A Decade of Dissent - Power of Women Thanet returns for 2025
POW Thanet is celebrating 10 Years of promoting Gender Equality, Creativity, and Community
In 2025, Power of Women Thanet (POW) is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the Decade of Dissent Festival.
Since its founding in 2015, POW has been using creativity to champion gender equality and has had a tangible impact on Thanet's community. In 2024 alone, they supported 195 creative professionals, provided 57 paid opportunities, and attracted over 8,000 attendees.
This year POW will re-envision their grassroots and activist beginnings and celebrate their 10th anniversary with the Decade of Dissent Festival, tackling issues of social isolation and ageism, championing the feminist leaders of Thanet and looking at the turbulent relationship between gender equality and climate action. What happens if Thanet becomes an island again and how will that affect everyone? POW recommends reading Rosa Rankin-Gee’s Dreamland for a glimpse into an all too possible future for Thanet.
From its first festival in 2015, POW Thanet has become more than just an event - it’s a powerful, unapologetic platform for women & non-binary voices. Over the years, the festival has made waves in the community, tackling difficult conversations, and offering a proactive and uplifting programme of arts and culture. 2025 will continue to build on this legacy and encourage everyone to unleash their inner activist through a year of exhibitions, workshops, performances and digital activities led by local women and nonbinary creatives.
As POW celebrates this incredible milestone, your support can help ensure the future of their groundbreaking work. Donate £10 today to help POW reach 10,000 people in their 10th year and continue championing gender equality in Thanet and beyond.
A Programme of Firsts and Futures
Decade of Dissent Festival begins with a celebration of the past achievements in gender equality with events taking place 1st - 31st March 2025.
Then throughout the summer, POW on Tour will embrace the power of the present fight against social isolation and the work our community is doing to improve gender equality in Thanet and beyond. Finally from October we’ll be imagining POW Futures where gender equality is no longer a goal but a reality culminating in a celebration festival in March 2026.
Festival highlights include:
Friday 7th March: Rhythms of Resistance
Jessica Lauren, Isobella Burnham, and Cleo Savva come together for a night of jazz fueled resistance as they play together for the first time, a conversation of sound and philosophies. Jessica Lauren is a pianist, keyboard player and composer, who’s been a cult figure on the UK’s soul and jazz scene since the early 1990s. Drawing on a wide range of influences, she has forged her own distinctive sound and musical personality.
Saturday 8th March: Golden Slumbers
Building on the Welsh concept of Cwtch – a loving hold – Golden Slumbers is a highly visual and physical outdoor show exploring the endless cycle of labour experienced by women through their lives, and celebrating everyone’s right to a little rest and recuperation. Moving Memory is a ground-breaking dance-theatre company that puts the older body centre stage. They’ve been making striking visual performances for public spaces, festivals and theatres for over a decade. Their work supports older people in partnership with Age UK Thanet to have greater access to artistic and creative activities and challenges preconceptions of ageing.
Sunday 9th March: QUEENAGERS
All hail the queen of cabaret events! Scary Little Girls present a show filled with stand up, music, monologues and crafting that focuses on the funny side of the menopause and the uplifting freedom and positivity it can bring. Laugh until the tears run down your legs - and feel reassured that it isn’t just you! Host, peri-menopausal glamour-puss Bunny Morethan aka Rebecca Mordan (Glastonbury Festival compère, Sky News ‘rent-a-feminist’ and BBC Writers Room) is here to learn all she can about what’s coming down the female line.
Festival Exhibitions:
Friday 7th - Saturday 9th March: Herstory
Celebrating the legacy of protest, this weekend exhibition showcases the physical objects that tell the story of POW’s decade-long work. From banners, placards, and flyers central to the festival’s spirit of protest and activism, this free exhibition will invite you to explore the many faces of the gender equality movement through the years, reflect on the stories that have shaped POW’s history, and begin the work that will inform POW’s new Feminist Archive Project.
Friday 7th - Saturday 9th March: Art in Protest
Local artist and educator Karen Vost has worked closely with Minster CoE Primary School in a series of workshops to facilitate works of Art in Protest that will adorn the outside of ARK Cliftonville.
Wednesday 5th - Monday 31st of March: Rebecca Strickson
One of Thanet's most beloved illustrators, joins POW for a month-long exhibition at local watering holes in Margate. Inspired by the bold imagery of trade union banners and protest placards, her work explores the strength of community and collaboration.
A Call to Action: Support the Future of POW Thanet
As POW celebrates its 10th anniversary, it has grown into something much larger than a Festival, it’s a local movement celebrating the incredible contributions of women, girls, and non-binary people to the arts, activism, and the ongoing fight for equality. POW supports over 500 young people each year to develop their creative professional skills, and engage 8,000+ people per year to the issues impacting women and girls in Thanet and beyond.
This year, in honour of the 10th anniversary, POW are asking for you to donate £10 to help ensure that POW’s work continues for years to come and help us reach 10,000 people in our 10th year. With this gift, POW can continue creating a gender-equal Thanet through art, culture, and community-driven events.
Explore the rest of the Festival:
POW Founders Talk and Exhibition Launch: Hear from the founders of POW Thanet, take a walk through the exhibition, and connect with others who have helped shape the festival.
Galentine's Day Celebration at The Shakespeare Pub: Celebrate friendship and community with a special Galentine’s Day event in Margate, featuring exclusive POW merch and a creative workshop led by artist Carson Parkin-Fairley.
Youth Programme: The POW Young Producers share their podcast “GossGalore” at their listening party and students from Broadstairs College will showcase live music and films in response to the theme of ageism.
There’s still more to come! Follow POW on social media or sign up for their newsletter to hear more Festival news.
For more information about the full programme of events visit www.powthanet.com
