PRESS RELEASE
26 JUNE 2024
Wen’s London Climate Sisters exhibition at the Barbican celebrates women’s voices in the climate conversation
A group of women known as the London Climate Sisters are holding an exhibition showcase of art installations, crafts, poetry and films they have created about the climate emergency, at the Barbican on Monday 1 July.
The event entitled “Where are Women’s voices in the climate arena?’’, aims to amplify women’s voices in the climate justice conversation and takes place in the Barbican’s conservatory.
The 12 women from the Borough of Tower Hamlets, and born in countries including Pakistan, Eritrea, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Thailand, have all taken part in Wen’s (Women’s Environmental Network) Climate Sisters Leadership Programme, covering the intersections of climate, racial and gender justice, feminist leadership, confidence building, increasing knowledge about climate change causes and impacts and how it connects with everyday life. The project co-created the much needed space for knowledge sharing, dialogue, valuing different perspectives and experiences and creative exploration, which led to a feeling of sisterhood.
As part of the project, the women visited the Capital’s cultural sites including the Barbican and Kew Gardens and created artworks about their experiences and the climate crisis.
The works on show include a Khodu pumpkin sculpture Roshna Begum created using plastic waste gathered in Tower Hamlets, highlighting the need for green space for growing food; a display of hanging air plants and a terrarium by Samina Hussain to highlight the need for clean air in light of the poor air quality of inner London; and a poem ‘Conundrum’ by Shabina Ali on the climate crisis, which she is performing at the event (poem in notes to editors).
Other works include a dress by Alea Khanom created to highlight the burning of Rana Plaza, raising awareness of the tragic incident in Bangladesh, where a fire at a factory producing fast fashion resulted in the loss of many lives, chosen for its links of climate, racial and gender justice. On show are also handcrafted baskets created by Rawda Ahmad Omar, using skills she learned at the age of 13. These skills, passed down from her elders, allowed her to make and sell baskets to sustain herself during the war in Eritrea.
Wen’s Climate Sisters Project Manager Roshini Thamotheram says:
“The voices that are so often missing from the climate change discussion are those who are most affected, particularly racialised women. It’s imperative that all voices have a platform and are listened to, and that women are leading the process of finding solutions. We know from listening to our Climate Sisters that every woman in the room has perspectives and valuable knowledge to share, flipping the script on racialised women being some sort of deficit to the invaluable asset we are.”
Climate Sister Shabina Ali says:
“Climate Sisters is a way of coming together to honour the knowledge that we all have of the causes and effects of climate change. At the start of the project we were a room of strangers, but we are now a room of sisters. We all have something important to say, and support each other without judgement, which has brought a powerful sense of respect for each other and each other’s lives.”
The public are invited to join the Climate Sisters at the event to explore what it means to see and hear a diversity of voices in climate discussions. The Climate Sisters are a combination of women from the East London Mosque and Leaders in Community.
Tickets include the exhibition and food and are £12 or £5 for students, those on a low income and members of Wen.
Buy your ticket and make a donation to support Wen’s work https://www.wen.org.uk/events/
Wen’s Climate Sisters ‘Local Women of the World at the Climate Table’ project is funded by Propel,
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For further information or to interview a Climate Sister or Wen’s spokesperson, contact Wen’s press officer Kate Beard on 07950 585284 or katebeardcomms@gmail.com.
Notes to editors:
About the Climate Sisters event:
Monday 1 July 2024, 6-9pm at the Barbican, in the conservatory
Drinks reception and Climate Sisters exhibition (6-7pm)
Welcome, film screenings and poem reading by Shabina Ali (7pm)
The evening will start with a drinks reception and exhibition in the Conservatory before moving to the Garden room for the welcome, film screenings and a poem reading by Shabina Ali. Delicious food will be served at tables in the Garden room, followed by informal group discussions facilitated by the Climate Sisters. The celebrations will be rounded off by a Q&A and closing remarks from each of the Climate Sisters.
Tickets include the exhibition and food and are £12 or £5 for students, those on a low income and members of Wen.
Buy your ticket and make a donation to support Wen’s work https://www.wen.org.uk/events/
Shabina’s poem
Conundrum
(Credit: Shabina Ali)
Let’s raise our voices… and declare
no more atrocities we shall bear
It’s time to prepare and clean up this air
So don’t despair and Let’s start with a prayer
Bismillah
Give up the Fast fashion
And stop those Industries cash in
So much damage and plunder
Making the skies cleft asunder
Green Tech stealing
Villages screaming
To Our luxuries of gadgets
Open your eyes
To what it’s concealing
Murky waters, see the slaughters
Trails of destruction and spillage
Whilst ruthless bullies rampage and pillage
Those in power give a grinning stare
whilst showing to the world their fake care
Plundering the earth
producing wear and tear
Families fleeing, hearts stop beating whilst big corps beaming, cheating, scheming
stopping others from simply dreaming.
Indigenous communities thrown down the pipe
Whilst the media and leaders say
what’s the hype
Making it look like it’s all a load of tripe
But hey, good news for those who dare
Speak out today for a future green and fair
Come, challenge those in power
Don’t let them make us cower
For united we stand
By working hand in hand
Let’s make a band and give Earth big hugs
By getting rid of those climate thugs
About Climate Sisters
The Climate Sisters ‘Local Women of the World at the Climate Table’ project, funded by Propel, aims to make systemic change by amplifying marginalised and racialised women’s voices in climate justice debates and in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The project came out of shared work with the Women’s Budget Group and has been running since 2022.
https://www.wen.org.uk/climate-sisters/
About Wen
Wen is the only UK charity working on issues that link health, women and other marginalised groups, equality and the environment. Since 1988 Wen has launched and run projects tackling a range of issues from air pollution to food growing, from real nappies to toxic chemicals in cosmetics. Wen takes a multi-tier approach, supporting grassroots change at the individual and community levels, as well as raising their voices in advocating for change at policy level.
