25th Anniversary Celebration

We are planning to celebrate our 25 years of achievements at a dinner in the Future Inn Hotel, Cardiff Bay on Thursday 19th November and are offering a number of sponsorship opportunities at the event:

• a table of ten guests costs £300 and includes the company of two trainees from the Workshop on your table
• you could sponsor the wine for the evening, or the hire of the venue
• individual seats for the dinner are available at £32 each

Sponsorship gives you an excellent opportunity to invest in the future of the local community, as well as sharing your name and brand image with hundreds of people.

All major sponsors will be recognised in the publicity material and on our website and will be invited to exhibit promotional material at the event itself.

The evening will include appearances from the politicians instrumental in establishing the Workshop plus a number of special guests. It will include entertainment, demonstrations and displays from trainees past and present.

We would like to hear from ex-trainees to help us to celebrate our 25th anniversary in style. Do you have any photographs from your time in the Workshop or other memorabilia you would be happy to share with us?

Please contact Sian Thomason on 25@womensworkshop.org.uk if you would like to be involved in this exciting event or have a look at our website: http://www.womensworkshop.org.uk/25.htm

We will be updating this blog and our website with news about the forthcoming celebration.

Creative Imprints, A Community Arts Exhibition

For the past few months, Women's Arts Association have run a number of print workshops at various community venues in Cardiff and Barry. One of the workshops took place here at the Women's Workshop. They were run by professional artist, Susan Joshi and arts manager, Lucy Lilley.

This dynamic project explored the art of printmaking in all its forms, including collage, mono and lino-cuts. Throughout the workshops the tutors encouraged an accessible, "hands-on" approach to creativity and introduced a wide range of materials and processes.

As part of the project the participants are curating an exhibition of their work to be held at Art Central, Town Hall King Square, Barry. The opening hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm.

The participants have been involved in selecting work, deciding where it will be hung and will be curating the show itself. They have visited examples of shows looking at how the work is displayed and curated.

Please come along and show your support for the wonderful work these women have produced.

International Women's Day, Cardiff 2009

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achivements.



International Women's Day has been observed since the early 1900s when women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

To celebrate International Women's Day in Wales women's political, cultural and support groups in Cardiff are working together to organise a festival from Friday 6th - Tuesday 17th March 2009. The majority of events are free and open to all members of the public.

Events in the festival will include political and environmental debates and workshops, arts and crafts events, a film festival, a live indie music night, a Reclaim the Night march and exhibitions. The events will take place at various venues across the city.

For more information see the website: http://www.cymruwomen.org.uk/

International Women's Day at the Workshop:

Launch of the New Life Project (10am - 1pm)
Guest speaker: Jane Hutt, AM for CELLS, - by invitation only.

Arts & Crafts Workshop (12.30pm - 2.30pm)
(run by Women's Arts Association). Explore your creativity.

Mum's Matters @ The Women's Workshop

Mums Matters is a voluntary community group run for mums by mums. Every week the mums take part in activities to improve their health and well-being. These activities include yoga, card-making, self-defence, nutrition, arts and crafts and confidence building, among others. To help the mums to live a healthy lifestyle we encourage snacking on healthy foods.

The group is open to any pregnant mother-to-be, any mum, or carer of children. You can even attend if your children are not with you. We offer a free creche facility, where the children are looked after by qualified staff. The children also participate in exciting activities and enjoy the healthy snacks.

Mums Matters meets every Friday morning at the Women's Workshop during term time from 10am until 12pm and costs £1 per week. It's a great place to meet other mums and learn new skills in a relaxed environment. We always welcome new members, just turn up onthe day or ring Lynne on 029 2022 8707 for more details or have a look at our website: http://www.mumsmatters.btik.com/

Lynne Andrews, Mums Matters