If you haven’t met AJ Duncan of AJD Illustrates and Kirsty Punton of Punts Pots, where have you been? Both are extremely talented, creative, and beautiful souls who wanted to collaborate with us and throw the most incredible International Women's Day event. IWD serves as a call to action to accelerate gender equality and women's empowerment worldwide, and we thought we could do that for creatives in Glasgow while making a really welcoming, inclusive space for artists and art lovers to come together.
This year, the theme of IWD was “Inspire Inclusion,” so we planned a free, accessible, and welcoming event on March 8th, with all donations going to The Women’s Centre Glasgow.
"Women artists make up just 4% of the Tate Modern's permanent collection." - Tate Modern (2020)
Let’s start with the canvas—the venue was a dream come true, and we cannot thank Strange Field enough for working with us. They’re all about making accessible creative platforms available throughout Glasgow in the places where they’re really needed and for the people who really deserve them. They focus on under-represented artists and curators, community-led agency and access to cultural activity for everyone - they also have artist studio spaces available and you should definitely check them out. An accessible venue that aligns with our ethos with the most helpful team? Did I also mention they’re giving New York industrial loft?
“Only 5% of artists in the UK's National Art Collection are women." - BBC Arts (2019)
AJ, as well as being an artist on display herself no big deal(!), curated a powerful celebration of the creative spirit and unique perspectives of female and gender non-conforming artists across Scotland. Through art, people are able to share their stories and express themselves in their own voices and this work was a testament to the power of creativity and the importance of bringing diverse voices to the forefront of the art world. AJ really put in the hours collecting every piece and handling them all with such care as if they were her own and everything just looked spectacular - sincerely, watching everyone walk around and soak up the exhibit was heartwarming. We had a dedicated pop-up shop where the artists sold prints and other pieces and generously all donated 10% to the Women’s Centre; I told you they were all amazing people.
According to a report by Arts Council England, women hold only 32% of leadership positions in major arts organizations.
We know that starting your creative journey needs confidence: when we believe in our abilities, we unlock our artistic potential. We also know that this is an uphill battle as a female or gender non-conforming artist - enter Kirsty. Serious advocate for personal creativity that she is, she hosted a whole feast of crafting, making and bonding on Friday night. We had candle and pot painting and the sweetest and most wholesome pop-up to create a love letter to yourself, to women or anyone at all before posting it. Creative spaces shouldn’t feel intimidating or unwelcoming, they should feel like sitting with your friends and family around a table with a pink tablecloth and having fun, being yourself and expressing your vision without judgment. It’s moving and uplifting to make art in a space like that and we love Kirsty for giving that to us.
"Female artists receive just 13% of the Turner Prize nominations since its inception in 1984." - Tate Britain (2021)
Inspire Inclusion to us meant no barriers to entry. Female and gender non-conforming artists are paid significantly less than their male counterparts, restricting access to materials and all the other things you need to live - including clothing. Enter the Clique clothes swap. The rules were simple - take what you need, take what you like and swap or donate to the Women’s Centre if you can. Our amazing network of stylish babes donated to us way beyond our expectations, and we actually ran out of coathangers multiple times throughout the event. Huge thanks to Irregular Sleep Pattern for being so generous and donating to the swap - one of our favourite brands before and especially now! So many people walked away with garments that should have been in their wardrobes forever and we love nothing more than sharing an opportunity to express ourselves through clothing. It was such a hit; should we do another one?
"Female artists receive less than 4% of public sculpture commissions in the UK." - Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (2021)
In order to collect as many donations from those who were able to give them, we had a school fete-style classic tombola and we loved every second of it. Get yourself to a raffle where the organisers are more excited than you if you win! So many artists, brands, small businesses and local people donated, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Shout out to the girl who won a Drygate t-shirt that will serve as the punchline to an injoke that has been going on for years now - that alone made the whole event worth it.
"In London, women artists earn on average 32% less than male artists." - Mayor of London's Cultural Infrastructure Plan (2019)
The event was BYOB (how cool), and Drygate was wildly generous, providing us with stacks of beer that flowed all night—a huge thank you to them. Gorgeous inside and out, thisisaylee did not let the vibes dip for a split second by keeping the tunes going and was an absolute ray of sunshine in the space. We love Hellcat Graphics for printing our decor as always, keeping us looking mega professional and cool.
We’re still counting the total raised as we had donation points in every corner of that huge space but we can safely say we’ve raised over £1,000. The Women’s Centre Glasgow provides a safe haven throughout Glasgow, supporting and empowering women by offering opportunities to enhance their life choices and social engagement; we’re honestly so proud to have been able to work together to contribute to their vast programme of support.
Thank you to every artist who loaned their work and everyone who came along, donated and contributed to the warm and welcoming atmosphere we live for. Happy International Women’s Day!
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