre Cartwright with Pete Whittaker Organ and Gary Hammond Congas/percussion. Sounds of the classic jazz organ/guitar trios of the 1960s plus some original takes on the Beatles, Doors, Curtis Mayfield and Kate Bush.

192-196 Hanbury Street E1 5HU Whitechapel/Aldgate East tube
http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/arts 020 7364 7000
A TEAM ARTS EDUCATION Mothers, Daughters & Sons Workshop
Sat 8 March 12noon-4pm FREE
We are inviting Mothers with their daughters & sons to explore this year’s International Women’s Day Theme Accelerate Action by sharing skills in textile crafts and embroidery to create a celebratory artwork, focusing on the nature we find around us. Come and make artworks that will form part of an exciting community project by sharing and learning traditional textile crafts, creating a positive sense of community and belonging through visual story telling whilst chatting to other women in a relaxed workshop. Please book your place with Sarbjit Natt at ateamartseducation@gmail.com 07956 377537
TOWER HAMLETS WOMEN’S SPRING OPEN EXHIBITION
7-29 March Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 10am-4pm FREE
Celebrating the talent and creativity of local women artists. Including work in a variety of mediums from artists of all ages and from all sections of the community, alongside work by experienced artists and those exhibiting their work for the first time. This show is a real eye-opener.

11-17 Stoke Newington Road N16 8BH Dalston Kingsland Overground
Tickets and full programme at https://earthhackney.co.uk 020 8167 2029
EartH is an arts and creative hub with three distinctive venues under one roof, EartH Theatre, EartH Hall and EartH Kitchen.
MICKY OVERMAN comic
Sat 8 March 6pm-10.30pm
NADIA REID singer/songwriter
Mon 10 March 7pm-10.30pm
SWIFTOGEDDON – The Taylor Swift themed Club Night
Fri 28 March 10pm-3am

School 360, Sugar House Lane, Stratford E15 2QS Stratford tube/Pudding Mill Lane DLR
www.hidden-histories.org 020 8553 3116 / 07411 536339
EAST LONDON WOMEN & MUSIC
During Women’s History Month we want to uncover the hidden histories of women in music across East London from the past to the present. The stories of women provide us with the most valuable insights of the past and we want to help preserve and archive your experiences. So whether you are a woman who has worked as a DJ or producer or performer, photographer or attended a local concert or club night we want to hear from you about your experiences across the East End.
Please contact us on 020 8553 3116 or Naz@ech.org.uk to share your story.

234 Brick Lane E2 7EB Shoreditch High Street Overground
www.eastendprints.co.uk 020 7241 1118
1-31 March Open Tues-Sun 10am-6pm
Featuring empowering quotes, inspiring feminist icons and gorgeous typography our WHM collection is all about celebrating our growing collection of female artists and their contributions to East End prints. View our collection and bring some female fire into your home.

www.eastendwomensmuseum.org
A public history project recording, sharing and celebrating women’s stories and voices from East London history and the present day. We are working towards opening a permanent home but in the meantime we are a kitchen table museum who also put on events, exhibitions and make resources available for women’s groups, schools and colleges to use.

Bethnal Green Library, Cambridge Heath Road E2 0HL Bethnal Green tube
www.exiledwriters.co.uk 020 8458 1910
REWRITING THE STORY: Refugee and Migrant Writers Speak Out
Sat 8 March 10am-4pm Tkts £12 & £8 for Exiled Writers Ink members
Featuring: Marsha Glenn, Maria Bravo Calderara, Valentina Montaya Martínez, Rouhi Shafii, Shirin Razavian, Karen Babayan, Nashwa Nasreldin and more.
This International Women’s Day, propelled by our values, the EWI will be honouring the accomplishments of migrant and refugee women who translated the injustices they encountered into a story of empowerment. Following a scintillating discussion on the acceleration of women’s emancipation, we will celebrate our collective achievements to date with poetry readings and music.

Sojourner Truth Centre, 161 Sumner Road SE15 6JL Peckham Rye/Queens Road overground
www.feministlibrary.co.uk 020 7261 0879
Open Tues 11am-5pm, Wed 1pm-7pm, Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 1pm-4pm ( Bookshop)
The Feminist Library is a large archive collection of feminist literature, particularly Women’s Liberation Movement materials from the late 1960s. We support research, activist and community projects. The Library is run by volunteers and does not require registration or membership. Search our online catalogue, explore our collection and find out more about our activities and events.

www.5050Parliament.co.uk
50:50 Parliament is a charity, working to build a better democracy. We are a friendly network here to help more women progress in politics at a local and national level and run an inclusive, intersectional campaign working with all the political parties to empower women with our #AskHerToStand and #SignUpToStand programmes. We invite everyone to support our work and join our mailing list via our website.

