How do women right now look, act and perform in music videos – from the cultural mainstream to the indie underbelly – and how much does it really matter? From the inspirational to the contentious, video clips will fuel the debate for our eclectic panellists as they mull over the pros and cons of the pervasive ‘sex sells’ mentality. Panel content may include zombies, nudity and dancing.
Speaker biographies.
Ruth Barnes is a music blogger and radio presenter: founder of The Other Woman podcast, radio show and blog. Doing spots on BBC 6 Music and with a show on Amazing Radio, Ruth is all about promoting women in music – sitting comfortably outside of the mainstream, the clue is in the title. The Other Woman is all about supporting leftfield, independent artists operating strictly outside of the mainstream and on their own terms, not those imposed by the music industry…
Annette Barlow is the Founder and Editor in Chief of thegirlsare.com, an independent online magazine supporting and promoting women in music. She regularly contributes to The Fly and The Line of Best Fit, and has appeared on Tom Robinson’s 6 Music show as Girl Music Guru. She is one half of spit., a live platform promoting women DJs, lyricists and beatmakers, in addition to promoting women-centric gigs throughout the year. She regularly DJs at gigs, events and clubnights, and has an undying passion for all things 90s.
Ben Reed graduated in Film Theory, and then spent three years working as a runner on Welsh television and features and in his spare time, started to direct music videos. After creating resourceful and darkly humorous films for artists such as Race Horses, The Jelas, and Mumdance, he directed a video for The Wave Pictures called “Sweetheart”, which led to a nomination for Best Budget Video category at the 2010 UKMVA & a screening at the Onedotzero Festival in the “New British Talent 10” section. Ben’s mixture of hand crafted & witty animations continue to establish him as a fresh and truly original talent, and he has most recently directed music videos for Joan as Policewoman and Apparat.
Dr Maria Barrett is an associate lecturer in the Department of Arts, Media and English at London South Bank University. She has varied interests in gender relations, online identities, criminology and social research methods. She recently edited a collection of essays, “Grotesque Femininities”, which explore representations of evil excess that women and the feminine are constructed as embodying within modern cultures
Caroline Clayton is a video commissioner at Ministry of Sound, and a lover of loud, stompy music. She has commissioned award winning videos for Example, Wretch, DJ Fresh, Yasmin, J.Majik & Wickaman, Utah Saints and Drumsound & Bassline Smith,
4pm, Saturday 26th November
Shortwave Cinema, tickets £5. Head here for tickets.
*Photo: Sarah Chorley, session curator.