Northern Ireland

Herstory festival aims to 'create new visions for a world of equals'

Melanie Lynch, who founded the Herstory festival in 2016, said it is about "seeing the complete picture, in order to rewrite the future"
Melanie Lynch, who founded the Herstory festival in 2016, said it is about "seeing the complete picture, in order to rewrite the future" Melanie Lynch, who founded the Herstory festival in 2016, said it is about "seeing the complete picture, in order to rewrite the future"

AN annual festival which celebrates women focussing on heroines past and present, is aiming to "create new visions for a world of equals" this year.

Herstory, which seeks to tell the stories of modern, mythic and historic women through the 2020 Herstory Light Festival.

Storytelling, talks, exhibitions and a series of illuminations are just some of the events included in this year's festival, which runs from January 31 until February 2.

The event will begin with a `Women in Peace Building' event in Belfast on January 31 when women from the Falls and Shankill Women's Centre will come together to discuss how they have developed good relations.

One the same day in Armagh, Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Annie Russell Maunder will be honoured at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.

Lurgan woman, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who had a passion for astrophysics, discovered Pulsars during her PhD while Annie Ryssell Maunder, from Strabane, who had a passion of maths, went on to become a human computer at Greenwich.

On February 1, Susanna Drury, a talented Irish painter , will be celebrated at the Giant's Causeway site.

Meanwhile, as part of the Herstory Light Festival, images of featured heroines will be illuminated on to buildings.

Pat Hume, who is married to former SDLP leader, John Hume, is among those who will be featured in Derry.

Enniskillen Castle and Strule Arts Centre in Omagh are also to be illuminated purple as part of Herstory.

Melanie Lynch, who founded the festival in 2016, said:

"The reality is women's successes and struggles have been lost in the shadows for too long, resulting in global inequality and a regression of women's rights," she said.

"That's why we are harnessing the alchemical power of light: to highlight authentic women’s stories, spotlight inequality, and create new visions for a World of Equals.’’

Further information about the event is available at www.herstory.ie/light