Dalston CLR James Library, Dalston Square E8 3BQ Dalston Junction tube & overground
GIRL MIGRANTS IN EAST LONDON: Journeys of Resilience, Struggle and Empowerment
Sat 15 March 2pm Book via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/girl-migrants-in-east-london-journeys-of-resilience-struggle-empowerment-tickets-1206924326149
Eithne Nightingale, author of Child Migrants (www.childmigrants.com) in Modern Britain: Oral Histories 1930s – Present Day and Margaret Andrews, author of Becoming Fowokan: The Life and Works of Fowokan George Kelly; discuss the experiences of young girls who have migrated to East London and the reason for their departure.
Followed by readings, film clips, discussion with the audience and book signings.

291 Mare St E8 1EJ Hackney Central overground
www.hackneyempire.co.uk 020 8985 2424
MISSING ME?
6-7 March 8pm Tkts from £27.50
Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver present their first ever live show. The lifelong friends will be bringing their opinionated and sharp conversations to the stage and taking your questions live and direct.
BALLET BLACK
13-15 March 7.30pm Tkts from £15
Ballet Black returns to the Hackney Empire with an exciting new double bill including a darkly comic adaption of Oyinkan Brathwaite’s international best selling novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer; and Chanel DaSilva making her British choreographic debut with Shadows delving into the profound practice of shadow work.
Ballet Black has transformed the landscape of British Ballet, creating a prominent platform for dancers and artists of Black African descent as well as establishing a new canon of ballet repertoire that resonates with audiences around the world.

The Tower Theatre, 16 Northwold Road N16 7HR. Stoke Newington Stn
https://howl-uk.org
HOWL: History of Women’s Liberation
Sat 22 March 2.30pm-4.30pm Donations welcome
This is a drop-in event to record your memories of the Women’s Liberation Movement with members of the HOWL organising group. We are collecting these memories for our website and wish to record, in your own wo rds, the rich, united, divided, contradictory, joyful, difficult, amazing, ordinary and banal years of the WLM. This is our story, our history. So come along. Bring your own memories and memorabilia, chat with older feminists, and be prepared to record your story – we can provide some prompts to help you.

1 Reading Lane, E8 1GQ London Fields/Hackney Central overground
www.hackney.gov.uk/museum 020 8356 2509
THE THREADS THAT BIND US: Textiles inspired by nature and made by local communities with Cordwainers Grow.
Until 7 June Tues-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Thurs til 8pm, Sat 10am-5pm FREE
This exhibition, curated in collaboration with Cordwainers Grow, will explore three textile projects that empowered hundreds of people to connect with their local communities, nature and the spaces around them.
SAMPLERS AND SCHOOLGIRLS: Hackney’s Female Academies in the 17th Century
Talk by Dr Isabella Rosner Thurs 27 March 6.30pm FREE Book via Eventbrite
In the 17th Century, Hackney was the centre of education for middle and upper class girls from the City of London and beyond. Referred to as ‘The Ladies University’, it was here that the girls were taught a variety of practical skills and artistic accomplishments. This talk by Dr Isabella Rosner will explore the surprising number of surviving objects made in those early modern schoolrooms, and look ahead to the 18th Century to explore Hackney Museum’s collection of samplers.

www.hackneysociety.org 07815 053779
The Hackney Society will be launching the 2nd volume of Women from Hackney’s History at two locations:
BROADWAY MARKET – STALL
London Fields E8 4PH Bethnal Green tube
Sat 15 March 10am-4pm
ST AUGUSTINES TOWER – STALL
Mare Street E8 1HT Hackney Central Stn
Sun 30 March 2pm-4pm
Four years ago the first book featured 113 women whose stories illuminated the history of today’s borough. Side projects included the film Women of Abney. So many other stories emerged as research continued that another book is about to take it’s place alongside what we must now call volume one. The stories – 115 of them, include suffragettes, a magician, entrepreneurs, entertainers, politicians, and a boxing chimney sweep.

Saturday 8 March 2025
Celebrating women’s continuous campaign for equality all over the world.
2025 THEME: Accelerating Action for Women’s Equality
Step forward in solidarity and focus on the need to take swift and decisive action to achieve gender equality. Call for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systematic barriers and biases that women face in their personal and professional lives. International Women’s Day has occurred for well over a century with the first gathering in 1911 supported by a million people. Today IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere.

27  Old Nichol Street E2 7HR   Shoreditch High St Overground
www.katemacgarry.com  020 7613 0515
ROSE FINN-KELCEY
7 March – 12 April  FREE
Rose Finn-Kelcey  (1945-2014) lived and worked in London. She first came to prominence in the early 1970s as an artist central to the emerging communities of performance and feminist art in the UK. This show focuses on three performance works: Suite of Lights (1986-1990), Bulls Eye (1985) and One for Sorrow, Two for Joy (1976).
The exhibition is curated in collaboration with Andree Cooke, designer, curator and Artistic Executor for the Estate of Rose Finn-Kelcey and artist Simon Moretti.

