A female-led arts organisation has announced a special programme celebrating female artists, activists, writers and performers in the East End.
From 1 until 31 March, Alternative Arts will run Women's History Month in East London, a series of events celebrating the area’s rich radical history and the influential women who have called it home over the years.
Maggie Pinhorn, Director of Alternative Arts, told East End Review: “So little of women’s history has been recorded that we are now striving to redress the balance and celebrate women’s wide-ranging achievements.
“Women’s History Month in East London provides a focus on important issues that still face many women today: equality, equal pay, equal rights”.
The programme will encompass visual arts shows, theatrical performances, talks, tours, book launches and workshops.
Highlights of the programme include the group exhibition I Still Dream of a Lost Vocabulary at Autograph Gallery and Women’s Igbo Folk Tales, in which new works by local artist Gillian Lawrence will be on display at The Rockwood Village in Leytonstone.
Fans of live performance can watch Hilda Guonadottir's Where to From and Tandy Davies' Passion of Mary Magdalen at the Barbican Hall, plus Yuja Wang with the London Symphony Orchestra. At Hoxton Hall, BorderCrossings theatre group will perform their play Suppliants of Syria, an exploration of what it means to seek asylum. Voices Across Time, a film by Magic Me and Mulberry Trust, shines a spotlight on inspirational women from east London's past, present and future.
Alice Billings House in Stratford will also present the special event Celebrating Legacy, marking the contribution of women of East London, while the east London-based collective Urbanlens will put on a Photo Night Walk as well as a photography workshop series.
An online exhibition, Well Known Women of East London, is now available to view on the Alternative Arts website. This features portraits of “politicians, social reformers, artists, authors and performers”, according to Pinhorn.
“It may surprise many people to learn just how many extraordinary women were born and worked in East London”, she added.
Women’s History Month falls in March, with International Women’s Day marked on the 8th. For Alternative Arts, the occasion is particularly significant.
“Alternative Arts has always been run by a team of women, so this annual event means a lot to us”, Pinhorn added.
“Our aim is to demonstrate how creative and inventive women are through a highly accessible and entertaining month of activities for everyone to enjoy”.
East London’s revolutionary history is well-documented, and it was a key battleground for women fighting for their rights.
In 1913, Sylvia Pankhurst set up the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS) in Bow, bringing together the Bow, Bromley, Stepney, Limehouse, Bethnal Green and Poplar chapters of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).
“Together they fought for the equal right to vote which was achieved for some women in 1918 and all women in 1928”, Pinhorn added. “Our struggle continues”.
Women's History Month in East London runs from 1-31 March, 2026. The full programme can be found here.
