Throughout history, women have collaborated leading action to redress inequality. In the 1900s, the Suffragettes made significant inroads for gender equality.

International Women’s Day continues to be a powerful global platform that unites women and drives action for gender parity, while celebrating achievements of all women.

Hereford played an active role during the Suffragette movement. In a book written in lockdown by Clare Wichbold ‘Hard Work – But Glorious: Stories from the Herefordshire Suffrage Campaign’, Clare outlines the amazing work they did.  A chance meeting with Clare & Lin Mathias, HCA’s BA (Hons) Fine Art Graduate gave birth to an idea for International Women’s Day: ‘’A Poster Parade’’.

Working as collaborative creatives, they will re-enact a Suffragette Poster Parade (circa 1913.). The parade will be the artwork, incorporating banners, placards, street art and poetry illustrating modern-day issues of life for women in 2022. They want to encourage participants to recycle and upcycle items for the parade to demonstrate sustainability.

As modern-day suffragettes, female, male and all genders are invited to continue in the footsteps of our foremothers. People are invited to dress in contemporary costume or in the style of the period in black & white & sepia as a photograph of that era depicts. The Suffragette colours, white, purple, and green will be used as accent colours.

The parade will be a silent event as were the suffragette parades. They hope to raise money for a local for WMRSASC (West Mercia Rape & Sexual Assault Counselling).

It is hoped that colleges, community centres, local groups and individuals will participate and transfer their experiences into an art form that reflects their thoughts & views on how life for women is in 2022.

The event will take place at 2pm Sunday 6 March 2022 from Hereford Cathedral to The Courtyard.

The parade will start at Hereford Cathedral and precede through Church Street into High Town, highlighting significant landmarks where women have made history in Hereford. Women speakers will add their voices at various stops enroute.

The event will terminate at The Courtyard where participants can gather for refreshments, exhibitions & films from Borderline Film Festival.

The event is a form of art known as Relational Aesthetics; a term created by curator Nicolas Bourriaud in the 1990s to describe the tendency to make art based on, or inspired by, human relations and their social context.

For more information, please contact linmathias@hotmail.com or clare.wichbold@gmail.com