As this zine is run by two women, every March Issue to coincide with International Women's Day we exhibit work that celebrates, questions, and commemorates the history of women.

The work chosen looks at the impact women have in the world and to raise awareness of issues , International Women's Day was established to commemorate the movement for women's rights and we want to celebrate women.

This month we have words weaving tales of resilience, creativity, and empowerment—crafted by and for the captivating voices of women. As we embrace the essence of International Women's Month, the writers corner unfolds as a literary sanctuary, a celebration of the myriad stories that define and inspire us.

Here, the written word becomes a vessel for the narratives that have shaped, challenged, and empowered women across the globe. From the ink-stained pens of seasoned storytellers to the virtual quills of emerging voices, our collective tapestry is threaded with experiences that transcend boundaries and resonate with the shared strength of womanhood.

Immerse yourself in prose that paints the rich spectrum of feminine identity, poetry that echoes the heartbeat of diverse perspectives, and articles that amplify the voices advocating for change. Join us in this exploration of the written word, where every paragraph is a testament to the indomitable spirit of women and the unique stories they bring to the forefront.

Let this space be a source of inspiration, connection, and celebration—a digital symposium honouring the vibrant spectrum of women's voices during this International Women's Month and beyond.

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Artist - Francesca Busca

Media - Video / performance art

Instagram account - @francesca_busca

Description

Sharing the love for Art with a laugh: recreating artwork with things found at home, embracing the Getty Museum challenge. One 'Artie' a day during Lockdown 2020.

Arties were made by a 'one woman band', while the brilliant soundtrack was composed ad hoc by Moreno Andreatta, Director of Research in Maths and Music at CNRS, Strasbourg (www.morenoandreatta.com).

What started as a friend's challenge for a laugh soon became a daily appointment...and created an amusing bond among quarantined souls worldwide. It was fun and rewarding, especially seeing the tremendous feedback of participation - and challenges! - I was receiving. Such a positive exchange of energy!

Each recreation was made within an hour, at first not even with a remote, between my children's home-schooling appointments. What a nightmare, yet what a tonic for the mind! This is one of those moments when I felt lucky and proud to be a woman, being able to multitask, change hats on the spot, and keep everything running and flowing within a new-found, evershifting balance of event and energy.

Lockdown or not, I hope it will inspire people to do the same: it is also a great way to review artworks in a completely different light, bringing us closer to the artist and the subject portrayed. I will now remember each artwork in detail and, most likely, forever.

4 of my articles have also been selected by the Getty Museum and published in the brilliant little book "Off the Walls" - from which all profits went to Artist Relief.

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Artist - Tara Star

Media - Poetry

Instagram account - @taratalksthoughts

Description

Wouldn’t want to be one of ‘those women’ now would I? The patriarchy and misogyny meant that I grew up with so much internal rage. Wanting to be seen and heard, but afraid of being viewed as ‘difficult’

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Artist - Ramona Galardi

Media - Wire, masking tape, charcoal on paper + poem

Instagram account - @ramona_galardi @ramonagalardi_the_healing_arts

Description

‘Lifeline’ is an alternative expression of life drawing using metal wire, masking tape, and charcoal from a life model.
As the work evolved it took me into a space in time, through my timeline before birth, during, and after, a cathartic experience expressed in the accompanying poem I wrote subsequently.

The text is not embedded in the artwork but is shown together and separately here.
This work is currently exhibited in Lisbon, one of 4, as part of a group exhibition of 15 women artists for international women’s day.

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Artist - Nichola Burton

Media - mixed media

Instagram account @nichola_burton_art

Description

'Lace and the Arboretum'. This work is part of a series that I created in response to my PhD, Women and Lace: Social Change which enabled women to train as lace designers in Nottingham after 1943. I worked for 5 years and interviewed 23 retired lace designers, uncovering original research data and hidden histories. This piece encapsulates the camaraderie of women, and the influence of their local environment.

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Artist - Mim Robson

Media ink, visual poetry

Instagram account - @mimrobsonartist

Description

These are part of a larger Blackout Poetry project in which I am filling each page of a Collins English Dictionary. Whether they are poems thoughts, or observations - I am not always sure. Having shared these with women friends these 3 seemed to resonate most often with our common experiences of living as women in the world. I have written 3 brief explanations, and following that, I have transcribed each poem in case that is helpful.

