Salford

In Salford, Tandem Theatre partnered with Salford Youth Service as part of Salford Council. Tandem Theatre have a long standing relationship working with Salford Youth Service having previously provided projects for their young women’s groups, LGBT+ youth groups and alternative education provision.

The Game Changers project was able to engage all three of Salford’s young women’s groups. The groups were able to bond together during the re-enactment of the suffrage protest procession and the Bazaar. Some of the young women from different areas of Salford made friends and are still in touch with each other. The Game Changer sessions helped create focus, build trust and encouraged the young women to open up in new ways they hadn’t previously and try new things.

“Through this project, we had a group of girls have the confidence to go to a young persons’ Question Time and ask some difficult questions to some high up people in the council and challenge their response.” Louise Clark, Salford Youth Service Youth Worker.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

The group received guided tours at Archives + at Manchester Central Library where they handled the women’s suffrage collection and The People’s History Museum to see the wider context of women’s suffrage. The group also received a guided tour of Salford Museum and Art Gallery to learn about the local historical context of their borough.

RECREATING THE PAST

In the arts and crafts workshops the group recreated suffragist materials such as a protest banner, rosettes, sashes, leaflets, booklets and badges. For more information on how suffragists used these materials click here.

The group researched Eva Gore Booth and how she was able to use her poetry to promote the suffrage movement. The group decorated a giant jigsaw piece in the shape of their borough with images of significant to the women’s suffrage cause. A young person also did a large illustration of Eva Gore Booth that was displayed at both the International Women’s Display and the Bazaar.

For more information about Eva Gore Booth  click here.

The group recreated the 1908 Manchester Women’s Suffrage Demonstration 1908 by marching down Lark Hill Place (a replica Victorian street at Salford Museum and Art Gallery) in costume wearing their sashes and displaying their banner.

For International Women’s Day the group displayed all their fantastic work at Salford Museum and Art Gallery and their lead artist ran suffragist themed making activities throughout the day.

APPLYING THE PAST TO TODAY

The group then applied what they had learnt about the suffragist campaign methods and applied it to today. Focusing on current issues the group felt most impacted them; they developed their own campaign through taking part in a series of workshops such as debating, marketing, music, spoken word, corporate sponsorship and T-shirt printing.

For more information about these methods of campaigning click here.

These set of sessions also provided content for the groups to share at the recreation of the 1912 Women’s Suffrage Bazaar.

ASSOCIATE LEAD ARTIST - Cath Snow

Sophie is a visual artist based in Manchester.