Artwork transformed the corridors of Islington Town Hall on Tuesday (8 March), marking the launch of a two-week exhibition celebrating International Women’s Day.
‘Expressions of Femininity’ is the creation of Councillor Kadeema Woodbyrne, Islington’s first “Women and Girls Champion,” who spent two years arranging the project and contributing some of her own paintings.
Submissions from across the borough reflect the diversity of Islington’s women and girls. The artwork will all be auctioned off to raise funds for causes such as the Samira Project and Women’s Aid.
The female portraits displaying a variety of backgrounds and ages contrasted the existing artwork adorning the town hall. One such painting commemorates the first ever council meeting in December 1900, which was predominantly men.
Cllr Woodbryne said, “It’s a shift in time and it’s important that the history of this building has other cultures attached to it.”
“Other people have mentioned that actually – whether it’s a slap in the face or whether that’s kind of a message in itself that those ones haven’t been taken down,” she said. “They were really concerned that people getting married here would find it distasteful and actually I think it could have been spun into such a historical story. Like you can spin things and say, you know, you’re getting married in two weeks when there’s going to be this amazing artwork that’s never been in here.”
The artwork lines the corridors on two floors of the building, so staff are reminded of the borough’s diversity as they walk past.
The exhibition is Cllr Woodbryne’s final project as councillor before she leaves in May. “I hope the message is that other people in the community can continue to revolutionise this space and show how the community is ongoingly changing.” She said, “The community’s changed from when I was growing up in the 90s, it’s completely different. These are the stories of people.”
Cllr Woodbryne is proud to have celebrated International Women’s Day through her own creativity: “I think you have to decide your own way of doing it. And that’s the thing if I just wrote a tweet and said like Happy International Women’s Day and tweeted that out. Huh? What does that mean?”
She said, “This morning I texted my family and my mum, Happy International Women’s Day, and as I watched women in the streets I wanted to applaud them, I felt a solidarity and maybe I wouldn’t have felt it in the same way if I hadn’t run this event. I think actively being part of International Women’s Day gave it the livelihood and solidarity and support that I didn’t feel in previous years.”
Cllr Woodbryne’s own artwork includes several bold and colourful paintings, inspired by time spent in Tanzania. Her paintings are juxtaposed by a Grazia cover of Little Simz and an NFT. Her first painting is called Unicorn Mum and another portrait called Rosa looks like her mum, according to her family and friends.
She also painted a portrait of Sarah Everard, which has been situated next to another portrait of an elderly woman. The arrangement is intended to imagine the old age Ms Everard should have reached.
Cllr Woodbryne explained her inspiration for commemorating Ms Everard: “It’s funny because I got a phone call from a councillor when everything had happened – there was a lot happening in the world at the time – and the expectation was that I would respond through journalism and maybe put something in the papers. But I realised that wasn’t the way I wanted to express my feelings towards it.”
She said, “I got to know her. When you paint someone I find, and I’m new to this obviously, but you get to know them, you see the things that they hide and I started to see hope and the future, her dreams and I just connected with that. And I just thought that was much more of a true way of giving a tribute to someone that deserved to live.”
Valerie Bossman-Quarshie, councillor for Bunhill ward, said: “It’s just about making that space for those who wouldn’t go to a gallery. A lot of people in the community wouldn’t normally go to a gallery. The representation is not there. It’s such a nice idea to have an exhibition where you can see life through pictures in Islington. I love that, I hope they stay there permanently.
“Buildings often only have statues of old men. What Councillor Kadeema has done is so innovative. She has really taken this role and made it different. Using this space for art. I love it.”
The Canonbury-based artist Gary Power also contributed about 20 pieces from his own collection, including artwork from the late artist Ruth Leibman.
