Join us for a screening of Wholly Trinity: Abortion, Art and Activism in Northern Ireland followed by a discussion and Q&A
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"…art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation." (Angela Davis). Wholly Trinity was produced collaboratively by The Open University, Alliance for Choice and The Array Collective explores the role that artists and creatives played in campaigning for abortion rights in Ireland.
As pro-life movements try to rally support in London this week, we invite you to join this screening and the following conversation exploring the power of art as a vehicle for reform, resistance and liberation — in Northern Ireland and around the world. It is more important than ever to stay alert to the ongoing struggle for reproductive justice as rights are silently stripped away and public discourse slides to the right.
How have abortion rights been won? And by whom? What does mass mobilisation look like? How do artists and creatives not only document, but actively participate in liberatory struggles?
Speakers
Danielle Roberts is co-convenor of Alliance for Choice, a Belfast based feminist campaigning group advocating for abortion access, comprehensive sex education, and an end to reproductive stigma while providing practical support. She has extensive experience as a policy worker advocating for LGBTQIA+ and women's rights and was heavily involved in the Repeal the 8th and Decriminalisation campaigns.
Cassie Fox is the founder of LOUD WOMEN, a not-for-profit organisation and international network championing women and non-binary artists in music. She is also a musician with feminist punk band I, Doris, presenter of LOUD WOMEN Radio on Resonance FM, a university lecturer and an author.
Sandy AbdelRahman is a cultural producer, organisational practitioner, Artivist, and speaker driving social change through creativity, community, and decolonial practice. With over a decade of experience across the arts, social justice and charity sectors, her work sits at the intersection of diaspora, art, gender justice, and collective liberation.
Chair: Katja Holtz (she/her) is a writer and organiser invested in crafting bright, green, queer futures. With a background in anthropology and migration studies, her work is informed by anti-colonial and restorative philosophies — invested in excavating community out of the quagmire of 21st-century atomisation. At the moment, she is the Operations Manager at the world's first and only Vagina Museum; find her restocking the toilet paper in between co-editing the Museum's zine and managing the events programme.
Schedule
Doors & buffer: 19:15 - 19:30
Screening: 19:30 - 20:00
Comfort break: 20:00 - 20:15
Discussion: 20:15 - 21:00
Q&A: 21:00 - 21:15
About the project
Art has always been a powerful vehicle for social justice and the struggle for abortion rights throughout the island of Ireland was no exception. This beautiful short film depicts the commitment, creativity, colour and emotion that artists brought to the Irish abortion campaigns. Through interviews with the artists themselves, it describes how artists used creativity and performance to inspire people to action, ignite powerful conversations and build communities of solidarity. It explores how art can change opinions, transcend barriers, shape narratives and make history, her story and their story.