1. Mexican Wave - I liked the idea of women's voices being powerful, regardless of how loud they are.
2. engulf - This resonated with many women I've shared it with and I think relates to an internalised battle with meeting expectations that can hold women back, impacting their confidence, freedom of expression, and sense of worth.
3. wizard/word processor - I worked in a garden center and wrote this about a customer I observed who seemed to have a lot on her plate but was rolling with it, focusing on others. I later saw that it could have been written about my friend, and indeed about many women I know.

1. Mexican wave - rippling effect produced when a small female voice is treated as equal
2. engulf - engulfed by the feeling that I am not enough, with a terrible fear that the whole of me is too much
3. wizard/word processor - A woman working very hard to be a wife, to be a comfort, to consider everyone and every need except her own

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Artist name - Nicola L Meekin

Instagram account - @poetrybynicolalmeekin

Article/Essay Title - She Is Woman

She Is Woman

She will attempt to ensure that you are happy.

She will try her hardest to make you smile.

She wants you to feel valued and loved.

She will go that extra mile.

She is strong and weak.

She can be mild and meek.

But, cross her path, feel her wrath,

She is a woman.

She wishes to help others to feel self confident.

She feels that is everyone's right, from birth.

She knows the amazing feeling of empowerment,

and the importance of self worth.

Beauty is her name.

Nurturing and loving is her game.

Hurt someone close,

and she will maim.

She is a woman.

She has struggled in the past with self confidence.

She has felt judged, and called worthless, ugly and fat.

She understands how soul destroying that can be.

So, she never wants you to feel like that.

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Artists name

Story Threads Collaboration - Angela Chalmers, Kitty Greenbrown, Mim Robson

Instagram account - @kittygreenbrownpoetry @angela_chalmers_studio @mimrobsonartist

Article/Essay Title

Story Threads - 'Mary, Mary'

Video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zQ8oXZlYeg

Story Threads: The Hidden Histories of Women is an ongoing participatory, multimedia arts project which reveals and celebrates the forgotten stories of women and their connection with some of the North’s most at-risk village churches.

Through a series of community-based poetry, cyanotype and textile workshops, artists Angela Chalmers, Mim Robson, and poet Kitty Greenbrown gather the ingredients required to craft an exceptional dress and corresponding piece of spoken word poetry.

Each dress allows us to powerfully conjure a forgotten woman back into the church she knew, and each complementary piece of spoken word poetry enables us to emotively experience her story. The aim is to recognise and tell the stories of women whose extraordinary lives and work have become invisible through lack of records or celebration, simply because they were women.

Mary, Mary

‘Mary, Mary’ is the first story within the Story Threads Project. It celebrates the life of Miss Mary Craven with themes of female power, otherness, the desire for freedom and the language of flowers.

St Martin-on-the-Hill on Scarborough’s wind-swept South Cliff is a treasure trove of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass and William Morris interior décor. But just who was the enigmatic Mary who conjured this exquisitely decorated example of the Gothic revival into being? The church was built chiefly at her expense and direction in 1863, and her generosity breathed life into what it is today, a Pre-Raphaelite ’Cathedral by the Sea’. But why was she reprimanded for stealing flowers from nearby South Cliff Gardens one morning in 1870? We explored and piece together what we could of the life the enigmatic Mary Craven, culminating in an installation and video poem exhibited within the Lady Chapel of St Martin-on-the-Hill.

The short film premiered at the church during the Heritage Open Days, 2023, in the year of the 160th celebrations of the opening of St Martin’s church. It features a cyanotype dress by Angela Chalmers, poetry by Kitty Greenbrown and flower installations by Mim Robson.

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Artist name - Michelle Baharier

Instagram account - https://www.instagram.com/bahariermichelle/

Article/Essay Title - Poem WAR women artists revolution

Video link

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyVWmCBoMQQ/

Title: War women Artists revolution

Come as a princess

Come as a witch

Or come as a bitch

Come as a hag

come as you are