Over the week of IWD, they will host two evening events featuring local authors, performers and storytellers, alongside an exhibition about local women’s lives historically.
On Wednesday 8th March, International Women’s Day itself, two local writers, Jay Griffiths and Meltem Arikan will be sharing and discussing their work and lives, at the launch of a pop-up women’s history exhibition. On Friday 10th March CARAD will welcome storyteller Lisa Schneidau, aerial performer Kate Hart and artist Kate Green for an evening event which centres the stories of local women, such as trailbazing mountaineer Emmeline Lewis-Lloyd from Elan.
Jimmy Tuti, local mixologist, has designed a cocktail menu for Friday night around powerful Powys women of the past, such as ‘Mayor Morgan’, a mocktail named after Gwenllian Morgan, the first female mayor in Wales. Both events are free, but advance booking is recommended.
Alongside the evening events Aster Woods has curated an exhibition on local women, which will be open from 8-10th March from 11am – 5pm. The exhibition covers themes including Women at War, Women and Work, and Rituals of Rhayader and its Wise Women. Aster has also gathered experiences and stories on ‘what it means to be a woman’ from local women, which will be shared as part of the exhibition.
This project came about from a perceived lack of information about women in local archives. Elan Links and CARAD decided to elucidate and elevate the stories of local women, which – though hard to find – do exist between the margins.
Cath, Director of CARAD said “Our society stands on the shoulders of women who have gone before, who have raised their families, cared for their relatives and homes, worked hard and done amazing yet unsung things we want to celebrate'.
Esther Wakeling, Scheme Manager of Elan Links said “The Elan Links scheme is about securing and celebrating the heritage of the Elan Valley, and that includes the many women who have lived and worked here for millenia. We’re proud to share these stories, and those of our local community, to uplift and inspire women everywhere.”
