Member Article

Local festival supporting women's talents

Das Wonderlust, Lake Me and Beccy Owen are three local performers newly confirmed to Ladyfest Newcastle, the music, spoken word and arts festival taking place in September. National bands include The Research, Ladyfuzz and The Suffrajets.Ladyfest Newcastle is a festival with a difference - by concentrating on the creative talents of women, Ladyfest Newcastle is a way to redress the balance of most male-dominated festivals. The idea for Ladyfest is not new - since the first ever Ladyfest in Altanta, USA in 2000 there have been hundreds of similar events all over the world, all entirely autonomous but with the same general ethos of promoting women’s creativity and encouraging grass-roots activity.Ladyfest Newcastle will be a weekend-long festival on the 23rd and 24th of September, held over various Newcastle venues, including the prestigious Carling Academy. The festival will be a mixture of music, spoken word poetry and art, all aiming to promote women’s artists talents. Ladyfest is a not for profit, DIY-ethos festival, and this DIY ethic translates to the punters too - instead of just consuming the music and performances, audience members will be encouraged to make the most of their own skills and learn new talents in the various workshops running alongside the music. From learning how to play drums to dealing with street harassment, the workshops aim to empower women to not shy away from ‘male’ spaces, and instead have the confidence to make the most of their abilities. As well as skills-based workshops, Ladyfest Newcastle will be hosting discussions and debates, for example one confirmed workshop will be a debate from Feminists Against Censorship and anti pornorgraphy group Object, who will be debating whether or not pornography can ever be compatible with feminism.Tickets to Ladyfest Newcastle are £25, and will be available from mid August. To sign up for updates, please visit www.ladyfestnewcastle.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .