A church in east London has joined with campaigners for women's rights to host a pop-up exhibition about the history of women's achievements in the area.
St George-in-the-East is close to the Jack the Ripper museum, which has been heavily criticised for celebrating a serial killer and glamourising his violence towards women. This was made even more controversial because the original planning application for the museum stated it would be about the contribution of women to the East End.
The East End Women's Collective got together with St George's, a local church with a number of women in the congregation who are active in the community. With the blessing of the local Bishop (who wrote about the issue for Christian Today) they set about putting together an exhibition which would highlight women both famous and less well known from one of London's most diverse and vibrant areas. The exhibition opened last night with contributions from Labour MP Jess Phillips – who has campaigned against abuse of women online and worked in a women's refuge before she was elected to Parliament.
Earlier this week a billboard was erected outside the Ripper museum with the slogan "Celebrate Suffragettes Not Serial Killers". It was soon vandalised, but has helped to gain media attention for the pop up exhibition which will run until July 9.
