A Short Course Led by TOW director, Dr. Ruth Jones
Thursday Evenings, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
2025 – 6 February | 13 February | 6 March | 13 March | 20 March | 27 March
For people aged 18 years and over
10 Places £200 each | 2 Supported Places £100 each | 2 two for one Places | 2 Free Places
If you’ve always wanted to know a bit more about the way that theories and philosophy have influenced artists, but you didn’t want to (or couldn’t afford to) do a degree in your area of interest, then this course could be for you.
Book your place for the course here
Recommended for artists and enthusiasts who want to learn about the theories in feminism that are influencing feminist artists practicing today.
Key Texts
Lola Olufemi – Feminism Interrupted
Donna Haraway – The Cyborg Manifesto
Legacy Russell – Glitch Feminism
Akwugo Emejulu – Fugitive Feminism
In Feminism and Contemporary Art: Disobedient Bodies, you will be led through four key texts to see where these ideas are being practiced by artists today. You’ll be supported to explore texts that can seem a bit intimidating, and encouraged to make connections and construct your own arguments about the ideas and artworks we explore.
Starting with a brief history of feminist art practices and contexts, you’ll see how artists practicing today have used these historical examples as a foundation for their own work, or as a catalyst for something totally different. You’ll look at the arguments around women’s and other marginalised bodies and how those have created inspiration for contemporary artists and philosophers.
Each week you’ll be guided through the texts and artworks, exploring your own opinions and gaining the confidence to set your ideas out to develop a persuasive argument supported by academic theories.
The course will be a mixture of lecture and close reading and will take place in person at The Old Waterworks in Southend.
Artists taking part in this course are encouraged to make connections to their own practice through the artworks and theories that are discussed.
Feminism and Contemporary Art: Disobedient Bodies will end with an optional written assignment or a personal critique of your artwork, as a way to consolidate your knowledge and get constructive feedback on your art, writing and ideas.
Dr. Ruth Jones’ research and work centres on intersectional feminism in art practice. She is an independent curator, lecturer and artist, and the Director of The Old Waterworks. She has lectured in Fine Art at UEL and supports contextual studies for TOMA artists. She has had a number of papers published and presented, each on contemporary art practice and feminist theory.
Places are non-refundable once the sessions start. Payment is due in advance. All sessions are in person, not online. There are limited free and supported places, so please only take what you need. If you don’t think you can attend, please make sure to cancel your place in advance so that someone else can make use of it. A minimum of 6 places and 1 support place need to be filled for the course to go ahead.
Participants are expected to take their own notes during the sessions and familiarise themselves with each week’s materials in advance, please save questions for the sessions. Emails and queries will only be responded to on a Tuesday before the session. Peer to peer conversation is encouraged. Upon booking you will receive an information pack and week by week breakdown of the course.
Code of Conduct for our sessions:
We believe that everyone at The Old Waterworks has the right to a safe and respectful environment, free from racism, ableism, homophobia, religious intolerance, ageism, sexism, transphobia, mis-gendering, classism, fat phobia, misogyny and misogynoir. If you are unable to respect these positions you may be asked to leave. Whilst we understand that the nature of the course will encourage debate and deal with sensitive issues, we will not tolerate behaviour or language that actively makes our shared environment disrespectful and unsafe. By purchasing a ticket for this course, you agree to abide by the code of conduct.