women in london

All events and exhibitions, unless otherwise stated will be held at
The Women’s Library, 25 Old Castle Street, London, E1 7NT.

New Exhibition

Hand Made Tales: Women and Domestic Crafts
Opens 28 October, Free

Hand Made Tales is a timely exhibition focussing on the role domestic crafts play in many women’s experiences. It draws on the connections between the current revival of domestic crafts such as sewing, gardening, and cooking and the historical roots of the domestic arts within the home. The exhibition will allow visitors to explore and learn the stories of crafts and the women involved in them through personal tales and fun interactive projects.

Seminar

Out of the Archives
Saturday 11 September, 12 – 3.30pm
£6 / £4 concessions

This seminar brings together the artists commissioned for the Out of the Archives project with guest speakers to present and discuss visual responses to the gendered archive.

Performance

The Brilliant & The Dark
Thursday 23 September, 7pm (90 mins)
£6 / £4 concessions

The Brilliant & The Dark is an opera for women’s voices that looks at history through the eyes of the crusaders’ wives, plague stricken women, witch hunters and war workers. It was first performed by 1000 women volunteers in 1969. Join this special live event with artists Eileen Simpson & Ben White (Open Music Archive) as they present their re-interpretation of this musical adventure in collaboration with their female choir Gaggle.

Study Day

Visible in Stone: The Story of Women through Buildings 1850 to 1950
Saturday 2 October, 10am to 4.30pm
£12, £10 concessions

The Women’s Library, in collaboration with English Heritage and the TUC Library Collections has developed the first online resource to explore women’s roles in historic buildings over a century of huge change. The design of buildings, how and why they were built or acquired, and the way they were used sheds new light on this period of women’s history.

Speakers include: Lynne Walker, University of London; Christine Wall, University of Westminster; Cheryl Law, researcher; Kathryn Hay, Emily Gee, English Heritage and Claire Wright, Director Wright and Wright Architects.

Talk

Broken Places
Thursday 7 October, 7pm (90 mins)
£6 / £4

Wendy Perriam discusses her inspiration for this story of a Wandsworth librarian, forced to conceal the fact that he was a foundling (dumped as an infant in a recreation-ground) and also to hide his fear of flying.

Family Day

Create and Make
Saturday 30 October, 11am – 3pm
Drop-in, Free

A day for families to take part in a range of fun and simple craft making workshops, where you make your own samples to take away with you or add to the Library’s display.

Guided Tours

Hand Made Tales: Women and Domestic Crafts
Thursdays 4 November, 6 January, 3 February, 6.30pm (30 mins)
Saturdays 29 January, 26 February, 12pm (30 mins)

Join this special tour and find out about some of the wonderful stories behind the range of crafts featured in the exhibition.

Study Day

Hand Made Tales: Women and Domestic Crafts
Friday 12 & Saturday 13 November, 10am-5pm
£22 both days / £12 one day

Explore the role that domestic crafts play in women’s lives, including the changing relationships between professional and amateur practice, the need for self expression, self agency, and private consumption. These two days will provide an opportunity to share personal making stories and experiences.

Fawcett Lecture 2010

Sandi Toksvig
Post-Feminism: thank goodness the need for feminism is over!
Thursday 25 November, 7pm
£10 / £8

Sandi Toksvig, best known for being a comedian, broadcaster and author, will present The Women’s Library’s 2010 Fawcett Lecture. Presenter of Radio 4′s Excess Baggage and the chair of The News Quiz. she has also written fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, and is often vocal about her personal enthusiasm for crafts like weaving, embroidery and carpentry.

Special Event

Craft + activism = craftivism
Saturday 27 November, 12 – 5pm
Free

Ladyfest Ten and Craftivist Collective invite you to unravel the relationships between craft and activism. From guerrilla mini protest banners to renegade mosaic, fence stitching to embroidered vaginas, join us to explore and reflect on how traditional techniques can be used to challenge and advocate contemporary issues in creative ways.

Evening Event

Cradley Heath Centenary
Thursday 2 December, 7pm (90 mins)
£8 / £6 concessions

In 1910, women chainmakers from Cradley Heath in the Black Country protested against their very low wages. They came together to strike for the right to earn a living wage. With the help of the National Federation of Women Workers and its leader, Mary Macarthur, the women organised a nine week strike that successfully led them to the right to a minimum wage.

This event celebrates the centenary of this event with Baroness Margaret Prosser OBE, Professor Mary Davis, Chris Coates, Librarian TUC Collections and includes a special film screening of ‘Nothing to Lose: the strike of the women chainmakers, Cradley Heath 1910′.

Film & Panel Discussion

Women Make Film
Saturday 4 December, 2 – 4pm
£8 / £6 concessions

In collaboration with Women’s Film History Network, The Women’s Library presents a series of feminist films, including Militant suffrage comedy (c.1910); Ruby Grierson’s: They Also Serve (1940); Jill Craigie’s: To Be A Woman (1951); Leeds Animation Workshop Through The Glass Ceiling (1994) and No Offence (1996).

Workshop

Fabulous Florals for Christmas
Saturday 11 December, 10am – 1pm
£20

Come and learn how to make a Christmas wreath and table centrepiece, to take away with you. Basic materials will be provided but please bring your own embellishments (a list will be provided once your booking is confirmed).

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Venue: The Women’s Library, London Metropolitan University, Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT
Nearest Tube: Aldgate/Aldgate East
Opening times: Monday to Friday 9.30am-5.30pm (Thursday until 8pm); Saturday 10am-4pm; Closed Sunday.
Website: http://www.thewomenslibrary.ac.uk
Telephone: 0207 320 2222