Massive Thanks to all those who got involved: visiting the Big Girl exhibition, making placard lanterns, and Parading with us in Celebration of Suffrage 125 and our Cultural Diversity

Our Suffrage Centrepeice was made during a weekend workshop at Wellington Museum. Participants agreed that although we love Kate Sheppard very much for all she did, it was the total sum of 31,872 women signing the 1893 petition that made it successful.
We named her Beth, a common name at the time, and dressed her in fashions fitting 1893 to represent all women then.
Photos above are by a variety of photographers nice enough to share with us: Malcom Wood, Stevie Hicks (ELP) and Alix Efimoff.
Thanks to ELP for compiling the above clips.
 We've been working with English Language Partners on Big Girl making since 2013, originally in Palmerston North, and more recently with Porirua ELP (since 2017). We made Placard Lanterns with their women students for Suffrage 125, and thanks to NZ Commission for UNESCO, WCT and Thomas Macarthy Trust funding, brought 2 full buses from Palmy and one from Porirua to the Parade. It was the first time in the capital for many of the Palmerston North learners and very special that they got to see their Big Girl's on exhibition at the Museum before the parade happened. Thanks to ELP for compiling the above clips.
www.englishlanguage.org.nz/big-girls-shine-a-light-on-womens-rights/
"Proud to be a part of the Suffrage 125 national event programme."
With Massive Thanks for funding to make it all happen, along with workshops during Refugee/Migrant Leaner sessions with ELP
New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Wellington Community Trust and Wellington Museum.
All in support of Suffrage 125 activites:

Sorry if you missed it: this is what was happening...
Self Represent on the Suffrage 125 parade with a Placard Lantern

​Using a white Paper shopping bag and marker pen, decorate with a short statement of your choice, highlighting women's desires in 2018. Add a torch and Bamboo and you're ready to Parade. All help and resources given, BYO torch.
Massive thanks to the inspirational Dee Moxon for Placard Lantern concept.
D-i-y at home using this link:
glueyfingers.wordpress.com/
Placard Lantern Making Workshop Schedule:
Sunday July 22nd :   Wellington Museum 1-4pm
Tuesday July 31st:    Pataka Art & Museum, Porirua  12 – 2pm   
Weds Aug 1st :          Midland Park Awning, 157 Lambton Quay,  Wellington 12 – 2.30pm     Pop-up
Friday Aug 3rd :         Snails Gallery Palmerston North 10am – 3pm
Tuesday Aug 7th:      Cuba Street 'stage' opp left bank, around 110 Cuba St 11.30am – 3pm     Pop-up
Friday Aug 10th:        Midland Park Awning, 157 Lambton Quay,  Wellington  11.30am – 1.30pm    Pop-up
Friday Aug 10th:        National Library  Wellington  2pm – 5.30pm
Saturday Aug 11:       Wellington Museum 12 – 4pm.
Pop - up workshops refer to us putting up pop-up tables on the side of the street so you can create at lunchtime. 
Come find us, it's fun!
All workshops also listed on eventfinda, links in colour above, just press venue words.
Shine a Light on your Right's Parade 6pm Sat Aug 11th from Wellington Museum
We'll be walking the Big Girl Puppets out of the Museum exhibition and on to the Waterfront, alongside their resplendent illuminated Sister - Our Suffrage Centrepiece - made over the weekend (july 21/22) at Wellington Museum. Join us with your Placard Lanterns to 'Shine a Light on your Rights!
Closing Parade listing:
www.museumswellington.org.nz/big-girls-on-parade-shine-a-light-on-your-rights/
Buses from Palmerston North for the Parade are full sorry! Please get in touch if you can car share.
Here's a few photos from our Big Girl making workshops in Wellington and Porirua January and February 2017 
Hana, Mia and Moana go dancing at cuba Dupa 2017 with some of their makers.
What a blast! We even found a Japanese band for Hana to dance to!
It Happened and you missed it ! 
Porirua Dates: Tuesday 31st January - Friday 3rd 2017
We created Noor with Syrian women, and Graciela with Colombian women and 
Naukowa with South East Asian women from Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam,  
at Porirua Gospel Chapel, Cannons Creek
in conjunction with English Language Partners,  Porirua.

Newtown dates were 11th - 15th Febraury 2017, held in a disused shop in Central Newtown,
with the assistance of Newtown Festival organisers. We created MIA for Latinas everywhere, Hana for Japan, and Moana for Samoa and the Pacific. These were more drop-in style workshops where fantastic collaborative work by women of many nations helped achieve Big Girl representation for Japan - Hana and Samoa - Moana.

With funding from New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO​ and Wellington City Council Art and Culture Fund 
and assistance from Newtown Festival

Alongside dancing at Newtown Festival on March 5th, we bought a bus of the makers to join us in Papaeoia, Palmerston North, for international Womens day Parade and Picnic 2017. Press the button to see photos.

Made possible by funding and support from:

Picture
 

What's it all about, these Big Girls?
Our Kaupapa:

  1.  To facilitate alternative education spaces promoting artistic expression, lifelong learning, intercultural and intergenerational dialogue
  2. To build communities where people are involved and celebrate the diversity of their neighbours
  3. To encourage hopes and dreams through street spectacles for and by the community
  4. To raise awareness of environmental issues and positive actions for change incorporating sustainable renewable home grown resources and materials (reduce, reuse, renew)

The Big Girls are large-scale puppets that come to life on our streets representing their makers and cultures.
They bring visibility to a community in a positive and fun way, and can rock any festival or gathering when they start dancing.
​
The Big Girl workshops are the space where women design and create their representative, a participant led process facilitated by REACT artists to share, laugh, learn and create. We start by making the limbs and head from willow, whilst the makers discuss elements that represent them and explore the possibilities of the overall design. Once the design has been decided and drawn up, we bring the Big Girl to life together using willow, tissue, bamboo and other renewable reused and low impact materials that minimize the environmental impact of our creations. The results that we expect from the workshops and that we have witnessed during the initial phase of this project are:
  • Participants from different origins share their stories, create and make decisions together. This process opens a space for dialogue, healing and new friendships; it strengthens relationships and community wellbeing
  • Through the making of a Big Girl participants share and grow their skills and knowledge: language and communication skills, as well as artistic skills (sewing, weaving, painting, decorating) with sustainable, repurposed and low impact materials.
  • The display of the Big Girls to the wider community in a festival setting (Women’s Day parade and picnic, and other local community and street festivals) is a process that supports women to have a break from the day to day in a positive empowering environment, and celebrate who they are through dance and sharing of food and music. Women take pride in their achievement while breaking boundaries and stereotypes about women, and raising awareness about the diversity of cultures in Aotearoa.

    We have an international family of Big Girls developing, with representatives from each continent: Africa, Americas, Asia, Aotearoa, the Pacific, and Europe. Our goal is to work with more migrant and refugee background communities to add to the diversity of the Big Girls and increase their representation and visibility in Aotearoa.

Funding has come from:
​The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
Wellington City Council Arts and Culture Fund
Palmerston North City Celebrating Communities Fund