A Liverpool music festival ran only by women

I am a 26 year old woman and I work in the Liverpool events industry.

During my short career, I have experienced multiple examples of discrimination, physical and sexual abuse. It might be a surprise to some that the music industry is still heavily weighted against women. It is harder for our voices to be heard. Mentorship and learning opportunities are more difficult to come by. And even when our skills have been mastered, it is harder for us to put them into practice.

I am a Director of Scrapyard Studios CIC, a not-for-profit organisation in the North of Liverpool. We offer inclusive workshops and activities for artists and creatives in our local area. Through running these, I have met dozens of women who have had similar experiences to me. People who have faced sexual abuse, discrimination, gate-keeping - all for daring to pursue a career in their passion.

I realised that through Scrapyard I have a platform to try and address some of the injustices that women in the Liverpool events industry face.

WOMEN IN MUSIC SURVEY

In the summer of 2022, Scrapyard put out a survey for women in the local music industry to document their experiences. I wanted to see how many women were out there who had experienced similar things to me and get a better understanding of how Scrapyard could support women in the industry.

We received 100s of responses. Of the women who replied to the survey:

These findings did not shock me, but they did spur us on to take action.

WHAT IS WIMIN FESTIVAL?

WIMIN Festival will be a one-day event taking place in North Liverpool. It will be organised entirely by women.

Most importantly, WIMIN will provide women in the Liverpool music scene with an opportunity to learn new skills from each other and apply them in a safe environment free from discrimination or abuse.

WIMIN will take place in the grounds of The Lock & Quay across two distinct spaces:

Our ambition is to expand the festival to create a Main Stage that would feature well-known touring artists, allowing WIMIN to reach even more people across Merseyside.

THE TEAM

We have assembled a team of over 30 women based in Liverpool who are already working on the event. We are made up of established and aspiring events industry professionals, all rallied behind the common goal of putting on a progressive festival in a fair, abuse-free environment.

We hold monthly full festival team meetings. The more experienced members of our network mentor the new talents. WIMIN will be an example of what can happen when large groups of people come together to showcase their skills on their own terms. Opportunities to learn and apply knowledge are few and far between. We have made our own career development opportunity.

We have partnered with numerous female-founded Liverpool businesses who have aligned themselves with our cause. These include We Want Women, Where Are The Girl Bands, Bitch Palace and Sounds Northern, and all will be featuring in The Garden during the event.

WHY DO WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT?

Scrapyard is a not-for-profit company, and festivals cost a lot of money to make happen. From the artists performing, the production, the staff working across the day, there are many costs that we simply cannot cover on our own. We are looking into sponsorship opportunities, funding bids and even hosting monthly Gals Who Gig events to help fund the project.

I know that there are more in Liverpool who feel like I do. Have experienced worse than what I have. I have got to know many of them well over the past few months. So most importantly we are looking for help from people who feel that our story resonates with them, to enable us to make a difference in our community.

The traction that WIMIN has already gathered on a purely word-of-mouth basis has been so exciting. We now want to bring it to the rest of the city.

WIMIN Festival will take place on July 29th 2023.

The Lock & Quay

11am - 10pm

We are grateful for any support we can get for the festival, and all those who donate over £20 will be granted access to the event.

If anyone would like to get involved or find out more, they can reach us via email.

Thank you.