VISIBLE VOICES

Artist in Residence (2018-2019), ‘Visible Voices’ at Bow Arts, Bow, East London

In response to a call out for a residency that celebrated the theme of ‘Speech’, I proposed a project to celebrate the voices of local women and girls around Stroudley Walk, a disused public square in Bow, East London.

The aim for ‘Visible Voices’ was to recognise the historical importance of the area in relation to Sylvia Pankhurst and the work of the Suffragettes in East London. My ambition for the residency was to platform the voices of women and girls in the local area who might have been excluded by women's suffrage 100 years ago by creating an environment to host art workshops and drop-in sessions.

The residency was in part supported by Poplar HARCA, a community housing association, and the placement required me to connect different groups including mothers and girls, health researchers, community officers, as well as staff from Poplar HARCA and Bow Arts. Significantly, the project required me to make subjects like feminism and gender politics accessible to general audiences by communicating clearly and with intent.