Women’s History Month Announces Ambitious Art Exhibitions Programme

Women's History Month

Women’s groups, artists, activists, arts, media and community organisations are celebrating WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH with a remarkably diverse line-up of exhibitions and events.
 
Artists exhibiting this year include Carolee Schneemann at Hales Gallery, Camille Henrot at Chisenhale Gallery, and Tania El Khoury and Amy Sharrocks with events at Toynbee Studios. Group shows include Time=Change at the Espacio Gallery with a sweeping perspective on women’s struggle for social, sexual, political and cultural equality, and The Set Up at KK Outlet revealing the sinister side of the fashion industry.
 
Performances include a season of plays at the Rich Mix exploring the condition of women from a teenage girl boxer to the struggles of a gay girl child growing up in foster care, and the Komola Collective’s production of Birangona:Women of War. Poetry is performed byDorothea Smartt, Kadija Sesay and Wangui Wa Goro at the All Nations Café in Dalston, Sue Rose, Anna Robinson and Hannah Lowe discuss Personal Archeology at Parasol Unit and authors Sufiya Ahmed and Nadia Ali read from their work at the Tower Hamlets Idea Stores.
 
Lively talks and discussions covering a wide range of relevant topics include debates on Women’s Work in the 21st Century led byDr Rosie Cox at the Idea Store Whitechapel, The Real World – Art Gender and the Media at the Whitechapel Gallery and Beg, Borrow, Steal an evening of oratory curated by Laura Dee Milnes at Toynbee Studios.
 
History is explored with a screening of The Forgotten Heroine – Sylvia Pankhurst: Everything is Possible a film by Ceri Dingle at the Worldwrite Centre, an oral history exhibition Where I Belong at the Tower Hamlets Local History Library, Photographs of Spitalfields a Century Ago by CA Mathew at the Eleven Spitalfields Gallery, and at Bishopsgate Institute Rachel Kolsky and Linda Wilkinsonconduct local history walks and Rachel Lichtenstein reveals her latest oral history project with Sandy’s Row Synagogue, the oldest Ashkenazi community in London.
 
Women’s groups and community organisations from all over the East End are putting on special events to celebrate International Women’s Week from 1-8 March. This year they will be placing a particular emphasis on encouraging more women to take part in public life and politics.
 
Supported by Tower Hamlets Council, Tower Hamlets Partnership and Alternative Arts. Women’s History Month is co-ordinated by Alternative Arts

ARTSADMIN

Toynbee Studios 28 Commercial Street E1 6AB Aldgate East tube

www.artsadmin.co.uk 020 7247 5102

Thursday 6 March 12-9pm FREE

TANIA EL KHOURY Garden Speak, a work in progress

Across Syria, many gardens conceal the dead bodies of activists and protect the living from the violent thrusts of the regime. Artist Tania El Khoury will create a sound garden, inviting visitors to pay careful attention to the precarious history that is being entrusted to them.

Thursday 13 March 7.30pm FREE

BEG BORROW STEAL Curated by Laura Dee Milnes

An evening of oratory featuring carefully selected speakers from all walks of life. Whether talking art, science, education, philosophy, food, drink, music, activism or Elvis impersonation, guest orators will take to the soapbox for up to ten minutes to voice their opinions. And there will be ample opportunity for discussion, as well as open mic slots for those prepared to stand up and speak.

Thursday 20 March 7.30pm FREE

AMY SHARROCKS Museum of Water Artist’s Talk (Top photo)

Amy Sharrocks is gathering a collection of water for future generations to enjoy. Her museum has already attracted over 200 publicly donated bottles and their stories including water from a holy river in India and a melted snowman. Amy will talk about the idea behind the project and collect donations throughout the evening. So please bring along some water that is precious to you in a glass bottle and she will archive it for you.

