To commemorate 100 years since the passing of the Representation of People Act 1918, giving women over 30 in the UK the right to vote, the NFWI has been invited to take part in the ‘PROCESSIONS’ project, organised by Artichoke, 14-18 Now and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England.
The PROCESSIONS project will offer three levels of engagement – WIs have been invited to take part in tiers 2 and 3:
Tier 1 – 100 arts organisations have been commissioned to host workshops for groups of women across the UK to produce 100 banners. These artworks will be archived or exhibited following the event. The 100 organisations taking part at Tier 1 level are spread throughout the UK.
Tier 2 – Organisations (including the NFWI), groups and charities have been invited to take part in banner-making activities using an online toolkit (giving cost-effective ideas for themes and materials), downloadable from the Artichoke website. There is no funding for the materials of the banners, however the banners will remain the property of the makers.
Tier 3 – All women and girls from across the UK are invited to attend the PROCESSIONS events taking place in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast to meet up with other women across the country to mark the anniversary of women’s suffrage. Women can bring along their banners and pennants (these do not need to have necessarily been made as part of ‘tier 2’ and could be old WI banners that have been made previously/centenary banners, etc.). The events taking place on 10th June are expected to be large scale meet-ups with individuals given a green, purple or white tabard/vest and organised into sections to create a large artwork in the colour theme of the old suffragette banners.
If you’d like more information or would like to take part, please register on the PROCESSIONS website.