…we did an all-female takeover of our Instagram (@richmixlondon – follow us!), celebrating the fantastic women and self-identifying women that we work with. We dedicated the whole month to these women, giving them the platform to speak about their work, the women that inspire them, and their hopes and advice for the future – and the response was incredible.
Seeing friends and strangers gathering on these posts to celebrate and elevate these women was heart-warming, and the feedback from the women themselves proved even lovelier than we could’ve hoped. The love and support shown has encouraged and inspired them to carry on the important work being carried out.
Moral of the story: let the women in your life, professional and personal, know that you support them. It makes all the difference. Thank you to all those who took part, and a special shout out to everyone who supported the series! Check out the full series on our Instagram.
From our instagram
@ellamesma: "Maya Angelou is such an inspiration - her life journey, her creativity, and her magic. Whenever things get hard, I remember this quote: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” In my creative endeavours, and in my events, there is an element of healing and empowerment. My most recent piece, 'Ladylike', is really about an emancipation and a ritualistic healing of universal stories of women. My event She Created Her Life (Sat 21 Apr) is a broader event: About helping women to empower themselves to create." Shout out to Ella! ❤️📷 @suziehowellphoto #InternationalWomensDay #richmixlondon
@ntamson, Rich Mix Programming Coordinator + belly dancer: ‘Which women have been most influential to you as an artist?’“My first dance teacher, Pamela Vickers, who started off my love affair with belly dance back in 2005! I am still dancing today because of that initial spark from her. My 2 favourite golden era belly dancers Samia Gamal and Katy Voutsaki for their grace, elegance and storytelling. Uma Thurman in Kill Bill for defending her most feminine right in the most masculine of ways.”‘How does your work address issues that relate to women?’“Belly dance for me is sensual not sexual, so every time I perform I am seeking to combat that misconception. It's also a really wonderful tool for boosting positive body image!” Shout out to Natasha! ❤️ 📷 Evgeniya Valu #internationalwomensday #richmixlondon
Kinsi Abdulleh, visual artist, the editor of Scarf Magazine, and founder of @numbiarts: "I’ve supported grassroots arts-making and extending the voices of Somali creatives and writers locally and globally for many years. I’m most inspired by stories of resistance, resilience, repair and rebellion. The late Somali British Marianne Joan Elliott-Said aka Poly Styrene, musician, singer-songwriter, and frontwoman for the punk rock band X-Ray Spex. Always on the top of my list but this International Women’s Day, I’m most proud of Naciima Ahmed Ibrahim also known as Naciima Abwaan Qorane." Shout out to Kinsi! ❤️ #internationalwomensday #richmixlondon
@amaniexchange19: "The woman who has been the most influential to me as a spoken word artist is Shagufta Iqbal. She is the founder of my poetry collective, The Yoniverse. I used to think that as a South Asian woman, I filled a particular niche. If there were other artists who filled that niche, they were ‘stepping on my territory.’ Shagufta changed all of that by reaching out to me and to other South Asian women to build a community. As well as being collaborators and constructive critics, these women are now my family." Shout out to Amani! ❤️ 📷 @kirangidda #InternationalWomensDay #richmixlondon