17 Clerkenwell Rd EC1M 5RD Farringdon & Barbican tubes
AMANDA HUTT SOLO SHOW
1- 31 March Mon-Thurs 11.30am-10pm Fri til 10.30pm Sat 12noon-10pm
www.instagram.com/amandahutt_art 07423 050085
Exhibition of original soft pastel artworks with figures and simple images, strong bold composition and a stylistic nod to the early 20th Century. Take a table on the ground floor and view the work hanging above.

Artist Gillian Lawrence is exhibiting her work in accessible places around E7 & E11.
THE ROCKWOOD VILLAGE, 314 Cann Hill Road E11 3NW Leyton Stn
www.therockwoodvillage.com 020 8161 0010
Women Who Travelled To The Orient
1-31 March 12noon-9pm daily FREE
Textile cloth depicting rich women who travelled to the Orient.
Thurs 27 March 12noon-2.30pm
Event for women at East Bank Seniors looking at symbols for the word ‘woman’ over centuries and inventing new ones.
GIOVANNA’S DELI & WINE, 58 Woodgrange Road E7 0QH Leyton Stn 020 8616 9800
Gillian Lawrence leading East Bank Seniors
Tues 11 March 12noon-2.30pm FREE
Lunch and discussion over Define Woman. The use of ‘female’ versus ’woman’ and ‘womxn’.

No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay E14 4AL Canary Wharf / West India Quay tube & DLR
www.londonmuseum.org.uk  020 7001 9844
Open Mon-Sun 10am-5pm FREE
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH TALKS & EVENTS
1-30 March, Various Times, FREE – All ages.  Online Booking recommended.
Join us at the weekends in March to celebrate Women’s History Month with an exciting lineup of free talks & storytelling events. Book your free tickets online and get ready to uncover hidden stories and fresh perspectives in this extensive programme, featuring tales of female pirates, pioneering abolitionists, the dedicated midwives of 1950s Poplar and much more. While you are here, don’t forget to pick up your free Women’s History Month trail and embark on a journey through time within our own collections.

10 Pott Street E2 0EF https://magicme.co.uk
HER STORY, OUR INSPIRATION
Online all March at https://magicme.co.uk/protect/her-story-our-inspiration/
Film made by Chuck Blue Lowry with poet Laila Sumpton and an intergenerational group of older and younger women from East London, celebrating women’s voices , wisdom and shared experiences across generations. Created through a collaborative project with East London students and older women, this group reflects resilience, passion, and determination required to keep advocating for women’s rights and inspiring one another.

Newington Green N16 9PR Canonbury overground
Sculptor Maggi Hambling’s controversial statue of Mary Wollstonecraft (the mother of feminism) stands in the middle of the green attracting many visitors.
WOLLSTONECRAFT WALKS APP www.wollstonecraftwalks.netlify.app
Follow in the footsteps of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) champion of girls education, with this App presented by Fragments & Monuments Performance and Film Company and Scary Little Girls performance Hub.

Rose Lipman Building, 43 De Beauvoir Rd N1 5SQ. Dalston Junction Overground
www.millco.co.uk/events
ART EXHIBITION  8-14 March
By a collection of female artists
SELF DEFENSE WORKSHOP  Sun 9 March 3pm-6pm
With Marcia Ramos, covering physical techniques on how to respond to holds and use your body language to communicate your intentions.
INTENSIVE WORKSHOP WomanEwer  10-14 March 10am-2pm
Exploring storytelling through movement, vocal exploration and creative writing.
WOMEN’S QUILTING  10-14 March 3pm-5pm
Invitation to create a communal piece of art.
EMBODIED REFLECTIONS: Movement, Mindfulness & Life Drawing  Sun 23 March 3.30pm-6pm
An afternoon of drawing, movement, and guided meditation exploring identity and body image.
PERFORMANCE NIGHT and Post Show Discussion  Fri 28 March 7.30pm
Discover three solo works performed and made by women that celebrate womanhood, survival and female strength.

136 Kingsland Road E2 8EA Hoxton overground
www.museumofthehome.org.uk 020 7739 9893
The Museum is housed in Almshouses built in 1714. Explore the temporary exhibitions and permanent installations.
Open Tues-Sun 10am-5pm FREE
RHYMES THROUGH TIME
Exploring the role of children in the home through poetry and interactive design, created by children’s poet Valerie Bloom MBE and illustrator-as-historian Kremena Dimitrova.
ROOMS THROUGH TIME
Travel through time as you discover homes, personal stories and objects reflecting the lived experiences of our East London community past, present and future and so much more.

www.oitij-jo.org 07932 944506
Oitij-jo is a partnering with Poplar Union, Republic London and the Rich Mix to bring ‘Creative You’ drop-in sessions for local women to come and create a self-portrait. Each session will end with an exhibition of images filling the room at:-
RICH MIX 35-47 Bethnal Green Road E1 6LA
Tues 11 March 12noon-3pm
REPUBLIC LONDON Common Room, Export Building, 2 Clove Crescent E14 2BE
Wed 12 March 11am-2pm
POPLAR UNION 2 Cotall Street, Poplar E14 6TL
Thurs 13 March 10.30am-1.30pm

