#WhoWeAreProject : Women.

  • Francis Augusto
  • Analise SD
  • Teresa Fan
  • Ashley Biack
  • Tazar Sancho
  • Rachel Peplow
  • Rianna Gayle

#WhoWeAreProject is an on-going visual series born out of a wanting to encourage understanding and provoke open dialogue about human identity and experience. This iteration focusses on Women. The project resulted in the photography of all participants, conversations on the meaning of courage, the women that inspire us and more. Additionally, participants were interviewed too, with one main question: “What does it mean to be a woman?” In collaboration with The Ministry, thank you Rachel Peplow. Thank you to all participants: Abi Wright, Analise Sesay, Becky Collins Smith, Carole Davids, Chantel Anaise, Claire Harrison, Denise Suleman, Elise Boileau, Ellie Ramsden, Faisa Mohamed, Fathima Zahra, Georgina Warren, Ilaria Montrone, Isaac Olaleye, Jenny Mac Katy Sumption, Liz Brown, Meehir Patel, Megan Simpkins, Niamh Vlahakis, Osneil Drakes, Poppy Cumming-Spain, Prask Sutton, Rachel Peplow, Rashun Kerr, Ro Jackson, Samira Musa, Sereena Abbassi, Sophie Willis & Tazar Sancho (ShadezTheMisfit). Team credits: Francis Augusto: Producer, photographer, & co-director Toria Chys: Director & co-producer Nathan Shadrach: DoP & editor Rianna Gayle: Photo assist Teresa Fan: Runner / ph assist Ashley Biack: Runner Ozzy Drakes: Runner Lemara Lindsay-Prince: Transcriber

What women do you draw your power from, who inspires you?:
What women do I draw my power from? I have been really really fortunate to be around lots of really powerful women actually. So my mum is one of six girls, there are also brothers there as well, but they weren’t really in the picture, they were all in Jamaica and so all my aunts are super super fierce, got their own businesses and some of them are single parents and just done the most amazing job. That’s further compounded in many ways the difficulties because they’re also women of colour and the fact that they’ve learnt how to navigate through a space where they are a minority and obviously being of a completely different generation I just think it’s incredible. And in my professional life I suppose my ex boss Victoria Fox she was the CEO of one of the largest companies. She was the global diversity sponsor for this massive Advertising group that I work for and she worked a four day week, and she had two small kids and just inspirational on so many levels. Completely kicking to boot that really archaic, industrial revolution throwback where actually we need to be working five days a week. She just completely switched it up and she worked remotely, flexibly, part time.
Sereena Abbassi
What does it mean to be a woman?
Wow, what a question! What does it mean to be a woman? To be a woman it means a lot of things it means we are multi-faceted beings, we are passionate, we are ambitious, we are driven, we are caring. We are the bearers of children, we are the careers of the elderly. Being a woman it’s so much more than just your gender, it’s about how you behave in the world. It’s about how you walk, how you hold yourself, how you protect the younger, how you open doors for those to come up in their career and I think that’s what being is a woman is to me. It’s being a multi-faceted human, with so many skills and yet such a softer side I would say, an understanding side and that’s what it is for me to be a woman.
Samira Musa
What does it mean to you to be a woman?
"Things have really changed now, it’s harder to differentiate I think personally between what it is to be a man and what it means to be a woman. I don’t see why we can’t do the same things as men and why we shouldn’t do the same things as men. so I think it’s harder to say oh for me a woman means being powerful or being feminine or this because I think it’s the same that it should mean for a man."
Katy Sumption
Who were the key female figures in your life growing up?
Definitely my mum and sisters. I grew up in a house with my mum, my dad and three sisters and just the kind of person my dad is he definitely embraces his feminine side. He’s not a macho kind of guy. He wasn’t that kind of role model. He was very much balanced and taught us from an early age how important it is to not only realise that everyone is equal but show that in your behaviour when you speak to people. My entire family, my immediate family taught me what it means to be a woman and why that should be embraced and celebrated and respected and loved and what value that comes from it.
Prask Sutton

What does it mean to be a woman?
I think it means that there’s so many boundaries imposed on you from the moment you’re born and living means to navigate through those and find which ones you’d rather do away with and make your own boundaries and to live within that and to enjoy it.
Fathima Zahra