Slutwalk Bristol – introductory meeting

In the spirit of spontaneity and street-based feminist interventions that Sistershow embodied, a meeting to explore the possibility of holding a Slutwalk in Bristol is taking place tomorrow, 15th May at Centrespace Gallery from 2-4pm.

The meeting is open to people who are for or against organising a Slutwalk in Bristol. The organisers know that it is a controversial subject that has so far divided Bristol’s feminist masses.

Read more on the event’s facebook page.

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. Hope to see you there!

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Photos from the opening afternoon tea party, 7 May, 2011

Alison Rook and Phyl Chandler

Bencie Woll and Alison Rook

Introductory talk

Cherry Ann Knott from the Heritage Lottery Fund celebrates the relationship between the arts and heritage

Jan Martin talks design

Helen Taylor responds to the exhibition

The lovely Dominic Thrupp, sans drag outfit

Sistershow Reunited - front row, left-right Ellen Malos, Helen Taylor, Angela Rodaway; Middle Row, left-right Dominic Thrupp, Phyl Chandler, Alison Rook, Elaine Evenleigh; Back row, left-right Bencie Woll, Lynn Houlton, Jill Robin.

Browsing

The miraculous Susan Croft

Singalong....

everyone joined in

Thanks to May Withers for taking these! Please send any more photos to sistershow@hammeronpress.net

Setting up!

There has been a steady stream of visitors at the exhibition since the grand opening on Saturday. Here are some pictures of us setting up the space. With thanks to Jan for the artistic vision, 2D for being butch, Jenny for being butch and documenting at the same time & Paul for being the incredibly helpful chap he is.

Blank Canvas

The photos

Jan works her magic

There’s nothing better than an empty exhibition case to fill

Getting there…

Just a little bit more to the left….

Phew! the book arrived in time. Make sure you get a copy!

Finished!

And the public flocks in…

Hidden Herstories – tomorrow! (12th May)

Tomorrow we are screening Hidden Herstories from 7-9pm.

The film profiles the lives of four hugely important – but often forgotten women – Octavia Hill, Amy Ashwood Garvey, Claudia Jones and Jayaben Desai. It offers engaging and moving portraits of the women, including interviews with people who knew them, academics and in the case of Jayaben Desai, the women themselves.

£3-5 entry, no one turned away because of lack of funds.

Women in Art by Gill Hague (for Pat)

Gill will be reading her tribute to Pat and Jackie’s intervention next Wednesday, 18th May, 7-9, at the Pat VT West evening, but here it is for you to enjoy.

Women in Art
By Gill Hague (for Pat)

A quarter of a century later
and they’re still talking about it—-
how those crazed women
wore hats and hurled radishes
and took off their clothes
just as some rather noble, sane men were valiantly
explaining that

Yes,
they had contritely and authoritatively discovered,
in full support of the women’s liberation cause of course,
that men were the ‘doers’ in Art
and women merely surveyed.

(And mainly nude)

With what sagacity the clever men spoke,
supporters of feminism to a man,
and very comfortably off.

And in they burst,
those two women,
throwing away their clothes
across the righteous male droning,
painting themselves lewdly,
kissing the wise men
with paint encrusted lips….

rubbing wet pigment
into the carefully selected suits….

and legging it to safety,

Making it clear,
even after quarter of a century,
just who it is
that the women’s liberation revolution
belongs to.

Abortion Democracy – tonight!

Don’t forget to pop down to Centrespace tonight to watch Abortion Democracy, followed a Q & A with filmmaker Sarah Diehl.

It starts at 7pm, £3-5 entry but no one turned away due to lack of funds.

Tasty Cake on sale too!

Ordinary Woman

The opening weekend of Sistershow Revisited was amazing. Loads of people came and enjoyed themselves and a massive thankyou to all the people who helped.

Until I have all the photos to put up here, enjoy this video of the ‘Ordinary Woman’ singalong recorded by 7 year old Talula de Feu!

‘Ordinary Woman’ was sung in Sistershow and there are no recordings of it – until now!!

More to follow!

Sunday with Sheila – cancelled

We are sad to announce that Sunday’s ‘Sunday with Sheila’ event has been cancelled because Sheila Rowbotham is unwell.

Here at team revisited we wish Sheila the speediest of recoveries. Get better soon!

The gallery will still be open from 11-5pm on Sunday, so please do pop by.

The exhibition is looking pretty wonderful and we can’t wait to unveil it to you. See you at the tea party!

Opening afternoon tea party

The official opening of Sistershow Revisited is soooooo soon.

We hope you will join us for the opening afternoon tea party from 12-4pm on Saturday 7 May at Centrespace Gallery.

Here’s the programme:

12pm-1pm Informal browsing of the exhibition, tea & cake

1pm – 1.15pm Official opening and welcome by Sistershow Revisited Curator, Deborah Withers and Heritage Lottery Fund representative, Cherry Ann Knott.

1.15-2.15pm Responses to the exhibition by Sistershow members.

2.15pm – 2.45pm Tea Break, informal browsing

2.45 – 3pm Discussion of Jackie Thrupp’s design style, led by Jan Martin, Sistershow Revisited designer.

3- 3.30pm Susan Croft: Unfinished Histories. Alternative theatre historian and curator of the Unfinished Histories archive project talks about the history of feminist theatre in the 1970s

3.30-4pm Re-creating Sistershow. Using the song-sheets, guitar chords and the small amount of musical notation that was written down, we will finish the afternoon with a collective singsong based on the music used in Sistershow performances!

The tea party will be followed by an evening performance by Breathing Fire from 7-9pm.

The tea party is free to attend. The evening performance costs £5-10 sliding scale entry, which includes the cost of the exhibition catalogue for one night only! No one is turned away due to lack of funds.

See you there!

‘It was an orgy laid at the feet of Sistershow’

Pat VT West never shied away from telling it like it was. In this oral history excerpt she describes the sensationally erotic impact Sistershow had on the women who saw it. Apologies for the poor sound quality.

There is a celebration of Pat’s life and work taking place on Wednesday 18th May from 7-9pm at Centrespace Gallery as part of the exhibition.