People Like Us is a photobook by Holly Revell, exploring trans, non-binary and GNC (gender non-conforming) identities and experience from AFAB (assigned female at birth) perspectives. 
It’s an archive, it’s a photography book, it’s a collection of stories. 
Created over 7 years, the book embraces 58 people from a rich variety of backgrounds and gender diversity. Layered with individual and collective experience, it indulges in positive and joyful representation of these personalities.
Available to buy at: 
http://www.hollyrevell.co.uk/shop/people-like-us-photobook 

2 Cotall Street, Poplar, E14 6TL West Ferry DLR
www.poplarunion.com 020 3039 3333
WOMEN IN SPORT
9 March – 6 April 9am-3pm daily FREE
Open Day: Sat 8 March 6pm-8pm
Photographer: Sylvia Belbonab Curator: Laura Owen
Supported by National Heritage funding
The Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) engaged a female Muslim photographer to create new images of MSA participants, mostly oral history interviewees, taking part in sporting activities which are showcased in the exhibition. The portraits show women active in swimming, basketball, golf, boxing and ballet

www.pursuedbyabear.co.uk
THE MATILDA EFFECT: Developed by Anna Reynolds
Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common, Northside SW4 0QW Clapham Common tube
www.omnibus-clapham.org 0207 498 4699
Mon 10 March 7.30pm
Watford Central Library, Hampstead Road, Watford WD17 3EU Watford Stn
Tues 11 March 7pm
www.pursuedbyabear.co.uk
Anna Reynolds’ punchy, amusing and provocative new play shines a new light on challenges faced by women scientists throughout history. In The Matilda Effect we meet three women, all called Matilda. We visit three time zones, then, now, and still developing. And we encounter a giant amount of mansplaining. Matilda is a scientist. Mattie is a doctor. Tilly is a coder. But every time one of them gets close to the Big Idea, or the Big Prize, Tom, Dick, and Harry are there standing in front of her. The Matilda Effect takes its name from suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826-1898), who drew attention to the work of groundbreaking and forgotten women of science. Pursued by a Bear will present a script in hand performance of an extract from The Matilda Effect.

107 Kingsland High Street E8 2PB Dalston Kingsland overground
www.riocinema.org.uk 020 7241 9410
MY NAME IS ANDREA Screening and Discussion
Sun 9 March 2pm £14/£11
With Pratibha Parmar, Lucy Reynolds, Andrea Dworkin
The Rio Feminist Film Group is delighted to present this documentary from one of the most respected queer filmmakers Pratibha Parmar. Followed by a discussion between Pratibha Parmar and writer, curator and academic Lucy Reynolds.
(This film contains strong references and discussion on violence and sexual abuse.)

21 Old Ford Road E2 9PL Bethnal Green tube
www.stmargaretshouse.org.uk 020 8980 2092
SOUNDS LIKE HOME International Women’s Choir
Sat 8 March 3pm-4.40pm FREE
Sounds Like Home is a Community Choir led by Ellen Muriel, assisted by Asha Wilson.
The project is produced by Counterpoint Arts with support from Cultural Hackney, Old Street Community Pot and Hoxton Hall. A relaxed interactive performance to celebrate International Women’s Day, singing songs from the places we call home. Come and join in. Enjoy the wide variety of songs in multiple languages, sung in acappella harmony. The choir consists of women of all backgrounds, ages and abilities, who come together to share and sing the songs that connect them. The choir will share some of their repertoire before teaching one of their songs to the audience.
WE ARE HEARD – Women, Art and Mental Health Workshops.
Weekends from 22 February to 20 March Sats & Suns 2pm-6pm Tkts via Eventbrite Pay what you can
This project is produced by Mental Creations. The workshops support women facing mental health challenges to speak out through the arts. One voice can be loud. Several voices can be heard. This series if six community workshops uses art disciplines – creative writing, acting, music, dance, voice/sound and visual/street arts – to help women develop, and amplify their voices, Each workshop is divided into 2 half day sessions. Come and join us.
FILMS OF RESISTANCE
Experimental Community Cinema at St Margaret’s House Chapel FREE
Book tkts via Eventbrite
A programme of screenings and talks exploring the history of the Four Corners film workshops and cinema in Roman Road in the 1970s & 80s presented by Dr Hollie Price Lecturer on Film & TV Studies Keele University. These events focus on some of the issues addressed by the workshops and cinema programmes, reflecting on them in dialogue with the present day as they continue to resonate with people in the East End today.
Women's Lives – Feminist Film & the East End.
Wed 5 March 6.30pm
www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-lives-feminist-film-and-the-east-end-tickets-1247383831619
On Allotments – Growing, Community, Filmmaking
Thurs 13 March 6.30pm
www.eventbrite.com/e/on-allotments-growing-community-filmmaking-tickets-1249355107759
Refuge England – Migrant Stories
Wed 26 March 6.30pm
www.eventbrite.com/e/refuge-england-migration-stories-tickets-1249361928159
Yoof! – Young People and Community Filmmaking
Thurs 3 April 6.30pm
www.eventbrite.com/e/yoof-young-people-and-community-filmmaking-tickets-1249368106639
These events form part of a project funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the screenings have been organised in collaboration with Four Corners.
WONDERFUL WOMEN
Exhibition by the Art4u2 group
7-9 March 12noon-6pm in St Margaret’s House Chapel FREE
A collection of female portraits of women we admire. Strength, justice, independence, empathy, vision, and adaptability are just some of the characteristics of the ‘wonderwoman effect’, a phenomenon challenging the Globe, inspiring women’s resilience in all walks of life. Artists include: Cathy Phillips, Lyn Mardell, Mogzy Payne, Krista Levy, Jesmond Murray, Denny Barnes, Nurcan Osman.

