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The inaugural Women of the World Manchester Festival kicks off at Aviva Studios this weekend. Hosted in collaboration with Factory International, achievements and challenges of women, girls, and non-binary individuals both will be explored and celebrated by an unrivalled lineup.
A variety of sessions on pressing issues such as gender inequality, climate change, and reproductive justice will be brought to the table by world-class speakers, activists, and performers, including Mel B, Jordan Stephens, Julia Gillard, Maxine Peake, Zawe Ashton, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and Chimene Suleyman.
Manchester born, raised and proud, DJ Paulette, one of the Hacienda’s few woman DJs, will take stage to explore the rich tapestry of the city’s music from the city’s iconic past - many of which have been lost due to gentrification.
The session will look at the impact of absent women from these venues, how buildings shape our cultural landscapes and how we can build inclusive spaces that embody local histories, people and surroundings whilst honouring the shape of their futures.
We caught up with Paulette ahead of WOW Festival to discuss what we can expect from the session and why it’s so important to be bringing these conversations to the forefront: “It will be a great pleasure of mine to sit and talk about women's contribution, as important as it's been, to Manchester, Northern clubbing, and clubbing culture in general. We’ve been so important but so often overlooked.
“Manchester has everything to offer that any major city has. Everyone talks about London and how it's so special but Manchester has got equally as much to offer - from Bridgewater Hall to Co-op Live, we have huge, impressive spaces. Manchester Albert Hall wins award after award every year! And aside from that, there’s the grassroots side of it - there’s no better city to set the scene.”
Paulette is keen to highlight the struggles for the nightlife and music industry that has worrying potential to block rising talent: “There’s difficulty with the legality of things now and sound restrictions which are putting certain aspects of nightlife under threat. There’s then the cost of living crisis which needs to be considered - we have to think of how this is going to affect social habits. If people are paying huge amounts for tickets at our bigger venues, they might only be going out once a month and then not even going to underground venues which is where new talent comes through. We run the risk of suffocating some aspects of the industry and starving others. WOW Festival is the perfect opportunity to talk about this and just put more ideas, creativity and diversity in the pot.
“It's all about collaboration and community. You've got to bring a sister up. For people in the industry: mentor people, help people, your DMs need to be open - encourage a healthy flow and exchange of ideas.”
Paulette's contribution to the discussion doesn’t just stop there, her new book, ‘Welcome to the Club: The Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ’ provides all the insights into topics that affect not just female DJs, but women in general. She says: “The book looks at women in the workplace as a whole. From childcare to how your relationship status can change the way you are perceived in the workplace, how your age can change the way you're perceived, how menopause or pregnancy can change things, and of course, how men don't have to even consider any of those factors when they go into the workplace.
“At one time the messaging across the industry was peace, love, unity, and respect, and everyone was all on the same level. What's happening within the culture now is mirroring the very systems and organisations that we were rebelling against in the beginning. Women are pushed aside if they are pregnant, trans people in the workplace are ostracised, women going through menopause are left behind - it’s never ending and the othering of people has to stop!
“The book is about equality. We shouldn’t feel like we’re being brave or rebels for raising these issues and getting our opinions across because that’s what equality is, the normalising of these very conversations.”
DJ Paulette will be in discussion at WOW Festival Manchester on Saturday 25 May. Get your tickets HERE.
