Words by Smiley Team
Left: Drawing by Mackie-Lee, 7 – ‘Frida (Kahlo) because she is really inspiring. She got hurt but she didn’t give up.’ Ellington Infant School, Ramsgate
Right: Drawing by Maeve, 7 - ‘Liz Pichon is inspiring to me because she illustrates and writes her own books!’ Ramsgate Arts Primary School
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Primary school children in Kent have been drawing women that inspire them ahead of International Women’s Day.
Across the county, children have been creating artwork of one woman each for the ‘Inspiring Windows Drawing Challenge’, as part of the annual Power of Women (POW) Festival. Power of Women is an arts charity that celebrates and champions equality and the festival has been running since 2015, celebrating International Women’s Day and the creativity of women and non-binary people.
Taking place all across Thanet in Kent, the festival includes workshops, exhibitions, performances, music, comedy, film, panel talks, theatre, and dance, both in person and online, for a local and global audience.
“The Inspiring Windows Drawing Challenge received such positive feedback in 2021 that we knew there was a real appetite for this type of engagement with local schools," Danielle Sharma from Power of Women told Smiley News. “Our artist has been working with children throughout February and we have some fantastic pictures and some very inspiring women.”
[Read more inspiring stories on Smiley Movement]
The charity will select 12 of the drawings to display publicly on the Turner Contemporary Terrace.
Kent Community Foundation awarded a grant of £3,045 to have an artist deliver workshops for children in five Thanet primary schools for the drawing challenge.
“The five primary schools selected for this project are based in Thanet’s areas of highest deprivation where children affected by significant socio-economic disadvantage would otherwise be unlikely to engage with local arts or cultural activities”, said Josephine McCartney, chief executive of Kent Community Foundation.
“We particularly liked that POW was nurturing an ongoing relationship with these schools as part of their commitment to make the arts accessible to everyone in Thanet and we’re delighted to award them funding towards this project.”
Kent Community Foundation has been supporting small voluntary organisations and projects like Power of Women for 20 years, particularly those that aim to improve the lives of vulnerable or disadvantaged people in Kent.
International Women’s Day takes place on March 8th annually across the globe to highlight gender inequality and to celebrate the influence and achievements of women. The UK also celebrates Women’s History Month throughout the entirety of March.
SUPPORT: You can support Power of Women or find out more about the organisation at their website.
DISCOVER: To learn more about Women’s History Month and related events across the UK, visit here.
