Featured image: Flow4Equality
Manchester Met student Hannah Smith is launching Flow4Equality, a new social enterprise dedicated to fighting period poverty in the city. Their first event is a pop-up festival called ‘Painting Manchester Red’, which aims to support and empower women, with a focus on feminism and menstruation.
The project was created as part of Manchester Met Rise’s ‘Making Great Communities Incubator’ initiative, which encourages students to build ideas to support their local community, providing mentorship and support along the way.
The Painting Manchester Red event will feature educational workshops as well as fundraising activities to support period poverty charities in Manchester.
Period poverty affects one in five people who menstruate in the UK, with 2.8 million people struggling to afford period products according to Trust For London. This issue disproportionally affects those living in poverty, and with Manchester having the third highest homeless population in the UK, it is an issue that strongly affects the North West.
Hannah said: “The aim of Flow4Equality is to help those who are most vulnerable, with an overarching aim to eventually achieving legislative change. I want to unite and network with numerous women-run charities to uplift female artists and their personal works and achievements.”
She highlights that despite the poverty affecting Manchester, the city has a strong connection to creating positive change, with movements such as the Suffragettes stemming from the region.
She added: “There are so many charities that focus on political change or safe spaces, and I want to bridge the gaps between them and create a community. We’re more empowered as a collective.”
The pop-up festival will be held at Brickhouse Social on 29th September. Hannah said attendees should expect “one big party” featuring guest speakers, art, food, and workshops.
Entry to the festival is free, but attendees are encouraged to donate period products. All funds raised from product sales will go directly towards donating and supplying products for The Crimson Wave, a Manchester-based organisation dedicated to tackling period poverty in the city. The Crimson Wave distribute free period products and deliver inclusive and empowering period education across Greater Manchester, no questions asked.
As well as raising donations for Crimson Wave, Hannah explained she wants to create a space which will “centre womanhood, combat female isolation and create safe spaces by bringing together people and create real-life friendships”.
Guests will be invited to contribute to a collaborative mural, which will be placed outside of parliament as a call for the government to place feminism on the political agenda. There will be workshops for creating art, showcasing students’ work and discovering female artists, as well as self-care stations, educational sessions on menstruation, and a feminist literature circle.
Hannah wants the event to empower and strengthen the local community: “As the future, we should be coming together.”
Flow4Equality Festival will be held on Sunday 29th September, 2024 at Brickhouse Social. For more information and to keep up-to-date with Flow4Equality, follow @flow4equality.
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