Working with Titchfield Yarnbombers to celebrate International Women’s Day 2027.
Latest additions:
- Friday Kahlo, artist. Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican artist and socialist. She was disabled by poliomyelitis and a traffic accident but used her problems to fuel her art. She stressed her Mexican identity by wearing brightly coloured traditional clothing, in itself a protest against the erosion of national and female identity. Her bright pictures show animals, birds, local fruit and a large number of self-portraits, many of which depict her physical problems as well as her choice of traditional costume. She was re-discovered in the 1970s after her death when she was seen as a female icon of feminism, political activism and the importance of national identity.
Helen Sherman, astronaut. She counts as a scientist because she studied chemistry at Birkbeck College, London. She applied to a job advert on the radio that said: “astronaut wanted: no experience necessary”. Helen’s scientific background, her aptitude for foreign languages, and her high level of fitness helped her beat nearly 13,000 other applicants. She launched on Project Juno in 1991 and spent 8 days on the Mir space station, as the first British astronaut. While in space, she ran various biological experiments and investigated crystal growth in microgravity as well as chatted with British school children over amateur radio. - The rest of the 23 Iconic Women we have chosen are famous for all sorts of other reasons. Some were activists, for Human Rights or climate change, but we also have a pilot, an artist, a singer/songwriter, an author and a nurse.
- Six scientists are included in our chosen Iconic Women;
- There will be 3 athletes featured in the display;
- We are including 5 Queens in this number;
- There will be 23 Iconic Women featured on the bollard toppers for International Women’s Day 2027, on 8th March.
August Update: we have finalised all the arrangements, and are ready to start announcing our choices for the display! Look out for a weekly post on Facebook, showcasing each of the Iconic Women that will appear on the Titchfield bollards in March 2027.
March Update: there was a PR workshop at our regional meeting in March, where each club was asked to present their impact from media engagement. We presented our plans for the bollard toppers – and we won the delegates’ choice prize! It proved that a memorable idea – a gimmick – can be as effective as the standard print and digital media stories that other clubs have successfully promoted. Link to Facebook post.
Background: Several club members had seen the handiwork of Titchfield Yarnbombers for the row of bollards in the village, and approached them with a proposal for a joint project with a similar display for International Women’s Day (IWD). This would be for 8 March 2027. The suggestion was for toppers shaped like a woman and celebrate famous examples, such as Jane Austen, Queen Elizabeth II, or round the world sailor Dee Caffari (who lives in Titchfield, and could maybe “open” the display?). There are 23 bollards for toppers and the Titchfield Yarnbombers group already had a book of Crochet 15 Iconic Women. There were patterns for Queen Elizabeth II, Jane Austen, Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale, Malala Yousafzai, Rosa Parks, Jane Goodall, and Cleopatra. SI Solent East has bought them the sequel, of Crochet More Iconic Women. That includes patterns for Dolly Parton, Queen Elizabeth I, Ada Lovelace, Anne Frank, Greta Thunberg and others. We will be working together to select the 23 toppers to be made, and what might happen to them afterwards.
This page will be used to give more details about the famous women displayed, and will be the destination for the QR code attached to the actual toppers.