A multi-arts festival inspired by the remarkable story of suffragette Emily Wilding Davison comes to Bloomsbury.
Dates: Thursday 13th June – Sunday 16th June 2013
Pre-festival talks and debates from Friday 7th June 2013
Venue: St. George’s, Bloomsbury, WC1A 2HR (Front entrance, Bloomsbury Way)
On the 14th June 1913, 6000 women dressed in white marched through the streets of London to pay their respects to Emily Wilding Davison at St George’s Church, Bloomsbury. This young woman lost her life in a dramatic act of protest when she placed herself in the path of the King’s horse to highlight the cause of women’s suffrage.
On the 100th anniversary of her momentous memorial service the doors of St George’s will once again be opened in her name, for an eclectic and provocative programme of new art works and performances. We invite our audience to experience, consider and challenge the resonance of Davison’s legacy in our modern lives.
Curated by London based arts collective Soundcastle in partnership with the Museum of London and St George’s Bloomsbury, the festival will present dynamic and discursive new music, theatre, dance, visual art, collaboration, discussion and intergenerational community engagement in this spectacular and immersive setting.
Performing and exhibiting artists include: Soundcastle, Consortium5, Troupe, London Gay Men’s Chorus, Akhila Krishnan, LightBox, Over 55s Sage Dance Company, Voice, Folie a Deux Femme, Kirstin Smith, Jasper Cho and many more.
Speakers will include Marina Warner (historian and mythographer), Diane Atkinson (women’s historian and author) Benjamin Alsop (Coin gallery curator, British Museum), Hilary McCollum (author and feminist activist). Suffragette expert, Elizabeth Crawford will be an ‘information point’ throughout the festival in order to answer any questions from members of the public.
St. George’s, Bloomsbury is a stunning example of Baroque architecture, the last of Nicholas Hawksmoor’s London churches (completed in 1731) and recently magnificently restored with support from a Heritage Lottery Grant. Father David Peebles, Rector at St. George’s says: “One hundred years ago St George’s controversially opened its doors to host the memorial service of Emily Davidson. We are delighted to open them again for all who would like to use this occasion to celebrate, explore and discuss the changing status and role of women in society and indeed the Church. And we shall do so in song, discussion and performance, with our hearts and with our minds.”
Museum of London Inclusion Programme Manager, Kirsty Marsh says: “The Wilding Festival will enable us to look now one hundred years on from Davison’s death and ask the question, how far has equality come?”
The Wilding Festival opens on Thursday 13th June and runs until the evening of Sunday 16th June 2013. Pre-festival talks commence on Friday 7th June 2013. Tickets from £4-£10 will go on sale on Tuesday 7th May 2013 via TicketWeb and the Wilding Festival website.
For a full programme of festival events, go towww.thewildingfestival.co.uk
Find the festival on Facebook and Twitter @wildingfestival
For further information, images or interviews please contact Hannah Dunster on press@thewildingfestival.co.uk or 07799062969
Bloomsbury Squares & Gardens 