www.whoisyourshero.com
Sheroes Collective is an arts organisation dedicated to celebrating women and raising awareness about gender-based violence and women’s representation. Join us. We meet on the first Thursday of every month creating a space for meaningful conversations and collaborations. Contact : info@lon-art.org
INTERVENTIONS X SHOREDITCH
118 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A 3AY  Old St tube
7-16 March  Sats 8 & 15 March from 12noon, Thurs 13 March from 12noon, Fri 14 March from 1pm, Sun 16 March from 12noon.  Free/Donation – booking in advance https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sheroes-interventions-x-shoreditch-4047893
This exhibition proudly features works by Farnoush Amini, Sarrah El Bushra, Rachelle Romeo, Delia O’Leary, Jenny Crispin, Eleanor Morris, Lorena Herrero, Giorgia Grassini, Anne Plaisance, Alina Rancier, Jose Sumar, Mariona Sauret, Abigail Hammond, and Usva Inei, Sophie Wresswell.

380 Old Street EC1V 9LT Old St tube, Shoreditch High St overground
www.shoreditchtownhall.com 020 7739 6176
A LITTLE INQUEST INTO WHAT WE ARE ALL DOING HERE by This Egg
11-15 March 7pm plus 2pm Sat Matinee. Tkts £20/ £16 concs
This is a show about censorship and freedom of expression. This piece of theatre – part autobiography, part fiction – questions the limits of performance: what we make it for, what we go to it for and what we are willing to stand up for.
This Egg won the Fringe First Award for this show at the Edinburgh Festival.
BOLLYWOOD DANCE WORKSHOP
Sat 8 March 12pm Tkts £2
Join us on International Women’s Day for this energising workshop.Perfect for complete beginners, this fun filled session is your chance to learn new moves and get a dynamic introduction to Bollywood dancing. Bring your friends, sister, Nan or anyone who wants to join the fun. Bollywood Dance is a celebration of both the Hindi film industry in india and the wider South Asian culture. Feel like you are part of your very own musical.
SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL HISTORY TOUR – IWD Special
Sat 8 March 1.30pm Tkts £2
Join us on a history tour around our Grade II listed building featuring the stories of Suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, women’s rights activist Helen Taylor, Shoreditch’s first woman Mayor Henrietta Girling OBE and more.

Alice Billings House, 2-12 West Ham Lane E15 4SF  Stratford tube
www.alicebillinghouse.co.uk
FLORAL PATCH – inspired by the Alice Billing Community Cloth
Thursday 13 March 3pm-5pm Adm £5
In this workshop we will explore colour, texture, imagination through embroidery and create your own personal narrative. Stitch a floral patch to embellish a garment, frame as a wall piece or gift to give to a friend. Stitch together and discover the benefits of embroidery as relaxation, mindfulness and creativity. The event is now live on our website:
https://www.alicebillinghouse.co.uk/events/wreath-making-workshop-p743r-y77k3

Goldsmith Luka, 8 Camden Passage N1 8ED Angel tube
March – April 2025
Wed-Fri 11am-6.30pm, Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 11am-3pm
Hongdi Li, Hackney-based architectural designer, artist, and founder of Studio Lux, presents her mixed-media series, Keep Moving: Sculpting the Cosmos, in a unique collaboration with Goldsmith Luka. Together, they curate an exhibition that bridges sculpture and jewellery, reimagining artistic boundaries as they enhance and elevate each other across disciplines.
Exploring movement, light, and perception, Keep Moving is crafted from marble off-cuts sourced locally in London, embodying planetary motion and shifting perspectives to create a gravity-defying illusion. Designed as both sculpture and vessel, Hongdi’s works form a dynamic stage for Luka’s exquisite jewellery, seamlessly linking the two disciplines.
More info: www.studio-lux.co.uk/keepmoving/    www.goldsmithluka.com/

Arts One, Mile End Campus, Queen Mary University London. Mile End Rd E1 4NS Mile End or Stepney Green tube
www.swadhinata.org.uk
Wed 5 March 12noon-6pm FREE
Join us for a free fun filled family Mela in celebration of the Swadhinata Trust 25th Anniversary of promoting British Bengali culture and heritage in partnership with QMUL.

