Saturday 22 May 2021

And The Door Opened, ceramic project with Women @the Well, (W@W): rescheduling for 2021-22




Four views are collaged together to show the outside of pot, which depicts the men that buy sex from women exploited in the sex trade. The pot was smashed in Centenary Square, Bradford, at The March Against the Sex Trade, Filia international feminist conference, October 19th, 2019.

2. 'I'm Not The Criminal,' 2020, Two views

In its unbroken state, this was 'The Invisible Man.' The shattered and rebuilt version is 'I'm Not The Criminal,' depicting, inside the pot, the March Against the Sex Trade with Fiona Broadfoot who led the march with other sex trade survivors. 

3. Me with 'I'm Not The Criminal,' 2020. (all photos: Sylvain Deleu)

About the Project:

W@W is a women-only service located in Kings Cross dedicated to supporting women whose lives are affected - or at risk of being affected - by prostitution. They also offer support to women wishing to exit the sex trade and help them to identify and overcome the barriers that maybe obstructing that process. 

And The Door Opened,’ is a collection of pots, made in partnership with W@W, that illustrate the lives of the women they work with, based on accounts provided by the women themselves. Some of the pots represent the accounts of women survivors who have already exited and others are still involved in prostitution. 

The aim is to enhance the public's understanding of what prostitution is and to show that, with the right support, girls and women do not need to live and die exploited in the sex trade – there are ways out.

When and Where - latest updates and rescheduling for 2021 - 2022

Planning in the pipeline: 

Ceramic ArtLondon, postponed to 2022, Central St Martins, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA 'And The Door Opened' is part of the Claytalks lecture series including a display of some of the pots. This event was de-platformed, (cancelled,) apparently by a combination of the pimp lobby and transactivists. Legal action in process. 

Wood Green Library, 191 High Road, Wood Green, N22 6XD. Readings and pot smashing ceremony - watch this space for updates late 2021 or 2022. If this goes ahead, it will probably be late 2022 or early 2023. 

Past Events 2021

Filia Conference, Portsmouth, 16th -17th October 2021 
Presentation about And the Door Opened, and pot smashing ceremony to end the Femicide March,  remembering the women murdered because they were women. 

Wednesday September 15th 2021 6-8pm an evening with Women@the Well and Claudia Clare, 
talking about the pots and the project including about the work they've been doing over the past 18 months and how Covid has affected the women they support. 

Thursday December 9th, 2021, 6-9pm, Fore Street for All, with REACT Edmonton, Artist Hive Studios, Fisher Cheng Architects and Enfield Council. A talk in two parts with a display of pots from And the Door Opened. Part one was about project women's accounts that produced the pots, part two went into more detail about how the pots were made. The display of pots continued in the Library until February 10th 2022. 

Past Events 2020:

Jan 23rd 2020: Talking about 'And The Door Opened,' at Zuleika.
Informal talk, discussing the project with Q&A. 

Jan 14th-31st 2020 Zuleika Gallery, 6 Mason's Yard, London, SW1Y 6BU
Display of four pots from 'And The Door Opened,' as part of a gallery artists show, 'January Edit.'  Zuleika's official launch of the project

Past events 2019

November 7thth-December 31st 2019 with Collage-arts at Collage Artspace 4 and Wood Green Library, Library Mall, 191 High St, London, N22 6DZ
Window display and display in library Nov 7th 2019 -Jan 6th, 2020
Launch with speakers and pot-breaking ceremony: Nov 25th  (to coincide with UN 16 days campaigning to eliminate violence against women;) Details of event available here
Photos and brief summary here.

Demonstration of mending a pot with talk: Nov 30th 12-4pm;
How to mend a pot - workshop for participants Dec 7th 12-4pm.
Brief description and photos of both events here.

October 30th 2019a talk about the project at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire

October 19th 2019unofficial launch - Filia Conference, Bradford, 'The Invisible Man' was smashed as part of the March against the Sex Trade. Pictures and description of the event here.

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