International Women’s Day will be celebrated at an event in Bradley Stoke this Friday (8th March 2024) when an innovative community textile project will be launched.
The project will see representatives of Bradley Stoke Town Council and Southern Brooks working with local schools and community groups to produce pieces of embroidery which can be sewn onto a red dress. This local Red Dress project is based on the global community development approach used to produce ‘The Red Dress’ over the period 2009 to 2023.
The international Red Dress project provided an artistic platform for women around the world, many of them vulnerable and living in poverty, to tell their personal stories through embroidery.
Pieces of the Red Dress travelled the globe being continuously embroidered onto. Constructed out of 87 pieces of burgundy silk dupion, the garment has been worked on by 367 women/girls, 11 men/boys and 2 non-binary artists from 51 countries.
The founder of the international Red Dress project, Kirstie Macleod, will be a guest speaker at the Bradley Stoke event.
Other inspirational speakers will give presentations on ‘The origins of the Women’s Rights Movement’, Women at work’ and ‘We Rise’ – an organisation dedicated to empowering women.
Bradley Stoke Community Singers will perform a selection of songs empowering to women.
The event takes place at Bradley Stoke Community School, Fiddlers Wood Lane BS32 9BS, starting at 6.30pm.
FREE tickets for the event are available through Eventbrite.
Programme
- 6.15: Arrival
- 6.30: Welcome and introduction to the evening. (Cllr Natalie Field & Liz Evans, Southern Brooks)
- 6.35: The origins of International Women’s Day. (Cllr Natalie Field & Liz Evans, Southern Brooks)
- 6.40: Women’s heritage – the past. The origins of the Women’s Rights Movement (Cllr Jenny James)
- 6.55: Selection of songs empowering to women. (Bradley Stoke Community Singers)
- 7.05: Women at work. (Fleur Mosley, specialist paramedic in critical care at Great Western Air Ambulance Charity)
- 7.15: Short comfort break.
- 7.25: The international Red Dress project – The present. A 14-year, award winning, global, collaborative embroidery project. (Kirstie Macleod – the British artist who conceived the innovative project)
- 7.45: Refreshment break and opportunity to visit information stalls in the dining room.
- 8.10: We Rise – The future. An organisation dedicated to empowering women and transforming lives through education, advocacy and support. (Aaliyah Hussain – founder of We Rise)
- 8.20: Our local Pink/Red Dress project. (Cllr Natalie Field & Liz Evans, Southern Brooks)
- 8.30: Video from International Women’s Day 2023
- 8.35: Finish
Funding
This International Women’s Day event / Red Dress project has received funding from South Gloucestershire Council through its Member-Awarded Funding scheme – Cllr Ben Randles (Bradley Stoke South) awarded £700 and Cllr Sam Scott (Charlton & Cribbs) awarded £250.
