Brighton Women’s Centre joined forces with Brighton Dome and Brighton Museum to celebrate International Women’s Day 2018 with free stalls, talks, tasters, and specially commissioned work reflecting on current issues raised throughout the day.
Sali Hughes (The Guardian, Pretty Iconic), discussed the impact of the changing beauty industry (worth $56.2 billion in 2016 alone) with three inspirational panellists in Empowerment or Oppression: What does the beauty industry do for women?
Juno Dawson, British trans author of young adult fiction and non-fiction brought her highly-acclaimed book, The Gender Games, to Brighton. Dawson doesn’t just tell her story, but the story of everyone who is shaped by society’s expectations of gender and identity – and what we can do about it.
I’m Not Rain Man: Women and Autism, a talk by Rebecca Simmons received a tremendously positive response. Speaking for young women and girls she said “Autism is a normal expression of humanness.” She added “You are suffragettes now. Be proud so future generations don’t suffer.”
In her talk “Women In Policing with Sussex Police” Adele, a responsive police inspector talked about what it’s like to be a woman on the beat and how in Sussex, women have climbed to the very top of the force. Adele currently has two women sergeants and six women pcs in her team. She said: “No two days are the same and I get to work with amazing people.”
FotoDocument and Lendwithcare.org collaborated to create Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide, an exhibit showcasing photo essays from global documentary photographers. Brighton Museum hosted Wonder Women, an opportunity to meet some incredible women from history, including Brighton suffragette, Minnie Turner, and fossil hunter Mary Anning, whilst getting up close and personal with some of Brighton Museum’s Collections. Tour guide Louise Peskett also hosted 45-minute-long walking tours of the Royal Pavilion Estate to discover the important Women of Brighton’s history.
In a unique form of activism, Nail Transphobia founder, Charlie Craggs, gave free manicures to tackle transphobia through nail art, giving people the chance to sit down and have a chat with a trans person and challenge their misconceptions. While Codebar – a female run non-profit initiative collective from London – ran a workshop on beginners coding.
Other workshops and events included a SPECTRUM seminar on Women & the Music Industry; Lost Women of Art with Susie Courtault, an exploration of how women are portrayed in art; Sing Your Heart Out with Aneesa Chaudhry, a chance to get together with local women to sing, have fun and make some new friends; a Body Positivity workshop with Free the Nipple and a masterclass in hand massage from Jing Massage. Sarah Taylor hosted a Confidence and Creativity workshop to inspire, empower and motivate.
There was delicious food from Real Junk Food Project alongside the Conversation Café and Marketplace.
Thank you to everyone involved in making this event such a success!
You can view our IWD 2018 Gallery here.