Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Londoners Reni Eddo-Lodge and Emma Watson are collaborating with author Rebecca Solnit and geographer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro to reimagine London's classic tube map. The new public history project 'City of London Women' will redraw Transport for London's classic underground map by naming each stop after a woman, non-binary person or a group.
By consulting with artists, historians, community organizers and others through an open call, the project aims to identify remarkable female or non-binary Londoners who have had an impact on the city's history in some way. It will allocate them to each of the stations depicted on the London tube map according to their connections to a local area. Some of these people might be household names, others might be unsung heroes or figures from London's hidden histories. The names might be drawn from arts, civil society, business, politics, sport and so on.
Attractively produced and packaged as a large poster map, this will be an ideal gift item that will find a place in museums and art stores as well as bookshops across London and beyond.
Synopsis
A feminist reclamation of London's hidden history, through a reimagining of the city's iconic Tube map.
Londoners Reni Eddo-Lodge and Emma Watson have reimagined the iconic Tube map, in collaboration with Rebecca Solnit, to celebrate the lives of women and non-binary people who have left a lasting impact on the city. The new map, unveiled on International Women's Day in partnership with Transport for London, re-names each stop after a woman, non-binary person or a group who have shaped London.
Instead of Bond Street, Notting Hill Gate, Warren Street, Paddington, Euston Square, Waterloo, Bank or Lancaster Gate, the City of Women London Tube map invites us to mind the gap at Audrey Hepburn, Claudia Jones, Virginia Woolf, Mary Seacole, Noor Inayat Khan, Agnes Beckwith, Boudica or Jung Chang.
This map has been produced and packaged as a large poster. An interactive, digital version developed by UCL allows people to learn more about each person and their inspiring lives.
The women and non-binary people assigned to each station were identified through a multi-layered research process, beginning with an open call for suggestions. Some of these figures are household names while others are unsung heroes from London's hidden histories, yet each has indelibly shaped the city. The names for the map were selected by the authors of the project, with input from an advisory group made up of academics, writers, activists and historians. Where possible, names have been placed at a station with a personal or symbolic connection to their lives. The inclusion of several non-binary people on the map recognises the resonance between their lives and undertakings and the anti-patriarchal spirit of the City of Women project (in all cases, they are in full agreement about their inclusion).