How To Celebrate Women’s History Month In London

Women's History Month is celebrated every year, throughout March, with the aim of raising awareness and empowering women. 

The 2022 theme is "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope." This theme is "both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout History.

Across London local communities embrace the opportunity to highlight the roles of women in society by discovering, documenting and celebrating women's lives and achievements. 

To help you celebrate Women’s History Month this March we’ve put together a list of walks, talks, galleries and events that are taking place in London. 

Check Out The Women's History Month Photo Show

Visit The Brady Art Gallery for an exhibition by women photographers celebrating Women’s History Month with 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, Gweniver Exton’s photos of women taken when traveling through South East Asia. Hattie Collins's Water Bodies highlights the importance of ecological issues. Portraits by Jacqui Ennis-Cole feature Lola, a ‘punk’ musician, working in a health food store. 

The images for this live exhibition have been selected from the Women’s History Month Photo Open Online 2021 and curated by Sarah Ainslie and Maggie Pinhorn 

When: Fri 4 Mar 22 - Thu 31 Mar 22, Mon – Fri 9am-6pm Sat 10am – 4pm

Where The Brady Art Gallery, Brady Arts and Community Centre, 192-196 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5HU

Tickets - FREE

More info: https://www.towerhamletsarts.org.uk/?cid=74035 www.alternativearts.org.uk 

Learn About Westminster's Wicked And Wonderful Women 

Explore the streets of London's most powerful district and hear the stories of the wonder women who have walked its streets. Throughout history women who challenged the social norm have often found themselves labeled "wicked", but would society view these women in the same way today?

This special walk is part of the celebrations for Women's History Month 2022. A series of wide-ranging walks organised by Look Up London and run by handpicked professional Blue Badge Tourist Guides to showcase the surprising history of London's unsung heroines.

The meeting point is outside Charing Cross Station, Strand Exit by the Post Box.

The walk will last around 90 minutes and end by Victoria Tower Gardens (close to the Houses of Parliament).

When: Various Dates 

Where: Meeting point is outside Charing Cross Station

Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/westminsters-women-wicked-or-wonderful-womens-history-month-walks-tickets-263632059587

More info: www.lookup.london/womens-history-month

Women’s History Month Special! Talkaoke 21#

Talkaoke is celebrating Women's History Month in collaboration with East London Women’s Network, with a special focus on East London. Talkaoke is an interactive pop-up talk show, where the participants set the agenda. The arts programme offers workshops for local people to learn ceramics, glassmaking, music and photography.

The East London Women’s Network is open to women across East London who are members of community, arts and cultural organizations, local women’s groups, and local women residents. 

At the event, the Talkaoke host sits in the middle of a round table and the participants sit at small tables close by. Each table has a mic and everyone is  invited to talk about anything they like. Each discussion is a journey from one unexpected subject to another: it can be topical, funny, deep, surreal, and everything in between. In a unique twist, the entire conversation is then visualised live by a digital illustrator! 

The network is coordinated by Alternative Arts, who also run Women’s History Month in East London. The aim is to raise the profile of women, share ideas, explore current issues and build a strong network as a supportive resource, providing inspiration for creating a more equal society. 

When: Thu, 31 March 2022, 18:00 – 20:00 BST

Where: 48 Aberfeldy St, 48 Aberfeldy Street, London , E14 0NQ

Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-history-month-special-talkaoke-21-tickets-271091962357

Laugh Out Loud at Laugh-Able Comedy Night, Headlining Bex Turner

Laugh-Able is once again teaming up with One Place East and Redbridge Libraries to put on an all female comedy line to celebrate WHM. Headlining is the amazing Bex Turner, described as the ‘Charming and hilarious love child of Tommy Cooper, Eddie Izzalrd and Victoria Wood. Alongside her, this Women’s History Month special will feature a selection of up and coming comedy artists.

When:  Friday 25 March

Where: Wanstead Library, Spratt Hall Road, London, E11 2RQ

Tickets FREE

More info https://visionrcl.org.uk/event/laugh-able-comedy-night-with-headliner-bex-turner/

Head To Hackney For Nasty Woman Revive

This two-day long event will kick off with a panel discussing #HERSTORY, honouring and celebrating inspirational feminist and creative icons hosted by Women of the Wick, followed by a queer-feminist poetry night, live music + all-female DJs.

