Save the 'Women on Women' banner!

This banner was made for Women on Women (WOW) in the mid 1990s, a visionary lesbian and bisexual group that was also one of the first in the UK welcome transgender women as members. Having lived a full and active life, being used every week during the drop-in sessions and on numerous marches and protests, the banner is showing its age and is in need of urgent repairs and stabilization.

Fortunately, a local qualified textile conservator has agreed to carry out the work, but we're calling on Norfolk's LGBTQ+ community to raise the funds to pay for this vital work to preserve our shared heritage.

It was unusual for women’s groups in this period to be accepting of bisexual women, and it was almost unheard of for transgender women to be able to join in women’s groups – especially lesbian groups. You can read more about WOW in this blog by Queer Norfolk.

It is essential that these funds are raised so work can begin on the banner before it deteriorates further. The banner will be stabilized on a mesh before being rolled onto a specially-made rack and stored at the Norfolk Heritage Centre. Any additional revenue raised will go to the Norfolk LGBT+ project, which took over the services WOW provided when the group closed in April 2014. The remainder of the WOW archive is now at Norfolk Heirtage Centre, where it will be joined by the banner once it has been restored.