International Women’s Day: works by Clean Break and Junior D. Kannah

  • 8th March 2023
  • 6:00pm - 9:00pm
  • Heritage Gallery

Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day with Clean Break Theatre and photography exhibition by Junior D. Kannah.

This event will showcase Catch, a new play from Clean Break, a ground-breaking theatre company which puts women’s voices at the heart of its work and creates lasting change by challenging injustice in and beyond the criminal justice system. Catch presents a compelling case for the necessity of women’s centre services and highlights how the criminal justice system places impassable barriers in front of women who are trying to survive.

This will be followed by a private viewing of Les Sapeuses: Women Dandies of the DRC, an exhibition of documentary photographs by Junior D. Kannah, curated by Sally Howard.

The female answer to the sapeurs, a male sartorial resistance movement started in 1920s Belgian Congo, les sapeuses, have emerged in the past decade as young Kinshasan women view the inherited traditions of ‘la sape’ as method of escape from rigid gendered roles and expectations. For some, la sape is a return to pre-colonial modes of strong African femininity; for others the movement, with its sapeuse solidarity clubs and rich socio-historical heritage, is a means of operating as a queer woman in a nation and era in which homophobia is rife.

More information about the exhibition can be found on the University of Greenwich Galleries website by following the link here.

This event falls on International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

This year’s theme for IWD is #EmbraceEquity and Clean Break recognises that the treatment of women by the criminal justice system is one of the clearest demonstrations that our society is still unequal and that women are judged by different standards to men. Their vision is of a society where women can realise their full potential, free from criminalisation. Clean Break believes that theatre enables women to challenge their oppression by society in general and by the criminal justice system in particular.

Please note: These tickets are limited, please let us know in advance if you are unable to attend on the day.

Register here

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