Dreadnought South West Association

Founded in 2012, Dreadnought South West Association seeks to connect individuals and communities through the telling and keeping of great and courageous stories about women that have lain undiscovered and often untold.

Our aim is to be a platform for bold, high-quality, arts and heritage work that inspires, educates and raises awareness of these stories throughout the South West and beyond. We do this by working collaboratively with artists, historians, singers, songwriters, writers, actors, designers, journalists, producers, directors, dancers, choreographers, administrators, curators, facilitators and more. Our partners and supporters include arts based and non-arts based organisations, groups and individuals.

Our first major project in 2013 celebrated and marked the centenary of The Great 1913 Women’s Suffrage Pilgrimage and asked, ‘What is important to women today’? We toured a new play, ‘Oxygen’, performing at over 20 of the original stopping places along the South West route of the original Pilgrimage between Land’s End, Cornwall and Hyde Park, London.

Our latest project – Rebellious Sounds – aims to explore 100 years of women’s activism in the South West, and will be researching and developing material through a range of activities, asking – what is a ‘rebellious sound’? These activities will include:

  • the development of a new play, The Orchard
  • the writing and composition of new songs
  • a project with young women in Cornwall in partnership with the WILD young parents project
  • a mapping of walks marking women and activism across Bristol and Bath
  • a series of podcasts by artists and activists in response to the notion of what a rebellious sound is in a series of podcasts by artists and activists.

Would you like to add your voice to Rebellious Sounds?

Is there a particular woman or event – a speech, a book, a photograph – that inspired you to get ‘active’? What part does activism play in your life? What piece of advice would you like to pass on to the next generation of women?

Dreadnought would love to hear about your experiences and those of women in your family. Perhaps you have a story or an artefact relating to a piece of women’s history that is not widely known. Help Dreadnought to build an archive of material about women’s activism in the South West by sharing your story, and your contribution could inform a performance event or be included in a future publication celebrating women’s voices.

This archive entry was last updated on 08/07/2019. Information incorrect or out-of-date?
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