Gerry Raffles Square, Theatre Square E15 1BN Stratford tube, overground
www.stratfordeast.com 020 8534 0310
ANIMAL FARM
Until Sat 8 March Tkts from £10
When a group of animals rebel against their human farmer-tyrant and take control of the land they live on, they hope to create a world where they can be equal.
By George Orwell. Adapted by Tatty Hennessy. Set and Costume Design Hayley Grindle.
THE WOMEN OF LLANRUMNEY
Wed 19 March – Sat 12 April Tkts from £10
Set in Llanrumney plantation, St Mary Parish, Jamaica.
Anna and Cerys are enslaved by the Morgan family from Wales. Their future hangs in the balance when Elizabeth Morgan is faced with losing her plantation. Set in 18th Century colonial Jamaica this powerful new play explores the experience of women during slavery and puts Britain’s role in slavery centre stage, illuminating a hidden chapter of Welsh history. Written by Azuka Oforka. Directed by Patricia Logue.

The Art Gallery at Gayhurst School, Gayhurst Road, E8 3EN London Fields overground
https://www.tagatgayhurst.uk/project/unearthed/  020 7254 6138
UNEARTHED by pupils in years 3&4
Until 25 April, Mon-Fri 3.30pm-3.45pm or tel for viewings FREE
Exhibition informed by science topic 'Rocks'. Here art education reflects the curriculum through exciting techniques incorporating materials such as wild London soil with its high clay content, plaster, inks and beeswax. The exhibits include a giant fossil and visitors to the exhibition are invited to investigate this in the role of palaeontologist. Curated by Claire Ward-Thornton of Art Hoppers, assisted by Sadie Edginton with guest collaborators Lola Lely and Poppy Flint.

‘Every woman is incredible; you just haven’t heard her story’.
www.incredibleeverydaywoman.com Watch New Stories Stream Podcasts
We are back and sharing incredible everyday women’s stories on our social media platforms.

The Cycling Club, Mile End Stadium, Rhodeswell Road E14 7TW
www.info@newark.og.uk 07958 085480
Every Saturday 10am-12noon
Open to girls and young women 6 -24 years. Beginners only.
BIKEWORKS ALL-ABILITY CYCLING CLUB
Victoria Park, Lock House Gate, Parnell Rd/Jodrell Rd E2 2LA
www.bikeworks.org  all.ability@bikeworks.org.uk
Every Wednesday 9.30am-1.30pm. Alternate Sundays 10am-12noon

277 Bancroft Road, Stepney E1 4DQ Stepney Green or Mile End tube
www.ideastore.co.uk/local-history 020 7364 1290
THE BRADYCLUBS: A Legacy for the Future
14 March – 21 June Tues-Thurs 10am-4pm, Thursday til 7pm, 1st & 3rd Sat of every month 10am-5pm FREE
Immersive exhibition exploring the immense impact of youth provision.
500 YEARS OF IRISH WOMEN IN TOWER HAMLETS
Sat 15 March 2pm-4pm FREE Booking required at www.ideastore.co.uk/local-history
In the history of London, the city’s oldest and largest presence comprised people born in Ireland and those of Irish descent (until the late 18th Century). However what is all too often forgotten is that this history is HERstory too. Breda Corish will be exploring the women of Ireland – Mna nah Eireann – in Tower Hamlets. A canter through five hundred years of herstory will take us from an Irish noblewoman living in the 16th Century Tower of London to the twentieth century daughter of Irish immigrant workers on the Isle of Dogs, meeting lodging-house keepers, famine refugees, nuns, strike leaders, suffragettes and local politicians along the way.

16 Whitechapel Road E1 1BJ  Whitechapel tube
COMMUNITIES OF LIBERATION
1-29 March  Mon-Fri 9am-6.30pm  FREE
African peoples in London’s East End.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY COMMUNITY EVENT
Sat 8 March 11am-6pm  FREE
Community activities celebrating culture, health, well being and togetherness, and inspirational speakers.

