International Women’s Day 2016

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights,” says world-renowned feminist, journalist and social and political activist Gloria Steinem. International Women’s Day is all about celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action – whatever that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, International Women’s Day has been occurring for over a century – and is growing annually from strength to strength.

For this years International Women’s Day celebrations in Manchester, I was pleased to be commissioned to stitch a quilted banner using this years logo and at the Women’s Voices-Changing Manchester conference to collect lots of women’s voices to commemorate within this legacy artwork. Big thank yous to everyone who contributed their voice on a fabric tag and especially Rose, Jill and Mya for their assistance throughout the day. Incidentally the fabric for the banner and the fabric tags are from Ian Mankin cloth, functional yet exquisite fabric, woven here in the NW. Hello to Art With Heart who have been mapping Manchester Women’s stories for #mcriwd16 Lots of Wonder Women 2016 events are going on throughout Manchester this International Women’s Day. The MIWD10 quilt is on display at the People’s History Museum If you have a moment I recommend seeing Charlotte Newson’s beautiful photo mosaic of Emmeline Pankhurst which is currently on display in Manchester Central Library

Best Wishes to you for your International Women’s Day x