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Women’s Words 2018 Literary Project

8 Sep 2017 - 10:09 by michelle.foster

The Pankhurst Trust (Incorporating Manchester Women’s Aid) is a Manchester based charity active for over 40 years in the City. As their name suggests they host a small museum dedicated to the Pankhurst Family and the Women’s Social and Political Union - better known as the Suffragette Movement. They also provide refuge and community support services for survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Pankhurst Trust

The Pankhurst Trust are currently working with Arts Council England to take forward a fabulous multi-media life-writing project capturing Women’s memories and experiences of growing, living and working in Manchester.

The project is being delivered through a partnership comprised of:
• The Pankhurst Trust
• Manchester Libraries and Archives
• Wordplay Community Arts
• Soroptimist International Manchester

The project uses artistic development, both on an individual and group level, to tackle social inequality by enabling women and girls to become self-supporting and learning new ways to have their voices heard now and in posterity.

The project is designed to commemorate the 2018 Centenary of the vote for women. Inspired by the Suffragette principle of making visible the lives of disenfranchised women. In addition to a general call out to all women to tell their stories of living, working and growing in Manchester the project will actively engage women experiencing domestic violence and abuse, homelessness and the asylum process, arguably the voiceless in 21st century Britain, to tell their story in new, imaginative and creative ways. Participants will for example be given the opportunity to explore how traditional, ‘making’ arts practice such as textiles, letterpress, Cyanotype and oral/collaborative storytelling can facilitate the life writing process, supported by creative and life writing artists such as Michelle Green, Lucy May Schofield and POD Collective

The Pankhurst Trust look forward to working with the Women’s Voices Group Inspiring Change Manchester, Revive and Manchester Women’s Aid on these fabulous creative workshops.

Part of the project will involve a reimagining of and publication of an edition of the ‘The Suffragette’, a magazine published by the militant Suffragette Movement. This new ‘Suffragette Magazine’ would showcase the creative process of the artworks produced by this ‘Women’s Words on Manchester’ project, include commissioned pieces from published authors and a selection of the life writing submitted participants. It would be available to buy at Central and local Manchester Libraries and the Pankhurst Centre Museum.

The Pankhurst Trust intends that this edition of the magazine to be a piece of art in itself. It will be edited/curated by Lucy May Schofield, (www.lucymayschofield.com/) and will add new contemporary women’s art and story to their heritage collection at 62 Nelson Street Manchester, birthplace of the Suffragette Movement.

All of the stories submitted will be collated and kept in the Manchester Library archive, and will be available to the general public. The project will culminate in two public events, an exhibition and gala event on the 5 February at Central Library.

The partners are all very excited by the project and believe it will be an outstanding opportunity for the disadvantaged women, and partner community and voluntary sector organisations, work with day in day out.

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