The Feminist Duration Reading Group (FDRG) focuses on under-represented feminist texts, movements and struggles from outside the Anglo-American canon. The group has developed a practice of reading out loud, together, one paragraph at a time, with the aim of creating a sense of connection and intimacy during meetings.
The group was established in March 2015 by Helena Reckitt, at Goldsmiths, University of London, to explore texts from the Italian feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Later in 2015 it relocated to SPACE in Hackney, East London where it was hosted by Persilia Caton until April 2019. From June 2019 to February 2020 the group was in residence at the South London Gallery, where it focused on intersectional feminisms in the UK context (a planned year-long programme that was moved online due to COVID-19).
In 2023 we were one of several groups selected for the eighteen month Residents programme at Goldsmiths CCA, London.
From 2023-2024 FDRG partnered with Cell Project Space developing CEED (Central East European and Diaspora) Feminisms, funded by the British Art Network, with Cell Project Space.
FDRG sessions have been organised with Emilia-Amalia at Art Metropole in Toronto; Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof and HFBK Hamburg, Germany; in London with the Advocacy Academy, Artangel, Barbican Art Gallery, Cell Project Space, Chelsea Space, Chisenhale Gallery, the Drawing Room, Flat Time House, Goldsmiths CCA, Mimosa House, Mosaic Rooms, The Showroom, South Kiosk, Studio Voltaire, Tate Modern, in collaboration with AntiUniversity and the Department of Feminist Conversations, and as part of The Table at the Swiss Church. Elsewhere in the UK we have been hosted by Grand Union and Eastside Projects, Birmingham, esea, Manchester, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, and Hypatia Trust, Penzance. A sister group, NW FDRG, was set up in Liverpool by Kezia Davies in 2019.
Six members of the FDRG - Giulia Casalini, Diana Georgiou, Laura Guy, Helena Reckitt, Irene Revell, and Amy Tobin - organised the two-week long events programme, ‘Now Can Go,’ focused on legacies of Italian feminism, across the ICA, The Showroom, SPACE, and Raven Row, in December 2015.
The group usually meets once a month, in art spaces and community venues as well as non-institutional venues such as private homes or gardens.
The FDRG aims to create an inclusive trans-positive space. We welcome feminists of all genders and generations to explore the legacy and resonance of art, thinking and collective practice from earlier periods of feminism, in dialogue with contemporary practices and movements.
Working Group
FDRG sessions are initiated by a Working Group. Current members are Beth Bramich, Sabrina Fuller, Taey Iohe, Helena Reckitt, and Dot Zhihan.
Support Group
FDRG activities are supported by a Support Group comprising former Working Group members Lina Džuverović, Mariana Lemos, Katrin Lock, and Ehryn Torrell.
Other former Working Group members are Giulia Antonioli, Angelica Bollettinari, Lily Evans-Hill, Félicie Kertudo, Ceren Özpinar, Sara Paiola, Justin Seng, and Fiona Townend.
Working with the FDRG: A Note for Institutions
The FDRG is run by members of the voluntary Working and Support Groups. We regularly partner with community and arts organizations to offer free events to the public.
The reading group is our collective practice that we enjoy and like sharing with others. Facilitating sessions does of course involve considerable time and effort. We also have running costs for web hosting and communication, invited speaker fees etc.
We understand financial constraints within the cultural sector, but appreciate any contributions that support our efforts.
The FDRG operates an ‘Honesty Box,’ and asks funded organisations to pay what they can.
For organisations who can access funding, we suggest a fee of £300 - £600 per session, depending on the scope of work entailed. This roughly follows the a-n artist payment guidelines for 1-1.5 days for an artist with seven years professional experience (the FDRG was set up in 2015).
Collaborators and Partners
FDRG sessions have been led by Adomas Narkevicius, Ximena Alarcón-Díaz, Giulia Antonioli, Diana Baker Smith, Fari Bradley, Beth Bramich, Giulia Casalini, Laura Castagnini, Catherine Cho, Leah Clements, Morgane Conti, Lauren Craig, Cinzia Cremona, Galit Criden, Giulia Damiani, Oana Damir, Kezia Davies, Department of Feminist Conversations, Flora Dunster, Lina Džuverović, Lily Evans-Hall, Lucia Farinati, Lynne Friedli, Sabrina Fuller, Diana Georgiou, Rose Gibbs, Valeria Graziano, Laura Guy, Haley Ha, Nora Heidorn, Minna Henriksson, Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn, Yurika Imaseki, Taey Iohe, Félicie Kertudo, Alexandra Kokoli, Jessie Krish, Mariana Lemos, Mai Ling, Jet Moon, Gabby Moser, Roisin O’Sullivan, Ceren Özpinar, Frances Painter Fleming, Grace Eunhye Park, Sara Paiola, Raju Rage, Helena Reckitt, Irene Revell, Lidia Salvatori, Elif Sarican, Justin Seng, Something Other, Cecilia Sosa, Amy Tobin, Ehryn Torrell, and Dot Zhihan.
