Mary Wollstonecraft's birthday – a week of celebration

We've been busy planning Mary Wollstonecraft's birthday event this year – but one day didn't seem enough to mark the 262nd birthday of the mother of feminism.

That's why this year you're invited to a whole week's worth of talks, events, concerts and activities to celebrate Mary and her legacy today. Sign up to get access to the full week's worth of events – and you can choose which ones you'd like to attend. Please note, the April 28th event requires registration here. A link will be sent to you before each event so please ensure your Eventbrite settings allow for emails from organisers.

Here's just a taster...

Mary’s Music Cafe, a celebration of a wide variety of music composed by women and performed by women musicians

Lecture in Mary’s honour with Nobel laureate Prof. Amartya Sen, held in conjunction with the Wollstonecraft Society and LSE

Local radical history walks with Professor Anna Birch and Scary Little Girls theatre company

And more!

Sunday 25 April - Mary Wollstonecraft Music Café presents: A Vindication of the Music of Woman (Teaser*) (5-5.30pm, online event streamed from the Meeting House)

Introducing the Mary Wollstonecraft Music Café – a series of quarterly music events honouring pioneering radical essayist and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft, featuring music from a diverse range of genres and cultures. Join us for part 1 of our pre-launch 'teaser' concert of vocal and piano works by women composers from across the globe spanning the medieval period to current times, including music by Hildegard von Bingen, Barbara Strozzi, Clara Schumann, Rebecca Clarke, Undine Smith Moore, Isabelle Aboulker, Shirley Thompson and more...

Performed by:

Rachel Duckett, soprano

Carola Emrich-Fisher, mezzo-soprano

Connie Luk, piano

*Full concert to be performed live at the Meeting House when restrictions allow

Monday 26 April - Get your copy of the world's first Mary Wollstonecraft comic book!

The Newington Green Meeting House: Revolutionary Ideas project is all about sharing the work, ideas and legacies of Mary and the Dissenters of Newington Green. Support our work by buying a print copy of this wonderful resource designed for young children (5-11 years) and help us with our fundraising efforts. Throughout the day we will be sharing all our schools outreach and engagement work so far on social media!

Tuesday 27 April - Mary Wollstonecraft Music Café presents: A Vindication of the Word of Woman (Teaser*) (1-1.30pm, online event streamed from the Meeting House)

Join us for part 2 of our pre-launch 'teaser' concert of vocal and piano works setting texts by women writers from across the globe spanning ancient to current times. Featuring texts by Sappho, Phillis Wheatley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Calamity Jane, Alice Duer Miller, Sara Teasdale, Louise de Vilmorin and more...

Performed by:

Rachel Duckett, soprano

Carola Emrich-Fisher, mezzo-soprano

Connie Luk, piano

*Full concert to be performed live at the Meeting House when restrictions allow

Mary Wollstonecraft Fellowship presents: Barbara Taylor on Mary Wollstonecraft and Radical Dissent (5.30-7pm, online event)

5:30 – 5: 50 Mary Wollstonecraft at Newington Green: A Tour with Roberta Wedge (Newington Green Meeting House)

A short introduction to the neighbourhood where Mary Wollstonecraft established a school for girls, and the Dissenting Chapel where she met some of the leaders of the English Enlightenment, and developed her ideas on equality and freedom.

Interviewer: Emma Clery (Uppsala University; Chair, Mary Wollstonecraft Fellowship)

Filmed and Edited by Steven Morrison (Newington Green Meeting House).

7 – 7:30 Meeting of the Mary Wollstonecraft Fellowship: All Welcome

The Mary Wollstonecraft Fellowship is a literary society dedicated to appreciation of the writings of Wollstonecraft and the influence of her ideas.

Membership is open to everyone with an interest in Mary Wollstonecraft and her legacy: scholars, enthusiasts, students and activists. It aims to encourage new research and the exchange of ideas by producing a newsletter and organising events, including a reading group and an annual celebration on the anniversary of her birth.

If you are interested in becoming involved, please contact emma.clery@engelska.uu.se

To join the mailing list please visit: https://wollstonecraftfellowship.home.blog/news/

Wednesday 28 April - The Wollstonecraft Society and the London School of Economics present: Mary Wollstonecraft and the Vindication of Human Rights (6-7.15pm, online event)

Join two great minds in exploring the themes of justice and equality: Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Enlightenment hero Mary Wollstonecraft, as Professor Sen gives the inaugural Wollstonecraft Society Lecture. Please register for this event separately here from April 14th: https://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/2021/04/202104281800/rights

Thursday  29 April - Walk in Mary's footsteps

At this time it is difficult to explore your local heritage. But thanks to the work of Professor Anna Birch and Newington Green based feminist theatre company Scary Little Girls, you can learn more about Mary Wollstonecraft’s legacy from the comfort of your sofa or on your daily walk!

Follow in Mary Wollstonecraft’s footsteps as Fragments & Monuments (performance and film company) and Scary Little Girls Feminist Performance Hub present a new app to join Wollstonecraft Walks.

Friday 30 April - Remembering Mary in Newington Green (online event - streamed live from the Meeting House, 6-7pm)

There are many ways in which to remember Mary but in this event we will celebrate Mary's words, ideas and the ways she changed Newington Green and how Newington Green changed Mary - and how we celebrate that today.

Hear:

Sculptor Jenny Littlewood on the creation of the wonderful bust of Mary in the Meeting House

Readings of Mary's work from children from La Sainte Union school, activists, New Unity congregants and Newington Green locals. A Level students from La Sainte Union will be presenting a five-minute physical theatre piece on Mary Wollstonecraft and the changing face of feminism

Debra Hinton, New Unity congregant, on the creation of the new plaque dedicated to Mary Wollstonecraft in the Newington Green Meeting House, as gifted from the congregation in 2020

Saturday 1 May - Hackney Dissent film screening (online event - streamed live from the Meeting House, 6-7pm)

Lil Warren of Unity Arts and film-maker Neil Webster present a film screening of the documentary Hackney Dissent. Funded by NLHF and made in 2019 to celebrate radical historical tradition. Through interviews and performance the film shares the learnings of local young people and adults. This group, through a series of workshops with SLAM poet Joelle Taylor in Hoxton (where MW once lived), all looked at debate, radical writings and how to communicate ideas and dissent through poetry. Shot on location at Dr Johnson's House.

Sunday 2 May - An Amazon Step't Out (preview!)

This year, members of the New Unity congregation will direct a performance of 'An Amazon Step't out' - the only theatrical performance telling Mary's story, written by Bee Rowlatt. Until we can welcome a live audience to the building you can hear some short extracts of the play alongside some beautiful musical performances in a short video prepared to help celebrate Mary's birthday.

All money raised from these events will be re-invested in the Meeting House heritage project. It will be used to help share the legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft and other radical figures, and also to build our community engagement work.

https://ngmh.org.uk/