CHISENHALE GALLERY

64 Chisenhale Road E3 5QZ
Mile End/Bethnal Green tube
www.chisenhale.org.uk 020 8981 4518
28 February-13 April Wed-Sun 1-6pm FREE
CAMILLE HENROT The Pale Fox
The first UK Solo exhibition by French, New York based artist Camille Henrot. This new commission follows Henrot’s presentation at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013) for which she received the Silver Lion for most promising young artist. The Pale Fox comprises a bespoke structure and gallery environment inspired by research at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC linking the history of the universe and the universe of the artists’ studio.

CLAPTON SALVATION ARMY

Art in the Community
122 Lower Clapton Road E5 0QR
Clapton Stn/Hackney Downs Stn.
www.artographylondon.com 020 8985 3902
28 February – 28 March Mon 11.30am-3pm, Tues-Thurs 9.15am-2pm Fri 10am-2pm Sun 10.30am-1pm FREE

ALIX EDWARDS Wondrous!

A series of photographic macro images exploring the unexpected shapes, colour and symmetry existing in flowers in and out of water. There will be a FREE art workshop led by photographer Alix Edwards to explore the exhibition on Friday 14 March from 10am to 12.30pm hosted by Art in the Community. Everyone welcome.

ELEVEN SPITALFIELDS GALLERY

11 Princelet Street, Spitalfields E1 6QH
Liverpool St/Aldgate East tube
www.elevenspitalfields.com 020 7247 1816
7 March – 27 April Sat & Sun 10am-6pm Mon-Fri by appointment. CA MATHEW: Photographs of Spitalfields a Century ago

An exhibition of photographs from Bishopsgate Institute by CA Mathews that have been carefully restored by Jeremy Freedman. These incredible images are undoubtedly the finest visual record of early

20th Century Spitalfields. Residents of the streets of East London are captured with startling clarity by the enigmatic CA Mathew.

ESPACIO GALLERY

159 Bethnal Green Road E2 7DG
Shoreditch High St Overground www.espaciogallery.com 07947 628 694
6-18 March Mon-Fri 1-7pm Sat & Sun 11am-7pm FREE TIME=CHANGE

A sweeping historical perspective on women’s struggle for social, sexual, political and cultural equality, acknowledging the remarkable accomplishments which early feminists might not have dreamed of, whilst confronting the darker realities of the many battles not yet won. Artists: Sally Grumbridge, Carol- Ann Lyne, Jamie McCartney, Marianne Frank, Brigitte Boldy, Laura Bello, Tima Viljoen, Natalie Sirett, Nora Velazco, Renee Rilexie, Gabriela Giroletti, Christopher Guest, Tareshvari Robinson, The Finsbury Park Deltics.

HALES GALLERY

Tea Building, 7 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA
Shoreditch Overground/Liverpool St tube
www.halesgallery.com 020 7033 1938
28 February – 12 April Tues-Sat 11am-6pm FREE
CAROLEE SCHNEEMANN Water Light/Water Needle
The first solo exhibition in London of this pioneering artist. Schneemann’s innovative body of work, from the 1950s till today, is consistently challenging both perceptions of, and resistance towards, performance art, the body, politics of identity, and feminist ideology. This is the first time an exhibition of Water Light/Water Needle has been held since the original performance in 1966.

KK OUTLET

42 Hoxton Square N1 6PB
Old Street tube
www.kkoutlet.com 020 7033 7680
7-29 March Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 12noon-5pm FREE THE SET UP

A group exhibition taking its aesthetic reference from fashion shoots but revealing a slightly more sinister side of the fashion industry. Women are often portrayed in the media as beautiful, aspirational creatures – shot under studio lights, made up by a team of experts and photoshopped almost beyond recognition. The exhibition comments on the cruel set up all women are subjected to through the media portrayal of what they’ll always fail to live up to. Artists: Alison Brady, Aurelien Juner, Emily Stein, Isabelle Wenzel, Lydia Garnett, Simon Wald Lasowski, Yolanda Dominguez.

