Community Project: International Women’s Day 2022 Banner
2021 was the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp. To celebrate, we started the Breaking Boundaries Project, with the aim of creating a brand-new community banner with our local communities for International Women’s Day 2022. We have a number of community-made banners in our collection, and we were inspired by the collective nature of this practice to make a banner which reflected the people of Bradford in 2022.
We gave out 18 squares to local people and organizations to decorate with women who inspire them. We also ran two workshops at Bread + Roses Café in Bradford, so people could come along and create their sections with museum staff. The completed banner is now on display, and this blog post goes through each of the sections that make up the banner, including who made them and the inspiration behind them.
Section 1 –
Made by Rachel, Maya, Izzy, Aria and Verona
“This section shows girls on top of the moor having a great time. Learning about inspiring women. We play and adventure in nature. And eat crazy sandwiches.”
“We use the book ‘What would she do?’. I began this group when a wonderful 10 yr old told me that running fast and playing physical games was not something she could/should do as a girl. Taking a small group to the Moor has allowed them to celebrate the strength of their physicality, have agency over what they do and enjoy the company and friendship of other girls… in a wide open natural space. Sadly, we still have a long way to go in challenging rigid sex role stereotypes -sometimes it feels like we are going backwards. But these girls experiencing their capacity to ‘rule themselves’ as free spirits is a joy to behold.”
Section 2 –
Made by Lacie, Amie, Neve and Amelia
“This section shows LGBTQ+ rights and not being afraid to be who you are”
Section 3 –
Made by Emily Elsworth
“This section shows the many autistic women advocating for acceptance, equity and
hidden disability understanding. The rainbow neurodiversity infinity symbol and sunflower (hidden disability lanyard) reflect this.”
Section 4 –
Made by Byron Primary School Craft Club
“This section shows women of different nationalities united for peace.”
Section 5 –
Made by Mussarat Rahman
Section 6 –
Made by Lily, Abbie and Millie
“This section shows that women are special and deserve to be treated fairly.”
Section 7 –
Made by Kirkstall St Stephens Primary School
Section 8 –
Made by local guide group members
Section 9 –
Made by local guide group members
Section 10 –
Made by Sarah Carritt
“This section shows the link between mums with Autistic children. Strong, women, totally together.”
Section 11 –
Made by Neve and Jess, 77th Bradford Guides
“This section shows that women and girls (especially in Girlguiding) can do it just as well as anyone else.”
Section 12 –
Made by Rachel McMahon
“This section shows Audrey Lorde – black lesbian, mother, warrior, poet. Her writing and activism have both comforted and challenged me over many years. Intersectional before the term was coined.
Audre Lorde fought oppression in relation to racism, sexism, classism and homophobia. Her writing is clear, passionate, thought-provoking and nuanced.
She led me to others – June Jordan, Angela Davis, bell hooks. My favourite of her works are Zami, Sister Outsider, A Burst of Light and Litany for Survival. She challenges us to overcome our fears. “And when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard, nor welcomed. But when we are silent we are still afraid. So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive.”
Audre Lorde died of cancer in 1992. Much missed, Rest in Power.”
Section 13 –
Made by Touchstone’s women’s interfaith ‘Art of friendship’ group
“This section shows how women from different faiths can come together creatively to form deep friendships and build mutual understanding – and in doing so create peace in our communities and city.”
Section 14 –
Made by Byron Primary School Craft Club
“This section shows rising above the barbed wire of war to achieve peace for the world.”
Section 15 –
Made by Beth, Eleanor, Evie and Holly
“This section shows peace and hope because of the dove.”
Section 16 –
Made by Olivia, Scarlett and Eva
“This section shows honey bees and international women’s day.”
Section 17 –
Made by Abigail M, Ella H and Abi S – Worthinghead Primary School
“This piece is inspired by Emmeline Pankhurst. We recognise that not all of her methods were peaceful but she still inspires millions of people across the world today.”
Section 18 –
Made by Noah, Amelia, Sapphire and Ruby
“This section shows of one section and people safely know they are.”
Staff sections
Made by Ezra Kingston
“This section shows the amazing trans women, and present, who have made an impact in Britain, and helped to make the world a better, more vibrant place.”
Made by Shannen Johnson
“This section shows the connections between the past and the present – women were campaigning for peace during WWI and continue to do so today.”
The International Women’s Day banner has just been on display at Bread + Roses Café, and it is about to go on display at Byron Primary School. If you would like the banner to go on display in your space, get in touch with us at [email protected]