HerSpace Festival in aid of Jewish Women's Aid

HerSpace, The Jewish Women's Fashion, Arts & Culture Festival was an incredible day, inspiring female empowerment and creativity whilst raising awareness about Jewish Women's Aid and the work we do to help women and children affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. We were honoured to be this year’s charity partner with all proceeds of the event going towards our work.

The festival, founded and created by Michelle Stimler-Morris and her committee of incredible volunteers, celebrated Jewish female creativity with a curated marketplace of independent, female-led businesses, talks by inspirational women, hands-on workshops, a delicious kosher food court, live music and more.

We were delighted to have two panels on the day highlighting our work around domestic abuse in the Jewish community. Our Schools Manager, Ilana Hutchinson, was on a panel, 'JWA Presents: Bringing Up Good Sons', moderated by Tamara Corin with Jessica Diner and Rachel Vecht. It was a valuable discussion on the challenges parents face bringing up their children today.

Ilana Hutchinson, JWA, Jessica Diner, Vogue UK, Rachel Vecht, Educating Matters, 'JWA Presents: Bringing Up Good Sons'.

Our Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Outreach Lead, Ziona Handler, was in conversation with BBC journalist, Wendy Robbins, on, 'The Uncomfortable Truth: Domestic Abuse in our Community'. They discussed how JWA started 30 years ago, why our service is needed more than ever today and the unfortunate realities of domestic abuse in our community.

Ziona Handler, JWA, and Wendy Robbins In Conversation.'The Uncomfortable Truth: Domestic Abuse In Our Community'.

The festival included a fine art exhibition based on the lived experiences of Jewish women we have worked with. 16 female, Jewish artists used testimonies provided by Jewish Women's Aid to create unique works of art that were displayed and sold at the festival.

Thank you to the artists for your beautiful and moving interpretations of our clients’ stories : Natalia Segerman, Rebecca Schachter, Emily Green, Davina Jackson, Miranda Lopatkin, Susan Collins, Michal Raz, Sandra Bilbul, Chloe Manasseh, Sara Berman, Alexa Harris, Hava Stone, Laura Pannack, Sharon Schurder and Beverly Jane Stewart.

Artwork by Michal Raz.

We want to send a heartfelt thank you to all the panellists and workshop hosts for your time and support. The sessions were fascinating and engaging. Thank you to everyone who donated prizes for the luxury raffle and to the sponsors of the event who helped make the day possible and so special.

It was a truly inspiring and memorable day.

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