LON-ART Seeds of Creativity

www.lon-art.org 07446612107
Women and Museums
Museums are created to show art, but they are also an invaluable place to hold conversations where critical thinking takes place on subjects such as current affairs, tolerance, gender equality, creative thinking, politics, human rights and more.
Our workshops concentrate on visual literacy: learning how to look at and ‘read’ artworks and, by extension, all manner of images that we see day to day. Aiming to escape a passive reception and acceptance of art, we promote the act of looking as an active, critical dialogue.
Women and Ceramics Sats 1, 15, 29 March 1pm-3pm £5 donation
Victoria & Albert Museum, Ceramics Room, Cromwell Road SW7 2RL
An inspiring session learning about the unique relationship between women and clay throughout history.
Women at the National Gallery Sats 8 & 22 March 1pm-3pm £5 donation
National Gallery, Sainsbury Wing Entrance, Trafalgar Square WC2 5DN
Have you ever wondered why so many of the images that we see in museums are nudes? Or why there are so few women artists? Or what role women have played in the history of art? Come and help re- think art history from the perspectives of contemporary women.
The workshops are FREE to charities working with disadvantaged community groups.
Contact: mariagonzalez@lon-art.org

MUSEUM OF LONDON DOCKLANDS

No1 Warehouse, West India Quay E14 4AZ
Canary Wharf tube/West India Quay DLR
www.museumoflondon.org.uk 020 7001 9844
Saturday 8 March 11am-4pm FREE
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY for families
Celebrate amazing London women with inspiring stories and creative workshops. Suggested ages: 3-11. 11am Amazing Women I Know. 12.30-1.30pm Wonderful Women. 12.30, 1.30 & 3pm Meet Mary Seacole. 11.30am & 2pm East End art. 11.30am, 1pm & 12.30pm The meeting of two queens.

PARASOL UNIT

14 Wharf Road N1 7RW
Angel/Old St tube
www.parasol-unit.org 020 7490 7373
Friday 14 March 7-9pm £6/£5 concs
PERSONAL ARCHAEOLOGY: Panel Discussion
Family History is a rich source for artists, and the poets Sue Rose, Anna Robinson and Hannah Lowe all mire this theme to produce powerful narratives. Join them in a discussion exploring how they use memory and archive to turn private reminiscence into public statement. Event hosted by Hercules Editions publishers and chaired by Tamar Yoseloff.

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

77-82 Whitechapel High Street E1 7QX Aldgate East tube www.whitechapelgallery.org 020 7522 7888 Open Tues-Sun 11am-6pm Thurs until 9pm Until 23 March Galleries 1, 8, 9

HANNAH HOCH Tkts £9.95/£7.95 concs
A member of Berlin’s Dada movement in the 1920s, Hoch was a driving force in the development of 20th century collage. Splicing together images taken from fashion magazines and illustrated journals, she created a humorous and moving commentary on society at a time of tremendous social change. Bringing together over 100 works from major international collections, the exhibition examines her extraordinary career from the 1910s to the 1970s.
Until 13 April Zilkha Auditorium
ELIZABETH PRICE: At the House of Mr X FREE
Turner Prize-winning artist Elizabeth Price’s film is a study of desire and consumption. It was shot in the former home of an anonymous art collector which remains an iconic example of 1960s architecture and interior design.
Thursday 6 March Study Studio 7-8.30pm £6.50/£4.50 concs
THE REAL WORLD: Art, Gender and the Media Discussion
Is the work of female artists undervalued by the media? How have artists used or challenged the press within their work? This seminar unravels what impact critical recognition can have in a career and how this reflects the value systems at play in contemporary art.
Thursday 20 March Zilkha Auditorium 7pm £8.50/£6.50 concs
COLLAGE EXPANDED Discussion

A debate exploring the enduring visual language of collage across art, film making and the internet. Featuring artists Elizabeth and Linder Price in conversation with Prof. Dawn Ades OBE and Eisler curator Daniel F. Herrmann.

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