Ladyfest Leeds- a dynamic and celebratory festival in the heart of Leeds city centre

10-15th April 2007

Celebrating creativity, diversity and gender equality in Leeds, Ladyfest Leeds will showcase female artists and performers in a number of venues across the city centre from 10th-15th April 2007.

Ladyfest Leeds (www.ladyfestleeds.co.uk) is the first Ladyfest to be held by people living in Leeds, and builds on the heritage of over 100 Ladyfests that have been held around the world since 2000, all of which have encouraged female artists, musicians and performers. In Leeds, the organisers have taken the opportunity to extend this remit to give all genders and sexualities the chance to get involved and help in the organisation to really show that Leeds' diverse community can come together for a great event that leaves a lasting mark. Ladyfest Leeds has a DIY ethos: all the organisers are volunteers and any profits made will all go to charity.

Ladyfest Leeds is set to be the biggest Ladyfest the UK has ever seen with well over one hundred events across all the arts- spoken word, comedy, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, performance art, live music and workshops. As Amy Brachi, one of the organisers comments, “Since we started preparations for Ladyfest Leeds, we have been amazed at the interest and support which we have received. Over 50 people are already involved in the festival as organisers, helping to secure venues, artists and to manage what looks like will be one of the largest events in Leeds in 2007. It is really fantastic to see many of our organisers learning new skills as well as others mentoring fellow volunteers.” Ladyfest Leeds aims to reassert British women’s influence in shaping contemporary UK music culture and showcases the diversity and transgressive nature of women’s musical creativity, which is often overlooked in mainstream culture. There will also be six days of art exhibitions, dance, theatre performance, comedy, workshops, films, spoken word events as well as opportunities to meet local community groups and get involved in fun at the DIY autonomous space.

Music

Headlining the music events at Ladyfest Leeds will be The Raincoats (www.theraincoats.net), who were formed in 1977 by Ana da Silva (guitar and vocals) and Gina Birch (bass and vocals). The Raincoats have only performed for special events such as Robert Wyatt's Meltdown festival in 2001 and Chicks on Speed's album launch in 2003. Gina Birch said “We are really excited to play Ladyfest in Leeds. It is a brilliant idea and all the Ladyfests we have been involved in have been great so far… a mixture of film, art, poetry, humour and music and lots and lots of women doing their thing! Vive les femmes!!”

Ana da Silva said: “An event like this does the most important thing: it's INSPIRATIONAL. And it doesn't stop with the final performance. It will ripple forever and enrich life itself.”

Ladyfest Leeds has also got plenty of local musical talent, including up-and-coming Leeds-based band, Sky Larkin (www.myspace.com/skylarkinskylarkin). National performers herald from Brighton, Manchester and beyond. International artists at the festival include Rae Spoon (www.raespoon.com),and Phoebe Kreutz (www.phoebekreutz.com).

DJ's from various women-run club nights from across the UK and beyond, will also be taking part and we are excited to collaborate with Leeds’ infamous Speed Queen (www.speedqueen.co.uk/) on Saturday 14th.

Performance Arts

At the Carriageworks and out and about on the streets of Leeds, there will be a wide range of performance arts on offer- - theatre, dance, comedy, spoken-word, cabaret- you name it, Ladyfest Leeds has got it!

First up, on Tuesday 10th April there will be Cabaret compered by the lesbian comedian and musician Clitty RubQuick. On Wednesday 11th April Ladyfest Leeds is privileged to be hosting Bird’s Eye View, highlighting the very best of emerging women filmmakers. On Thursday 12th, top comediennes Isy Suttie, Jo Neary, Lou Conran and Daisy Connolly take to the stage at The Carriageworks for a night of Stand-Up Comedy, compered by Leeds’ Penny Broadhurst. Over the weekend, we’ve got choreographer Rachel Dean’s dance piece Threadbare, which sees familiar patterns and well-worn rituals start to unravel; Collette Knowles will be taking to the streets of Leeds with her strolling suitcase to do bring Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky to life with song and shadows; and Lancashire’s Certain Curtain Theatre Company will be performing their Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award shortlisted play Lady in Red, among many other exciting and innovative performances.

Art

The Carriageworks, the Light and Holy Trinity Church will be hosting a variety of works by a diverse range of artists in many different mediums. Throughout the Ladyfest week, Views from Nowhere at the Holy Trinity Church will exhibit a number of artists including Karen Constance, Yohei Yashi and Peripheral, the Invigilators of the Henry Moore Institute. Also at the Holy Trinity, the Termite Club present a night of experimental sound (11th April, 7pm-) and EXP-24 will be showcasing experimental, and avant-garde film (13th April, 7pm-). Over at the Carriageworks, come see ‘Ladyfest UK Visual Arts History Exhibition 2001-2008’ - a collection of artistic and creative work produced in the name of Ladyfest within the UK, plus an accompanying booklet of interviews with the works creators. Do your own thing over on the Art Walls where Ladyfest is encouraging visitors to leave their own contributions to the festival, including participation in its PostLady project. In The Light, explore Linda King’s Labyrinth, take a gander at Emma Dex’s specially commissioned sculpture for Ladyfest Leeds and check out the paintings by Hull Contemporary Artists.

Workshops

Ladyfest Leeds is also putting on a diverse range of workshops- from the ‘Focus on Feminism’ series which includes an exploration of ‘Men in Feminism’ and ‘Rebel Girls and Political Prisoners: The Suffrage movement in Leeds 1900-1914’ will focus on the scene in Leeds for ordinary women who made history with their relentless, often militant fight for the vote. ‘A History of Women in West Yorkshire - Then and Now: Women’s lives and feminist action 1970 to the present day’ will share the experiences of activists and those who lived through the changes in recent history, while looking at ongoing debates in gender and sexuality equality and discussing how our history has informed our present. Friday is for 11 to 18’s with its workshops specifically for young people- including ‘Hands off my body image’ and ‘Revolution Zine Style!’ run by youth workers Debbie Clements and Anna Reilly. There will also be workshops to get those creative juices a-flowing- learn how to play the bass guitar, take a workshop on improvisation and jamming techniques and ‘Write from the heart!’ Run by Fiona Durance, this practical workshop will empower anyone, from total beginners to experienced writers, to write passionately and poetically on love, art, activism – whatever lights you up!

A range of community and craft stalls will also be at Ladyfest Leeds, plus a crèche over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will also be a PunkRollerDisco on Tuesday 10th April.

It’s the festival that Beth Ditto of The Gossip approves of, saying, “If you’re smart you should go support it, be involved in it, so go, buy a ticket, go to the workshops and learn more.”

So, come along and join in the fun!

Tickets

A whole range of tickets are available from Leeds Box Office from WeekendPlus passes which give entry to all events, to individual event tickets. Tickets can be booked through the Leeds City Box Office at The Carriageworks by phone on +44 (0) 113 2243801 and in person at The Carriageworks in Leeds. Enquiries about tickets can be made to boxoffice@leeds.gov.uk

The LadySquat, an autonomous space will also be running in parallel to Ladyfest Leeds- check out www.ladysquat.co.uk for more information.