2019 Festival
The festival will take place between Thursday 28th February and Saturday 16th March 2019
Since the Festival began 30 years ago, a multitude of topics have been covered, ranging from the arts to the sciences, a variety of campaigns such as those concerned with homelessness and sweated labour and a broad range of groups and individuals have participated. The festival has also been about women’s creativity and raising issues on women’s rights. Thus it has always tried to represent different women’s groups, different ages and nationalities as well as individual women.
This year’s theme, ‘We will survive and thrive’ falls into three parts. Firstly a reflection on the last 30 years, that is, both the successes and failures which have affected women’s lives in Oxford, nationally and internationally. Secondly it is about present issues which might affect women’s lives. Finally it is about hopes for the future.
OIWF Programme 2019 hires print
OIWF programme 2019
Wednesday 13th March 7-9pm
Oxford and District Labour Women’s Group
Oxford Labour Women’s Herstory Quiz
Oxford Town Hall
St Aldates Oxford
OX1 1BX
Free Event (donations welcome – all money raised will go to local charities that benefit women)/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
Celebrate the radical women of Oxford and the world with this fun, friendly, feminist quiz. All ages, all genders welcome (Labour or not!) There will be opportunities to find out more about the work of LPWG during the evening.
No booking needed
For more information email info@OxfordLabour.org.uk
https://www.oxfordlabour.org.uk/
Thursday 14th March 1.30pm and 7.30pm (1 hour long)
Arts at the Old Fire Station
SOLD: The Mary Prince Story
Arts at the Old Fire Station
40 George Street
Oxford
OX1 2AQ
All welcome/Wheelchair Access/Booking essential
1831: Mary Prince’s narrative shocks Britain.
Two years later, the Abolition of The Slave Trade Act is passed. Mary’s story helped end slavery.
A solo show with cultural explosions of song, passionate dramatic narrative and storytelling theatre brings Mary’s words to life.
Kuumba Nia Arts
Cost of admission £10/£8: to book tickets www.oldfirestation.org.uk
For more information email tickets@oldfirestation.org.uk or call 01865 263990
Friday 15th March 6.00 for 6.30-9pm
Oxford Hindu Temple and Community Centre Project
(OHTCCP)
OIWF End of Festival Dinner
Rose Hill Community Centre – Main Hall
Carole’s Way
Rose Hill
Oxford
OX4 4HF
Booking essential/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
The end of Festival will commence with Indian live music and speeches by notable women from political, educational and social services backgrounds. It will be followed by a 3-course Indian home-cooked meal, Indian classical dance and demonstrations of putting on evening dress from Pakistan and India and Syria. The dinner also coincides with the Persian Nouw Roz and Indian Spring Festival of Colours – Holi and the Pakistani Festival of Basant…so do come & experience some Henna artistry and Rangoli.
Cost of dinner £22.50 per person and £20.00 – Concessions (over 65)
To book email chintakallie@hotmail.com
www.oxfordhindutempleproject.org
Saturday 16th March 2.30-4.30pm
Unison Oxfordshire County Branch
Women Trade Unionists – how far have we come?
East Oxford Community Centre
Princes Street
Oxford
OX4 1DD
Free Event/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
Has women being active in trade unions enabled us to thrive or merely survive in the workplace. Do we still need self -organised groups, reserved seats or have we achieved full equality? Explore these and other related issues with us.
With a range of speakers from the trade union movement.
Booking recommended: email Debbie Hollingsworth wedgedaisy@gmail.com
Monday 4th March 6.30-9pm (doors open 6pm)
Women and the 5 ‘Giant Evils’
West Oxford Community Centre
Botley Road
Oxford
OX2 0BT
Free Event/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
Published in November 1942, the Beveridge Report proposed widespread reforms to the system of social welfare to address five “Giant Evils” in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease. The report promised rewards for everyone’s sacrifices but have women sacrificed too much and for what gain?
Open discussion with a panel of speakers selected to represent each of the relevant services.
Booking recommended: email Debbie Hollingsworth wedgedaisy@gmail.com
Tuesday 5th March 7-9pm
Network of Oxford Women, Sponsored by Oxford and District Trades Council
Network of Oxford Women Annual Lecture:
More women MPs needed!
The Court Room
Oxford Town Hall
St Aldates
Oxford
OX1 1BX
Free Event/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
A talk about what life in Parliament is like for women MPs. The barriers that they had to overcome. Useful skills for a demanding job. How they get their voice heard and how to persuade more women to become MPs.
Speaker: Hilary Baxter, author of A Woman’s Place is in the House
No booking needed. For more information contact sarahllasenby@gmail.com
Tuesday 5th March 7.30-9.30pm
Oxford City Living Wage Campaign
Sisters! Fight for The Living Wage!
Oxford Town Hall
St Aldates
OX1 1BX
Free Event/All Welcome/ Wheelchair Access
Local women report on the campaign for the Oxford Living Wage (£10.02 per hour), work in unions and the community plus an international dimension. And what YOU can do to help!