Island Point Community Centre, 51 Sark Mews, Isle of Dogs E14 3PW Island Gdns DLR www.trappedinzoneone.com
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WORKSHOP
Sat 8 March 1pm-3pm FREE
Creative workshop focusing on the theme ‘Accelerate Action’ collectively creating works towards an equal society in solidarity for International Women’s Day.

www.unfinishedhistories.com
Radical Rediscoveries: Performance Texts from the Women’s Theatre Movement 1969-1987 is the first of three volumes by Unfinished Histories as part of Montez Press imprint Scores, in collaboration with the Associate Artists programme at London Performance Studios. This collection brings together six seminal works of British alternative feminist and women’s theatre from the archive, with a contextual introductory text by Dr. Susan Croft, co-founder of Unfinished Histories.
Unfinished Histories will be running in-person exploratory playreadings looking at lost LGBTQ plays from the 1970s and 80s, many of them unpublished, as part of the first events towards Fifty Years of the Fight for Inclusion which in 2025 celebrates 50 years since the first Gay Theatre Festival in Britain with readings, workshops, an exhibition, a symposium and a publication. For further details email: ufhcontact@gmail.com

94 Teesdale Street  E2 6PU  Bethnal Green or Cambridge Heath tube

www.uniongallery.com  020 8281 4448

MEDUSA Group Exhibition, Evita Ziemele : Persephone & Friends

Until 22 March. Thurs-Sat 12noon-6pm FREE

This exhibition reimagines Medusa not as a monster, but as an emblem of resistance against patriarchal and authoritative oppression. The artists featured in this collection use a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, digital art, and mixed media, to build upon this notion. They delve into her transformation from a beautiful maiden into a feared gorgon, exploring themes of autonomy, power, and the reclamation of patriarchal narratives. Expressions of femininity have often been associated with a purified beauty which exists in the real world, with feminine icons such as the Virgin Mary acting as a manifestation of feminine purity and gentleness. Evita Ziemele looks such imagery in the eye and condemns it.

This is Evita Ziemele’s debut solo exhibition. Curated by Mike Chavez-Dawson

77-82 Whitechapel High Street E1 7QX Aldgate East tube
www.whitechapelgallery.org 020 7522 7888
MOVING GROUNDS – 15 Years of Duchamp & Sons
Until 4 May Tues-Sun 11am-6pm Thurs til 9pm FREE
An original exhibition curated by Whitechapel Gallery’s youth collective to mark their 15 year anniversary. With artist Holly Graham and Amelia Oakley (curator Youth Programmes).
A celebration of far-reaching and ever-evolving artistic collaborations, past and present, and a timely reminder of the crucial need for young peoples voices in gallery spaces. Playful re-imagining of archival materials combine with new audio experiments, and space for live participation, offering a welcoming space for everyone to gather, reflect, and perhaps collaborate themselves

1 Graces Alley E1 8JB Tower Hill or Shadwell tube
www.wiltons.org.uk 020 7702 2789
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
10,11 March 7pm Tkts from £12.50/£10 concs
Abigail Richard Price’s ‘fresh and genuinely romantic’ adaption sees three actors conjure 17 of Jane Austin’s unforgettable characters to life in Guilford Shakespeare Company’s sparkling production of this beloved romantic comedy.
BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY LIFE
13-15 March 7.30pm, Sat mat 2.30pm Tkts from £16.50/ £14 concs
Inspired by the life of Nina Simone and featuring many of her most iconic songs performed live Apphia Campbell’s acclaimed play follows a successful singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. Presented by James Seabright.
MARY AND THE HYENAS
18-29 March 7.30pm, Sat mats 2.30pm Tkts from £13.50/ £11 concs
Six microphones, an electrifying score and a feminist icon. The band will sing you the inspiring story of Mary Wollstonecraft - a woman centuries ahead of her time: trail blazer, feminist and literary pioneer who fought for equality and justice, and was born in Spitalfields. Presented by Pilot Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre

20 Club Row E2 7EY www.wen.org.uk 020 7481 9004
WEN is an environmental charity working on issues that connect women, health, equity, and environmental justice. We take an intersectional feminist approach to tackling climate and nature emergencies.
We have been working in Tower Hamlets for more than 20 years. Our projects include working to create a blueprint for a just and sustainable food system across the borough. We support local people to grow their own food. We bring growers together to celebrate and learn from each other as well as promoting community growing space in the area.
Contact us at info@wen.org.uk

Online at www.alternativearts.org.uk
Alternative Arts presents a vibrant collection of images by female photographers celebrating contemporary culture drawn from our recent annual exhibitions at the Brady Arts Centre.

Online at www.womensvoicesnow.org
A women’s documentary film festival for emerging filmmakers featuring films from around the globe, available online and on-demand. The festival presents $13,000 in cash prizes, a live Awards ceremony, and opportunities for filmmakers to network and further develop their careers. Explore the website. Festival opens 26 March.
Good news! Our 2023 Girls' Voices Now film, The Beauty in Being Different, received a nomination for a Children's and Family Emmy Award! Thanks to the unfaltering support from Here Media, who makes it possible for us to even have this opportunity, on March 15, the four youth filmmakers who created the film will attend the Ceremony and maybe go home with a statuette!

201 Millfields E5 5AL
www.worldwrite.org.uk 020 8985 5436
Consult the website to discover a wide range of videos including a remarkable documentary charting the life, vital impact and work of Sylvia Pankhurst, East End heroine, suffragette, internationalist and revolutionary. The film is packed with facts from primary sources, interviews with historians and compelling testimony from Sylvia’s son Richard and his wife Rita.

