Unit London presents Exploring Radical Female Joy, a project curated by Dr Catherine McCormack, author of ‘Women in the Picture’.
Beginning on International Women’s Day 2022, the year-long programme will explore how female pleasure and joy in all its forms can be a gesture of feminist resistance and emancipation. The project will take its form in a monthly series of themed talks, studio visits, webinars, podcasts, discussion groups and performances. Each month, we will be partnering with women artists (represented by Unit London and beyond), writers, collectives, institutions, brands, agencies and professionals to explore and engage with topics that celebrate Radical Female Joy. Some of the upcoming monthly themes to look forward to include; Sexual/ Erotic Joy, Motherhood and Role Models, Female Voices Uncensored, Collecting and Collectives among others.
About the collaborators:
Dr Catherine McCormack is an author, independent curator and a regular lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Dulwich Picture Gallery and UCL. Her recent books are The Art of Looking Up (2019) and Women in the Picture (2021). In 2019/20 she curated the acclaimed two part show ‘Matrescence and Maternality’ at Richard Saltoun Gallery in London. McCormack is on the curatorial board for the Eye of the Collector art fair in London in September 2021. McCormack’s writing has been published in The New European, art-agenda, Harper’s Bazaar UK, The Independent, The Architectural Review, and in international academic journals and museum exhibition catalogues.
Amalgama is a cultural programme and digital platform devoted to exhibiting, promoting and publishing the work of women artists from Latin America, Spain & Portugal. With an objective to help female artists achieve their deserved value in the industry and recognise their important contribution to the global art scene, the programme supports and mentors emerging and established artists so they can increase their visibility.
InFems (Intersectional Feminist Art Collective) is an organisation whose aim is to empower women and girls from diverse backgrounds to share their stories and become engaged with the arts. InFems stages exhibitions and facilitates dialogue through the delivery of symposiums, talks and workshops.
Launch Event:
For our first event we invite you to join Prof Catherine McCormack in an engaging conversation with Unskilled Worker (aka Helen Downie), Adelaide Damoah (founder of InFems) and Daniela Galan (founder of Amalgama). The talk will be followed by a performance from the only female Mariachi band in Europe – Mariachi las Adelitas. The event will also feature a spoken word performance by Amani Saeed from The Yoniverse Collective. The event is run in partnership with One Hundred Shoreditch.
Evening Programme Overview:
17.30 – Drinks reception at One Hundred Shoreditch
18.00 – Spoken Word performance by Amani Saeed from The Yoniverse Collective
18.15 – Panel discussion moderated by Catherine McCormack with Adelaide Damoah, Daniela Galan and Helen Downie
18.45 – Live performance by Mariachi las Adelitas, the only female Mariachi band in Europe