A Thousand Feet Will Follow
The original brief for this piece was a homage to Emily Davison, but Lewisham Central Assembly and local historians found a figure closer to home.
Rosa May Billinghurst was a suffragette born in Lewisham, famous for her mischievous use of her wheel chair during protests. Yes, there was window smashing.
We thought her story would be better material for a local mural, and so she became the focus. Rosa had already been celebrated in an anniversary march, so we included elements of that in the mural. We didn't want to create something that felt frozen in time, but rather something that reflects how history is always ongoing, happening in the present moment.
To do this, we focussed on issues from the Votes for Women Campaign that still resonate today.
It was encouraging to see how the mural inspired conversations between different generations of women about the issues they face.
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