Artists, Writers & Collectives
Sessions have been dedicated to texts and artworks including those by Naadje Al-Aali, Joan Anim-Addo, Floya Anthias and Nira Yuval-Davis, Gloria Anzaldua, Jenn Ashworth, Margot Badran, Khairani Barokka, Chiai Bonfiglioli, Anne Boyer, Brixton Black Women’s Group, adrienne maree brown, Wilmette Brown, Octavia Butler, Sakine Cansiz, Hazel V Carby, Adriana Cavarero, Teresa Hak Kyung Cha, Anne Anlin Cheng, Catherine Cho, Barbara Christian, Lia Cigarini, Eli Clare, Leah Clements, Lauren Craig, Galit Criden, Mariarosa Dalla Costa and Selma James, Maria Puig De La Bellacasa, Leah Clements, Silvia Federici, Leta Hong Fincher, Shulamith Firestone, Lauren Fournier, Ruth Frankenberg, Olivia Guaraldo, Johanna Hedva, bell hooks, Sanja Iveković, Juliet Jacques, Marie Elizabeth Johnson, Jane Jin Kaisen, Jasleen Kaur, AE Kings, Larissa Lai, Teresa de Lauretis, Clarice Lispector, Carla Lonzi, Fereil Ben Mahoud, Alex Martinis Roe, Lea Melandri, Fatema Mernissi, Milan Women’s Bookshop Collective, Trinh T Minh-ha, Adriana Monti, Jet Moon, Antonella Nappi, Astrida Neimanis, Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyen, Abdullah Ocalan, Lola Olufemi, Sue O’Sullivan, Tanja Ostojić, Cecilia Palmeiro, Queer Beograd, Darija Radaković, Raju Rage, Claudia Rankine, Tabita Rezaire, Rivolta Femminile, Lucia Egana Rojas, Sasha Roseneil, Gail Rubin, Suzanne Santoro, Selma Selman, Christina Sharpe, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Rhea Storr, Latif Tas, Miriam Ticktin, Tiqqun, Iris Uurto, Nafu Wang, Kyla Wazana Tompkins, Katri Vala, Vron Ware, Wages Due Lesbians, Wages for Housework, Linda Zerilli.
Contact us
If you would like to join the reading group mailing list or propose a focus for a session, or invite us to lead a meeting, please contact: feministduration@gmail.com
Website Design by Angelica Bollettinari
Coming soon..
Dec 5 - Hydrofeminism
Astrida Neimanis, ‘Hydrofeminism”, 2012 and ‘Bodies of Water, Human Rights and the Hydrocommons’, 2009.
Nov 7 - Wages for Housework - Confrontation
Transcription of the 1975 televised episode of Confrontation, produced by CBC.
The Autonomy of Black Lesbian Women, by Wilmette Brown of Black Women for Wages for Housework, and the manifesto Fucking is Work, by Wages Due Lesbians.
Oct 3 - Woman at Work
Transcription of the first seminar from, ‘Women at Work: A Week of Women’s Performance in Australia’
Sep 5 - Feminism in China
Leta Hong Fincher, ‘Fighting Back’ from Leftover Women ,2014
Jul 4 - Right-Wing Women
Andrea Dworkin, Right-Wing Women, ‘The Promise of the Ultra-Right’
May 22 - Questioning Through Writing
Writing session led by Gabby Moser from EMILIA-AMALIA, Toronto
Apr 4 - Kyla Wazana Tomkins
Kyla Wazana Tomkins: ‘We Aren’t Here to Learn What We Already Know’, 2016
Mar 7 - Islamic Feminisms
’New Introduction: Why Does The Veil Scare Europe?’ from Beyond the Veil by Fatema Mernissi
‘Islamic Feminism: what’s in a name’ by Margot Badran, 2002
Feb 7 - A History of Arab Feminism
Screening of the film ‘Feminism Inshallah: A History of Arab Feminism’ 2014 dir. Feriel Ben Mahmou
Nov 26 - Juliet Jacques, ‘Forms of Resistance: Uses of Memoir, Theory, and Fiction in Trans Life Writing,’ 2017.
