Whether through collective organising or grassroots arts events, it's vital that we strive for more socially just conditions that benefit all of us who are marginalised.
I'm experienced at reading and analysing policy documents and working with others to find strategies that improve working conditions. Most of my organising has focused on the problem of gender-based violence. This has involved:
Creating a workshop series for university staff to help them better understand people's experiences of gender-based violence. The workshops invited guest speakers to share trauma-informed, survivor-centred materials on people's needs in reporting and complaint processes, and discussed the potential of transformative justice practices.
Persuading trade union members to adopt new, survivor-centred practices that transform how complaint processes are handled internally. I was also involved in implementing the changes.
Contributing to the Al Jazeera Degrees of Abuse series, which uncovered harmful reporting and complaint practices at UK universities.
Presenting strategies for change and solidarity via invited talks and conference presentations.
In university and research communities, I have contributed a number of social and environmental justice activities by:
Co-leading what was formerly the Women's Caucus for the Society of Cinema and Media Studies (based in the US, it has a large international membership). During my tenure, I and the three other leads successfully campaigned to open up the group to a greater number of gender-marginalised members, which led to its renaming as the Gender and Feminisms Caucus;
Establishing research-sharing and organising networks (e.g., within the British Association of Film, Television, and Screen Studies).
Analysing institutional policy documents and sharing feedback with management teams on a wide range of issues.
Creating job advertisement materials (subsequently used as a template by colleagues) that helped make a recruitment process more accessible to disabled, working-class and other candidates.
Serving as an elected member of the British Association of Film, Television, and Screen Studies executive committee, and contributing to efforts to establish a network for indie researchers within the member organisation.
Glasgow Feminist Arts Festival
In November 2018, I founded and directed a three-day arts festival at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow. Organised as a direct response to the international emergence of the #MeToo movement, Glasgow Feminist Arts Festival's (GFAF) aim was to challenge the ongoing dominance of men in the arts by instead platforming artists marginalised by gender - that is, people who are trans and cis women, trans men, and non-binary.
Featuring musical, theatrical, and spoken word performances, numerous films screenings, and a creative writing workshop, GFAF had over 200 attendees--some of whom had never attended the venue before--and received exciting feedback on its potential for longer-term community-building. The programme was co-curated with local groups and organisations including Femmespectives, Africa in Motion, Scottish Queer International Film Festival, and the Scotland National Moving Image Archive, and received press coverage from BBC Radio Scotland, and BBC Scotland and STV television channels.