2 Butchers Row E14 8DS Limehouse DLR
www.rfsk.org.uk/yurtcafe 030 0111 1147
CELEBRATING THE BYGONE and the BRAND NEW around London’s Boroughs
1-30 March Mon-Fri 8am-4pm Sat/Sun 9am-5pm FREE
Carol Johnstone – multimedia exhibition comprising a series of oil, watercolour, coloured pencil, graphite pencil and photographic images, which focus on the post-millennial fusion of the old and new vistas of London.

“It is the experience of powerlessness at its most acute, when history is at its most acute, when history seems at its most bleak, that the determination to think like a human being, creatively and complicatedly matters the most.” Hannah Arendt

3-9 MARCH www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/sports or pauline.stewart@towerhamlets.gov.uk 020 7364 2433 / 07956456743
In celebration of International Women’s Week there will be sports and physical activities for women and girls across the borough. You can book in advance or just turn up.

ABERFELDY HEALTH & WELLBEING CENTRE
19 Aberfeldy Square E14 0XA Bus 309
Tue 4 March
2pm-3pm Female Body Conditioning FREE
Thurs 6 March
11am-12noon Yoga FREE
BERNIE CAMERON COMMUNITY CENTRE
32 Merchant Street E3 4LX Mile End tube
Mon 3 March
5.30-6.30pm Self Defence 14+ FREE
CENTRAL FOUNDATION GIRLS’ SCHOOL
25-33 Bow Road E3 2AE Bow Road tube
Fri 7 March
6pm-9pm Khawlahs Women’s Basketball Tournament 5-6 Teams £25 Entry Fee per team
EASTEND HOMES
Southern Grove Community Centre,
Southern Grove E3 4FX Mile End tube
Wed 5 March
2pm-3pm Yoga £3 residents, £5 non residents
FELDY CENTRE
18 Aberfeldy Square E14 0XA Bus 309
Tue 4 March
5.45pm-6.45pm Dance to Exercise FREE
JOHN ORWELL SPORTS CENTRE
Tench Street E1W 2QD Wapping overground
Wed 5 March
10.30am-11.30am Aerobics Basics £3

LINC CENTRE
70 Fern Street E3 3PR Devons Road DLR
Wed 5 March
10am-11am Women’s Learn-to-Ride Cycle Lessons for beginners FREE
11.30am-1.30pm Women’s Easy Social Cycle Ride FREE
Fri 7 March
10am-2pm Day of Wellness Workshops £5
Sat 8 March
12noon-3pm Active Me SEND Sports Festival FREE
MILE END PARK LEISURE CENTRE
190 Burdett Road E3 4HL Mile End tube
Wed 5 March
12noon-1pm Body Conditioning £3
1pm-3pm Badminton FREE
Fri 7 March
6pm-8pm Swim for Women £3
POPLAR BATHS LEISURE CENTRE
East India Dock Road E1 0ED All Saints DLR
Tue 4 March
10am-11am Pilates £3
12.30pm-1.15pm Swim for Women £3
Wed 5 March
6pm-7pm Football £3
6.30pm-7.30pm Aqua Aerobics £3
6.30pm-7.30pm Swim for Women and Girls £3
6.30pm-7.30pm Back to Netball £3
7.30pm-8.30pm Box Fit £3
Thurs 6 March
6pm-9pm Badminton Tournament 16+ FREE

STEPNEY GREEN ASTROTURF
Stepney Green E1 3NG Stepney Green tube
Sat 8 March
10am-1pm Limehouse Laces F.C. Juniors & Veterans Football Tournament FREE
TEVIOT COMMUNITY CENTRE
1 Wyvis Street E14 6QD Bromley By Bow tube
Mon 3 March
9.30am-12noon Women’s Intermediate Social Cycle Ride FREE
Sat 8 March
12noon-3pm Active Me SEND Sports Festival FREE
THE MARYAM CENTRE
45 Fieldgate Street E1 1ES Whitechapel tube
Thur 6 March
6pm-7pm Self Defence 18+ FREE
TILLER LEISURE CENTRE
Tiller Road E14 8PX Crossharbour DLR
Tue 4 March
10am-11am Legs, Bums & Tums £3
Thur 7 March
9.15am-10am Aqua Aerobics £3
WHITECHAPEL SPORTS CENTRE
55 Durward St E1 5BA Whitechapel tube
Mon 3 March
9.30am-10.30am Body Conditioning £3
6pm-7pm Legs, Bums & Tums £3
Wed 5 March
1pm-2pm Self Defence/Boxercise 18+ FREE
5.30pm-9.30pm Basketball Tournament 14+
£45 per team
6pm-7pm Step Aerobics £3
Sat 8 March
10am-11am Body Conditioning £3

Women’s History Month is produced in East London by Alternative Arts. www.alternativearts.org.uk
To receive this information in large print please contact info@alternativearts.co.uk