MEDIA RELEASE

Creator of First Women welcomes newSuffragettefilm & celebrates her family connections to women's rights

Anita Corbin, creator of First Women UK, has welcomed the new Suffragette film on general release this week and celebrates her family connections to the Suffragist movement. First Women is a ground breaking project which culminates in 2018, marking 100 years from when suffragettes saw their efforts recognised and women received the vote for the first time. www.1stwomenuk.co.uk

The brainchild of ex Sunday Times and Observer photographer Anita Corbin, who now has her home in Somerset, First Women is a celebration of how far women have come in the past 100 years; it's about the impact women have had on UK society and ensuring that these remarkable "ordinary" extraordinary "First" women are not forgotten.

In 2018, the 100th anniversary of Women's Suffrage, Anita's 100 iconic portraits of 21st century women who have achieved the landmark title "First Woman" across a range of fields will be revealed as a powerful body of work celebrating past generations and inspiring those in the future.

Anita's great-grandparents, Annie and Nicholas Lidstone, were big movers in the South Place Ethical Society. This was (and still is) a non-secular movement of non-conformists who believed, not in religion but the power of humanity. It was concerned with the abolition of slavery and early women's rights.

In 1929, the SPES moved to Conway Hall and became Conway Hall Ethical Society - to this day functioning as a social community space and upholding the values and mission statement of the humanists. Anita's great-grandfather oversaw the build fundraising. Conway Hall was a social hub for recitals and lectures. It was also for radicals sharing modern ideas, and a gathering place for suffragists and speakers about the subject, about which Anita's family felt passionately.

The link to the cause of suffragists and the new film Suffragette doesn't end there. Anita explains, "One particularly exciting link is a small painting that hangs in my home. Left to me by my grandparents, it's thought it was gifted to my great grandpa for his efforts in building Conway Hall.

"The back of the painting reads: ‘with love from Violet' who research is indicating to be Violet Bonham-Carter, married to Maurice Bonham-Carter, private secretary to the then Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith.

"The painting itself is by Sibella Bonham-Carter (1899-2005), related to the actress Helena Bonham Carter, who happens to be playing a lead role in the film Suffragette."

Anita is delighted at how news of First Women is being received in the UK and internationally. She comments, "I hope that the series will inspire future generations and help them see that it is possible to break down barriers just as those pioneering suffragettes did 100 years ago. I want these powerful portraits to offer emotional support to women who seek to be the best they can; they will look at my portraits and see they are not alone. When the 100 portraits go on display I am confident that the power of the group as a whole will inspire every woman who goes to view them; empowering them and enabling them to feed off their energy and achievements of First Women.

And Anita says, "I haven't yet made my final selection, but what I have worked on is selecting a good cross section of women working in different sectors who come from all walks of life and backgrounds. I want ordinary women, not just those who have achieved through privilege and birth right. I currently have 18 spaces to fill before I reach my 100 and so would welcome any suggestions as well as like-minded sponsors who can help me bring First Women to the public eye in 2018."

Further information: Anita Corbin, Tel: 01823 662329 or mob: 07802 613911 or check out: www.1stwomenuk.co.uk

Photo Captions, pictures 1 - 4: Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, First Woman to be made the Speaker's chaplain

Anita Corbin's great grandmother, Annie Lidstone

The Conway Hall painting by Sibella Bonham-Carter that now hangs on Anita's dining room wall

Abbey Burton, First Woman to set a British Record title of 100% perfect score in Olympic Trap Clay Shooting

Press information and hi res images from Jane Adkins, Tel 01935 813114 or email: jane@aheadforpr.co.uk or visit: www.aheadforpr.co.uk

Editor's notes

Anita Corbin's First Women Series will reach its culmination in 2018, a significant date marking 100 years of Women's Suffrage. Her vision is to provide answers to important questions that will be posed at that historic juncture: "How will women be remembered over the past 100 years?" "What have women achieved in the fields of Sport, Science, Politics, the Arts and Education?" "Who were these remarkable "first" women"?

Oct 2015 (PR 17a)