March is Women’s History Month! With that and International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March, there’s no better time to highlight the stories and achievements of women and celebrate their contributions to history, culture and society. To help you plan your cultural calendar, we’ve handpicked a few events across Birmingham that put women and their stories at the forefront.
Theatre and performance
Written specially for International Women’s Day, Mobilise present Badass Medusa #MeToo, billed as ‘a bold retelling of Medusa’s story through collective rage and a feminist queer gaze’. The performance blurs the lines between live and virtual performance using spoken, song and interactive technology. See it at Worcester Theatres on Mon 7 – Wed 9 March or catch it at MAC (Midland Arts Centre) on Thursday 10 March.
Music
Over in Kings Heath, Birmingham’s own Rosie Tee (another RBC alumna!) headlines the Hare & Hounds’ International Women’s Day gig on Tuesday 8 March. Expect a synth-heavy blend of electronica, psych and avant-pop. Rosie’s joined on the bill by Lara Jones, Echo Juliet, and a DJ set from Japes (Selextorhood).
Talks
On Thu 10 March, Bournville’s Selly Manor Museum will host Untold Stories: Celebrating Women's History in Birmingham, and it’s free! It’s an evening of talks from local history experts exploring the stories of Quaker women, the women’s suffrage movement in Birmingham, and the role of Cadbury women workers in the First World War.
If history’s not quite your bag, you might want to hear from women in the worlds of sport, arts and culture. Presented by West Midlands Women’s Voice in collaboration with West Midlands Combined Authority, their International Women’s Day event looks ahead to this summer’s Commonwealth Games. Hear from guest speakers including Major Heather Stanning - double Olympic rowing champion, Major Jennifer Kehoe - one of Britain’s most decorated Paralympians, and Annie Hairsine – Director of Strategic Programmes for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Visual art
Throughout March, MAC (Midland Arts Centre) is home to Maryam Wahid’s first major photographic exhibition in her home city of Birmingham. Zaibunnisa, meaning ‘the beauty of women’, documents Wahid and her mother’s journey to Lahore in 2019, Wahid’s first-ever trip to Pakistan and her mother’s first visit in twenty years. On Sat 5 March, you can join Wahid and a panel of arts professionals for a discussion of race, representation and women.