On Sunday, Sunita Kaur will facilitate the popular Women’s Gong Bath night at the Open House Hackney. Through the healing practices of sound and movement, Sunita invites everyone to get in touch with their feminine side and energy. 💫

When: March 19th - 20th

Where: Open House Hackney, 5 Prince Edward Road ,k London , E9 5LX

Tickets:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nasty-women-revive-tickets-268050415007

Attend The Unveiling of Sarah Parker Remond's Plaque

UCL is unveiling a permanent plaque to the amazing 19th century freedom fighter, intellectual and Doctor, Sarah Parker Remond. The commemorative plaque dedicated to the slavery abolition campaigner, will be unveiled in London in March.

Remond was an 19th century African American activist who travelled the USA and UK giving passionate anti-slavery speeches. Her first speech was given when she was just 16 years old, in Massachusetts, and though she was a free woman and never enslaved herself, she spent her life campaigning for the lives and freedom of others.

 Over a century before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white bus passenger, Remond refused to sit in a racially segregated section of a theatre in Boston in 1853. She was pushed down stairs as she was ejected from the theatre, successfully sued the theatre for damages, and the court ordered the theatre to remove segregated seating.

 At the age of 32, she travelled to Britain to build support for the anti-slavery movement here. While in London she studied at Bedford College (now Royal Holloway), and what is now UCL, from where she graduated as a nurse .

The plaque will be unveiled at a public event, close to Russell Square tube station. You can also learn more about her life and work at a virtual talk.
When: 25 March 2022 at 12pm

Where: Russell Square tube station

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sarah-parker-remond-plaque-unveiling-black-history-walks-tickets-231929055047

Get Up Close and Personal with Brazilian Culture

A return of the authentic Brazilian, Roda de Samba, celebrates International Women’s Day through music, culture and community. This authentic Roda de Samba moves East to celebrate International Women’s Day for the Women in Focus Festival through joyful, communal Brazilian vibes.

Samba de Raiz literally translates as “roots samba” and means traditional, old school samba from the first half of the 20th century, before orchestras, electric instruments and pop influences were incorporated into the genre. Get up close and personal with Brazilian Culture through an intensive, immersive and authentic Latin experience with Roda de Samba de Raiz.

When: March 20th from 3pm

Where: Poplar Union, 2 Cotall St, Poplar, London, E14 6TL

Tickets:  https://poplarunion.com/book/144203

Visit The Poulomi Basu Art Exhibition: Fireflies 

"I owe it to the women who have opened themselves up to me. I want them to know that we are fighting this oppression together. We are doing this with collective agency. Our voice of resistance.”

Poulomi Bas

In this deeply moving and powerful new series Fireflies Indian artist Poulomi Basu foregrounds the relationship between mother and daughter. Using photography, video and sound, Basu reflects on experience of trauma – particularly patriarchal violence – navigating the claustrophobia of home, dreams of freedom, defiance and transcendence.

“Fireflies is a combination of ideas and of accumulated experiences which made me feel compelled to turn the camera upon myself; to tell my story of resistance and stand in solidarity with the women who have opened their lives to me.” 

When: 4 March - 4 June 2022

Where: Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA, UK

Tickets: https://autograph.org.uk/exhibitions/poulomi-basu-fireflies

Book A Screening of Britain’s Women Documentary Makers

BFI Southbank is is celebrating female documentary makers this month, from the female pioneers in the 1930s to the rich contemporary scene. 

The films in this season are at the heart of the BFI’s project to raise the visibility of the women who’ve been making documentaries for almost 100 years. Alongside screenings in the season there will be some fantastic Q&As/intros with the likes of Andrea Arnold, Sonita Gale and Waad Al-Kateab.

The Camera Is Ours: Britain’s Women Documentary Makers is a major new BFI project which aims to raise the visibility of women working at the heart of documentary, and celebrate the often-unsung names of women who have helped shape the genre and tell stories that reflect the world we live in. 

This new project showcases 10 new film restorations from the BFI National Archive alongside a compelling contemporary programme, in venue at BFI Southbank, on BFI DVD and BFI Player.

When: various dates 

Where: BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT

Ticket link: 

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=cameraisours

If you have celebrated Women’s History Month in London this year we’d love to hear about it! Tell us about your experiences in the comments below or tag us in your Women’s History Month post on Instagram! 

Have a great weekend,
The London Living Editorial Team 

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