As part of the ‘Women of Tyneside’ programme for Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM), this practical workshop follows on from a ‘Body and Identity’ session, where local women were invited to look through the TWAM fashion and costume archives, and discuss how they experience and express their physical identity throughout their lifetimes. The second part of these sessions will be held in The Fashion Lab, where women will be invited to help create textile pieces that represent themselves and women in the wider local community. Skills taught include machine sewing, embroidery and/or embellishment depending on the selected projects, and the final works will be exhibited as part of Women of Tyneside’s ‘Festival of Women’, before being added to the archives.

Women of Tyneside is a 2 year community project, funded by Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund at TWAM, to celebrate and value women and girls. They are exploring the collections across their museums and galleries to highlight and discuss important issues for women and girls today, 100 years after women first began to gain the right to vote. Women of Tyneside want to challenge gender inequality and empower women to create change.

Participants are exploring their collections of art, history, archaeology and natural history to give objects new meanings and record their own personal interpretations in lots of creative ways. Women of Tyneside are also collecting objects that represent women, in addition to these reinterpreted objects to form TWAM’s first Women’s Collection.

Duration - 2.5 hours per session

Max Capacity - 8

Skill Level - All levels

Tickets available via Eventbrite

Tools and materials included