Derby is getting ready to celebrate International Women’s Day on Saturday 7th March 2020. The celebrations, organised by volunteers, begin with a Women’s Rights March & Rally followed by an inspiring #ShePersisted Speak-Up event and various activities at QUAD – you can help us make it all happen by backing our Crowdfunder campaign here
10.30am Saturday 7th March Women’s Rights March & Rally: Gather by the Waterfall, Derby Market Place, with your banners and join in a warm-up of chants and protest songs. You might like to wear Suffragette colours – purple, green & white too. The March will proceed at 11am onto Sadler Gate, The Strand, St James Street, Cornmarket, pausing outside the Council House Corporation Street then returning to the The Waterfall, Speakers’ Corner, Market Place for rally & speeches. All genders welcome; all supporters welcome to join in; the route is accessible for wheelchair users and is family-friendly.
This will be followed by a variety of events at QUAD, Derby Market Place, including an inspiring #ShePersisted Speak-Up a ticketed event, with free creche, book via https://iwdderby2020.eventbrite.co.uk free tickets have also been gifted to women supported by local charities. BSL Interpreters will be provided with thanks to Derby City Council.
Also at QUAD will be a free IWD-themed family crafts drop-in participation space, a coding workshop for girls (pre-book £5 via QUAD Box Office) and free art gallery exhibition by feminist artist Anna Bunting-Branch.
IWD Derby #ShePersisted Speak-Up at QUAD programme Saturday 7th March:
12:00pm IWD Derby Exhibition, The Box, QUAD browse exhibitor stalls including inspiring local women’s charities, projects and local HERstory including the Suffragettes in our city; there is also time to enjoy refreshments from QUAD Bar & Cafe
12.45pm Songs by Uke Songstress Sue Warren, Cinema Two, QUAD 1:00pm #ShePersisted Speak Up starts – Cinema Two, QUAD
1pm Welcome by MC Sue Warren
1:05pm IWD speeches by the IWD Derby Chair Vanessa Boon & Volunteer Team
1:30pm Discovering Local HERstory – Sonya Robotham, Vox Feminarum presents the findings of the Deeds Not Words Towards Liberation project uncovering the hidden history of over 100 years of women’s activism in Derby & Derbyshire
2:00pm Eco Warrior Women: talk by ‘Queen of Green’ Penney Poyzer-Schalom multi award winning eco campaigner, pioneer & TV Presenter. Co-owner of the UK’s first eco-upcycle retrofit of a Victorian home + panel discussion with local eco activists including Extinction Rebellion, with audience Q&A
2:40pm She Speaks – art is our liberation – powerful poets & spoken word artists 3:00pm Break – browse stalls in The Box, refreshments available from QUAD Bar / Café 3:30pm Women Rising Up To Resist Hate inspiring anti-oppression campaigners share their experience, highlight current issues and what we can all do to resist the hate and division stirred up by the far-right, ‘hostile environment’ policies & the media , with Q&A
4:00pm Inspiring Talk by Sarah Maple, Feminist Artist award winning visual artist known for her bold, brave, mischievous and questioning artworks that challenge traditionally accepted notions of identity, gender, religion and the status quo. Much of Maple’s inspiration originates from her mixed religious and cultural upbringing, with works that explore what it means be a woman and a Muslim in 21st century Britain. Her artwork, film and performances have been exhibited internationally at galleries and institutions including Tate Britain, Golden Thread Gallery and Tallin Art Hall. Recent commissions include The Baltic, Nottingham New Art Exchange and Sky Arts. 4:30pm IWD Derby Rebel Women’s Choir songs celebrating world-changing women, with an uplifting sing-along, led by choir leader Jo Lewis
5:00pm 20 in 20 for 2020 Twenty trailblazer 1-minute messages from local women & girls creating change spanning engineering, politics, art, sports and activism
5.25 IWD Derby Team Closing Thoughts & Thanks
5:30 #ShePersisted Speak Up ends – Power to the women, Power to the girls!
Time to browse stalls in The Box, mingle, reflect and enjoy refreshments
Make a night of it! QUAD will also host a Feminist Film Screening in the evening – tickets available from QUAD Box Office.
***Derby Celebrates*** We are also encouraging and promoting a range of IWD & Women’s HERstory Month events hosted by other groups and venues across Derby – send us your event details to be added to the list:
IWD dance events at Deda: Double Bill of Female Choreographers, Thursday 5th March: Two talented choreographers will present work that explores themes of empowerment, relationships and the defiant image of femininity in a gripping double bill of performances.Book via Deda
A Hidden History of Women in Art: From the Renaissance to the enlightenment. Learn about incredible women in art. Talk by Sue Arguile at Derby Museum, 11am-12pm Saturday 7th March. From the Renaissance onwards, artists became celebrities. Names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and our very own Joseph Wright are familiar to us all, but what about their female contemporaries? Why do we not know their names and why is their work less celebrated? More recent artists such as Frida Kahlo and Tracy Emin have gained recognition, but their predecessors are still hidden in the shadows of history. This talk will introduce some of these brilliant women and their work. Suitable for young people and adults. Booking essential.
Women as Nation Builders Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association is organising their 5th Interfaith Event at the Multifaith Center at the University of Derby on the 7th March 2020 11.30am-2pm. This event is to celebrate International Women’s day and to stand in Solidarity against all forms of Hate. The event is a Women’s only event on the theme, “Women as Nation Builders”.
Derby Cycling Group & Breeze women’s bike ride Sunday 8th March
Women’s HERstory Month events throughout March – see Vox Feminarum facebook page for details
STAND UP! Open Exhibition Artcore Gallery Derby, 5th to 28th March 2020 STAND UP! invites artists from across the world to explore and celebrate International Women’s Day. STAND UP! will investigate the role of women in the arts, and their huge impact on the cultural fabric of contemporary society. It will be a platform for artists to re-imagine citizenship, identity and women’s labour with a view to informing new visions for the future, in testing times. Artist Submission deadline 17th Feb
This annual community festival makes a real difference in Derby. Visitors report benefits to their health and wellbeing, confidence, sense of empowerment and liberation; the event has inspired women and girls into new hobbies, sports, careers and activism, connected people with vital local support groups and charities as well as reducing loneliness by bringing communities together, celebrating diversity and broadening horizons. This year’s festival takes place on 