International Women's Day Parade Friday March 8th 2019
Parade leaving Te Manawa Museum approx 12.10pm to walk along George St, Coleman Mall, and into Square at Te Marae o Hine.
All welcome to join us. Please get in touch if you're keen to wear a giant puppet. Parade only this year. 
To see celebrations from past years click on the button
​
Hallo and Welcome to the Big Girl's project - do read on,
​or if you're looking for Suffrage 125 activity round up, just press the button below:
Proud to be a part of the Suffrage 125 national event programme.

The Big Girl's Project was been initiated by
REACT as a way of bringing the beauty and
vibrancy of our cultural diversity to life. 

Giant Puppets are made with and for women of diverse cultures to bring them larger than life representation on our streets and at festivals.

Big Girl's Exhibition at Flux Gallery, Wellington Museum
July 19th - August 11th 2018
With supporting workshops and culminating Lantern and Big Girl Parade in celebration of Suffrage 125 Aug 11th 6pm
Please use buttons below to see what's happening
For 2017 we were incredibly fortunate to gain funding from the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO to take the Big Girl's project inter-regional.
​We held workshops in Porirua and Newtown, plus workshops in Palmerston North. 
Get empowered. Get creative. Come make a Big Girl.
To visit REACT page about International Women's Day Celebrations Press this 
To see Photos and article from Parade and Picnic 2016 Press this

We've been making Big Girls for a few years now.
In 2013 we joined with Te Manawa Museum for            
Wahine o Te Ao     Big Girls for International Women's Day 

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.
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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.

A Series of Workshops with Women from the Latin American, Bhutanese and Maori Communities to create their own Giant representative were held at Te Manawa Art Gallery throughout February in preparation for Womens Day, March 8th 2013.

Picture
We loved the collaborative nature of these workshops, and the results speak for themselves. 
It was fabulous meeting such wonderful women, and for such a fun project.

A very long necklace 
for a very large woman

The many many metres
in a Giant womans Sari

Adding the
Bhutanese Bindi

Now out onto the Streets

Picture
Thulo Didi (Big Sister) and her Very Proud Makers 
out on the streets of their adopted city, Palmerston North








To see more of Wahine Te Ao use this link :
http://www.temanawa.co.nz/international-womens-day-2013.html

Workshops funded by Creative Communities Palmerston North City 
and Graduate Women Manawatu Charitable Trust. Many many thanks. 

International Women's Day
 Women's Day Parade and Picnic
in Palmerston North  March 8th Every year 
Celebrate  Share  Laugh
Wahine Te Ao

Picture
uzbeck mama boysun bahori museum
Picture
Nasrudin hoja boysun bahori

The Original - Mama Uzbek made with Boysun Children,
​Aotearoa Bound 2004 

Are you interested in booking the Big Girl's to dance and enliven your event?
Are you interested in Big Girl workshops for your area or community?