Catalogue Number
NMLH.2024.72
Object Name
banner
Title
'We can support each other. Unity. Peace. Nights are for women too.'
Place
Blackburn, England, UK
People
Sarah Jay (artist), Action Factory Community Arts, Blackburn Youth Service
Events
International Women's Day
Description
A round banner edged in pink. The centre of the banner is a globe with white and black hands stretched across in a handshake. The top quarter shows two pairs of women in traditional dress from different countries including African and East Asian dress, holding flags which say 'Unity' in different languages. The bottom quarter shows two figures under a rainbow which is labeled 'Peace', they are smiling and have outstretched arms. The right quarter shows a wheelchair user talking to a woman with a baby on her lap and is captioned 'we can support each other'. The left quarter shows a woman on a dark road and is labeled 'nights are for women too'.
The banner was created by a group of young women in Blackburn as part of a political education program for young mothers, women and girls excluded from school, and sex workers. The goal of the program was to give the women self confidence and to make them more politicized. The banner making element of the program at the Trades' Club in Blackburn was facilitated by banner maker Sarah Jay from Action Factory Community Arts. The banner is round to represent the globe. It was marched around Blackburn with a brass band on completion and then hung at a local youth club until its closure in 2011, after which it was donated to People's History Museum.
Multimedia
