ACTIVITY

Women’s Voice made this banner to carry on the procession celebrating the centenary of some women gaining the vote in 2018. It is made up of more than 150 embroidered or decorated squares, each carrying a woman’s name. The squares were sewn together, edging was added and the whole thing sewn onto a huge sheet. The suffragette symbol in the centre is open so the wind can blow through it as it is being carried.

ACTIVITY MAKING A BANNER

Now design your own banner for a procession. You can create a suffragette banner, or you can make a banner for a cause that is most important for you, like climate change. • Think about the colours of your banner • Think about the images on your banner • Work out a slogan for your banner and make sure the lettering is big enough to be read easily at a distance. • How big will your banner be? • How will you carry your banner? You can use an old white sheet for your banner and embroider it, or you could make a collage of different materials – the choice is yours.

Above: Local artist Lorna Vahey produced this sketch for the Women’s Voice banner made in 2018 for the centenary march (there is a photograph of the final banner at the top of this page). A horizontal pole, and two vertical poles were threaded through the seams of the banner and lashed together.