For all of you who missed Cardiff Uni’s International Women’s Day Showcase, we’ve got you covered

The 8th of March saw Cardiff Uni’s first-ever International Women’s Day Showcase, an opportunity for female and non-binary students to celebrate their talents in front of a supportive audience.

The event was organised by Cardiff University’s Women’s Officer Bryony Danks and the student union’s FemSoc society, the event provided entertainment through various mediums and saw performances of belly-dancing, acapella, and stand-up comedy.

The audience was treated to a range of incredible musical performances, including Ciara Whelan singing a beautiful traditional Irish folk song and Georgette Orford’s jazzy rendition of “Our Lady of the Underground” from Hadestown.

As well as the wealth of performances, the Great Hall was also home to a display of poetry, art, and posters, covering topics from catcalling to body politics. The pieces have been called “poignant, funny, and celebratory,” and provided an exciting way to spend the breaks between the performances.

The Showcase culminated in a raffle of exciting prizes from Welsh-owned small businesses including The Queer Emporium and The Quirky Dino, with all proceeds going to Cardiff Women’s Aid. As well as the announcement of the raffle winners, Women’s Officer Bryony Danks, reminded the audience not to walk home alone and suggested a space for those who were by themselves to meet and make sure each other got home safe. Although a simple suggestion, several attendees said it was this kind of conscientious positivity that ran as an undercurrent through the Showcase and made the evening as special as it was.

While this may have been the first showcase of its kind at Cardiff Uni to take place on International Women’s Day, the positivity and celebration of creativity on show will hopefully lead to more events like it in the future.

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