No booking required.
For more information https://www.facebook.com/OxfordLivingWageCampaign/
Wednesday 6th March 5pm
Oxford Association for Women in Science & Engineering (AWiSE) in collaboration with the Museum of Natural History & Somerville College
Dorothy Hodgkin Memorial Lecture
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Parks Road
Oxford
OX1 3PW
Free/All Welcome/wheelchair access
“Black holes & spin offs”
Our speaker will describe her work in astrophysics research on black holes in our Galaxy and the engagement of young people, especially girls, in developing countries into science.
Professor Katherine Blundell, OBE University of Oxford
No booking needed
For more information contact Dr Yasmin Robson 01865 750143 or email yrobson1@yahoo.com
https://sites.google.com/site/oxfordawise/
Thursday 7th March 2-3.30pm
International Gender Studies Centre at LMH
“Barbara Harrell-Bond: A life not ordinary” a documentary
screening of documentary, discussion and Q&A
Lady Margaret Hall
Norham Gardens
Oxford
OX2 6QA
Free/All Welcome/Sorry, no wheelchair access
Through the prism of an extraordinary life, this documentary explores the achievements of the late Barbara Harrell-Bond – academic, refugee activist and life-long advocate of refugee rights. Her recent passing makes this a most poignant and timely contribution to the Festival.
Former colleagues will provide context for documentary on life and activism of a long-time Oxford resident
Booking recommended: Email: igs.admin@lmh.ox.ac.uk
For more information contact 01865 274281
Thursday 7th March 7.30-9.30pm
Open Screen (supported by Film Oxford)
Women’s Film Night at Open Screen: Oxford’s ‘Open Mic’ Film Night
Film Oxford
54 Catherine Street
Oxford
OX4 3AH
Free Event (please bring drinks and snacks to share)/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
An evening of empowering films by and about women, including the films made on the Women’s 3 Day Production course the same week (see filmoxford.org/training). Meet local filmmakers, share ideas and see how films can create change.
Hosted by Zoe Broughton
Booking recommended by 7th March meetup.com/open-screen-oxford
For more information contact office@filmoxford.org
filmoxford.org/open-screen
Saturday 9th March 2-4pm
Freedom From Torture, Oxfordshire Members Group
‘Lost and Found’
Garden Room, Friends Meeting House
43 St Giles
Oxford
OX1 3LW
Free (donations welcome)/All welcome/Wheelchair access
Freedom from Torture’s ‘Write to Life’ group share moving, surprising, darkly humorous stories in prose & song. Followed by discussion on how creativity can overcome public indifference to asylum issue; also discussion on special problems faced by female asylum seekers, led by lawyer Jennifer Obaseki
No booking needed
For more information contact 01865 552550 or 01993 700162 or email freedomfromtortureoxford@hotmail.com
https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/
www.facebook.com/Freedom-from-Torture-Oxford-Group-482584
Saturday 9th March 2.00-10pm
Young Women’s Music Project
WO-MAN-ITY
Makespace
1 Aristotle Lane
Jericho
Oxford
OX2 6TP
£5 recommended donation, but no-one will be turned away for lack of funds/All Welcome/Wheelchair access
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2019, we are proud to present WO-MAN-ITY, an Oxfordshire based festival curated by youth empowerment charity Young Women’s Music Project based this year at Makespace. Through performances, workshops and talks, WO-MAN-ITY provides a forum for people of all genders and ages to come together to create, learn and discuss gender-based issues that affect our day-to-day lives.
Booking recommended: for booking or more information email info@ywmp.org.uk
Saturday 9th March 2-4pm
Windrush Years – Next Generations 2018 -2019
Exhibition
The exhibition consisting of oral histories of local Windrush generation members, via the Museum’s listening post. A reconstruction of the a typical West Indian/Caribbean Front Room/Living Room of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
The Gallery
Museum of Oxford
Town Hall
Sr Aldates
Oxford
OX1 1DX.
For further information contact: Junie James 07542976 470 or
Email:junie.ackhi03@gmail.com ackhi03@gmail.com https://www.ackhi.org
African Caribbean & African Kultural Heritage Initiative (ACKHI)
Sunday 10th March 12.00-5pm
Creators of Peace UK
A Space to Thrive
Talking Shop and Sandford Village Hall
The Village Hall
Henley Rd
Sandford-on-Thames
Oxford OX4
Note:
There is a direct bus from Oxford to the venue
Parking available
Free event/All Welcome/Wheelchair access
Donations welcome on the day for Creators of Peace. Cakes/food there will be a small charge.
Join us for a relaxing and rejuvenating afternoon of tea, food, home made cakes, music, inspiring stories from our exhibition, creative workshops and more. For more info please email or visit our Facebook page.
elizabeth.laskar@iofc.org and miranda.shaw@iofc.org
www.uk.iofc.org/creators-of-peace
Monday 11th March 10am-12.30pm
The Hummingbird Lodge
Our Love is Our Power
A cosy cabin in East Oxford.
