Holloway Prison was Europe's largest women's prison. This landmark development on the former site could mark a new dawn in women's rights and women's services in the UK - towards an inclusive, regenerating and empowering approach, underpinned by feminist principles. To bring our vision to life, here we are sharing spaces that inspire us – please let us know by email or on twitter of spaces that inspire you too!
The idea of ‘space’ has been central in feminist thinking – Virginia Woolf writes in “A Room of One’s Own”: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” The fight for safe spaces is also central to feminist struggle. Every day, millions of women and girls, including trans women, live with the threat of violence. The Women’s Building could be a safe physical space for all women and girls in London, but also a metaphor for the renewal in feminist thinking, the feminist struggle for all women and girls to be safe, and the remembrance of the suffragettes and other brave women who have struggled.
In Rome, this site is also formerly a women’s prison and is now a vibrant space taken over by Italian feminists.
In Valparaíso, Chile, community organisers fought to establish the amazing Parque Cultural on the site of an old prison, home to workshop spaces, an art gallery, cafe, gardens, memorial spaces and more.
Closer to home, the Pankhurst Centre in Manchester is an iconic site of women’s activism.
