The Women’s Voices: A Celebration was exactly that - a time to reflect on and embrace the incredible women artists working across a range of creative disciplines, and to hear what they have to say. From emerging playwrights and filmmakers to highly recognised artists, this year we presented a rich tapestry of work spanning music, theatre, dance, film, literature, and visual art. These were stories by women in a world where gender equality is still far from reality - even in the so-called evolved Western societies. With women’s rights under attack and headlines too often dominated by violence, abuse, or attempts to silence women (such as the cases of Jess Phillips and Gisèle Pelicot), the festival highlighted how essential it is to amplify women’s voices. Shockingly, women continue to represent a small proportion of work produced across the arts, with only a few exceptions such as literature and painting.

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Centered around International Women’s Day, WVAC was a first-of-its-kind event, showcasing the brilliance, diversity, and multitalent of women past and present. The festival explored stories across time and place from 10th century Japan and 12th century Germany, to 18th century France, 19th century America, and the early and later 20th century - through to today’s pressing conversations about race and gender politics. The program culminated in a play celebrating one of the world’s most prominent feminists, Gloria Steinem, leaving audiences inspired and challenged in equal measure.

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— NAOMI SORKIN, Curator and Creative Producer, The Playground Theatre