Address confirmed on booking
Free Event (donations welcome)/All welcome/No Wheelchair Access
“It is time to return to balance, and for this, women must lead.” Sharon rebalancing.
Led by Jackie Singer
Booking essential: email jackie@thehummingbirdlodge.com
For more information contact Jackie Singer 07984 154203
Monday 11th March 6.30-8.30pm
Oxfordshire Green Party
Women, gender and progressive politics: a conversation
Oxford Brookes University
Gypsy Lane
Oxford
OX3 0BP
Free Event/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
A panel of women from politics and grass-roots movements talking about women and gender in progressive politics. There will be time for Q & A, and discussion from the floor. Organised by Oxfordshire Green Party.
Light refreshments will be available
Booking recommended via website www.greenoxfordshire.com
For more information contact Kate Robinson katejorobinson@gmail.com
Tuesday 12th March, 6.30-8.30pm
Ultimate Picture Palace
Film Showing: 9-5
Ultimate Picture Palace
Jeune Street
Cowley Road
Oxford
OX4 1BN
All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
Pour yourself a cup of ambition! As relevant today as it was when it was first released, this 1980s classic, starring Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, celebrates the power of female friendship. Screening introduced by former Unison National Officer, Heather Wakefield, who is now Chair of Maternity Action and Visiting Fellow at Greenwich University
Booking essential online www.uppcinema.com, by phone 01865 245 288 or at the box office
£9.50 adults, £8.50 seniors, £8 students/claimants
Fringe Events
Monday 11th -Tuesday 18th March
17th Oxford Human Rights Festival: ACTIVISM
Oxford Brookes University
Gipsy Lane
Oxford
OX3 0BP
Free Event/All Welcome/Wheelchair Access
Now in its 17th year, the Oxford Human Rights Festival, organised by students at Oxford Brookes University, aims to raise awareness of human rights issues through the arts. This year the programme of events centres around the theme of ACTIVISM
Booking required for some events, please check the website www.oxfordhumanrightsfestival.net
For more information contact Angela Hatherell ahatherell@brookes.ac.uk
Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd April 7.30-10pm (both days)
Arts at the Old Fire Station
Rouse, Ye Women
Arts at the Old Fire Station
40 George Street
Oxford
OX1 2AQ
All welcome/Wheelchair Access/Booking essential
A new folk opera about Mary Macarthur and the Women Chainmakers, the hundreds of women who laid down their tools in 1910 to strike for a living wage.
★★★★ – The Guardian on We Are The Lions, Mr Manager!
Townsend Theatre Productions
Booking essential: £12/£10 www.oldfirestation.org.uk
For more information email tickets@oldfirestation.org.uk or call 01865 263990
Thursday 28th February 7.30-8.30pm
Arts at the Old Fire Station
Hymns for Robots
Arts at the Old Fire Station
40 George Street
Oxford
OX1 2AQ
All welcome/Wheelchair Access/Booking essential
The story of the unsung genius behind the Doctor Who theme tune: Delia Derbybshire, the first woman to work for the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. With strange sounds and weird wobbulations, this is a sonic experience your ears won’t believe.
Noctium Theatre
Booking essential, for tickets contact www.oldfirestation.org.uk
For more information email tickets@oldfirestation.org.uk or call 01865 263990
Thursday 28th February 7.30-9.15pm
Cuba Solidarity
Setting the bar high – 60 years of women’s rights in Cuba.
The Court Room,
Oxford Town Hall, St Aldates,
Oxford/
OX1 1BX
Free (retiring collection)/All Welcome/wheelchair access
60 years ago, Cuban women and men fought for freedom from brutal dictatorship. The Federation of Cuban Women grew from this dynamic involvement. Join our discussion, led by Natasha Hickman, on how women’s rights survive and thrive in socialist Cuba.
Natasha Hickman, Cuba Solidarity Campaign Communications Manager. Editor of CubaSí magazine.
No booking needed.
For more information call 01235 811728 or email cubasolidarityoxford@yahoo.co.uk
https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk
Friday 1st March 7.30-9.30pm
Oxfordshire Branch Communist Party of Britain
They made history – revolutionary feminist women who helped change the world.
The Lounge and Community Bar
East Oxford Community Centre
Princes Street, Oxford, OX4 1DD
Free (retiring collection)/All Welcome/wheelchair access/
Rosa Luxembourg, Eleanor Marx, Clara Zeitkin, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Alexandra Kollontai and others – feminist revolutionaries whose radical ideas helped shape our world. Join the discussion on the contributions these early pioneers made for working class women’s emancipation, equality and rights.
Discussion Forum led by local activists.
No booking needed
For more information call 07769 557664 or email oxford@communist-party.org.uk