Oct 17 - bell hooks, Representing the Black Male Body, 1994.
June 20 - Eli Clare, Stones in my pockets, stones in my heart, 1999.
April 25 - Gayle Rubin, Of Catamites and Kings, 1992.
April 8 - Feminism and Censorship, text by Sue O’Sullivan and Susan Ardill, Upsetting an Applecart, 1986.
Feb 12 - Sasha Roseneil, Disarming Patriarchy: Feminism and Political Action at Greenham, 1995.
Dec 6 - Tiqqun, Sonogram of a Potential
Translation of ‘Sonogram of a Potentiality’, Tiqqun 2011
Nov 1 - Icelandic Women’s Strike of 24th Oct 1975
’Kvennafridagurinn’, Chapter 6 of Marie Elizabeth Johnson’s 1984 thesis ‘Women In Iceland’
Oct 4 - Linda Zerilli and Anne Boyer
’Feminism and the Abyss of Freedom’ by Linda Zerilli, 2005
‘Garments Against Women’ by Anne Boyer, 2016
Sep 6 - Scuola Senza Fine, School Without End: Italian Women and the 150 Hour School Diploma Course
Screening of the film ‘Scuola Senze’, 1983, dir. Adriana Monti
Aug 2 - Queer Beograd
’Forensic Anthropology’, 2009 and ‘Anti-fa-Fags’ 2006
Jul 5 - Adriana Cavarero
Interview of Cavarero by Elisabetta Bertolino, 2008
Jun 7 - The Milan Women’s Bookshop Collective and the Practice of the Unconscious
Lia Cigarini and Luisa Abba, ‘L’obiezione della donna muta’ (The objection of the silent woman), 1976
May 3 - Transfeminisms
Extract from film, ‘My Sexuality is an Art Creation’, Lucia Egana Rojas, 2011
Translation of ‘Manifesto Transfeminista’, 2010
Apr 5 - Gloria Anzaldua and Barbara Christian
Gloria Anzaldua’s ‘Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza’, 1987
Barbara Christian’s ‘The race for theory’, 1987
Mar 1 - Affidamento (Entrustment)
Workshop inspired by artist Alex Martinis Roe
Feb 2 - Feminist Duration Reading Group, where to next?
Reflections on the ‘Now You Can Go’ programme of events, London
April 2 - Italian Feminism
Paola Melchiori, Psychoanalysis in Early Italian Feminism, 2015.
March 2 & 6 Kurdish Feminisms
Nadje Al-Ali and Latif Tas, reconsidering nationalism and feminism, 2018.
Abdullah Öcalan, extracts from Liberating Life, 2013.
Sakine Cansiz, extracts from Sara: My Whole Life Was a Struggle.
Feb 5 - Anne Anlin Cheng
Ornamentalism: a feminist theory of the yellow woman, 2018.
Jan - Hypatia Trust, Penzance
Milan Women’s Bookshop Collective, The Practice of Doing, 1987.
Hazel V Carby, White Woman Listen!, 1982.
Dec 1 - Translation as a Feminist Practice
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s ‘The Politics of Translation’ from her book Outside in the Teaching Machine 1993
Nov 3 - Adriana Cavarero
Cavarero’s essay ‘On the Outskirts of Milan’ Chapter 5 from Relating Narratives: Storytelling and Selfhood
Oct 6 - Suzanne Santoro, Per Una expresiones nuova/Towards New Expression
Suzanne Santoro’s artist book ‘Per Una Expressione Nuova/ Towards New Expression’
Rozsika Parker’s article in ‘Spare Rib’
Speculum of the Other Women, Luce Irigaray
Sep 8 - Lotta Feminista/ Wages for Housework
Silvia Federici, Wages Against Housework 1975
Maria Dalla Costa and Selma James, The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community 1972
Aug 11 - Libreria della Donne di Milano(Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective)
Chapter 1, Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective
Jul 14 - Revolta Femminile and Carla Lonzi
’Let’s Spit on Hegel’, Carla Lonzi 1970
‘Manifesto’, ‘I Say I’ and ‘On Woman’s Refusal to Celebrate Male Creativity’, Rivolta Feminile 1971
Mar 3 - Carla Lonzi, Antonella Nappi and La Libreria della donne di Milan/Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective
’Let’s Spit on Hegel’, Carla Lonzi 1970
Antonella Nappi, ‘Nudity’, 1971
‘Sexual Difference, A Theory of Social-Symbolic Practice’, Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective 1987
Dec 6 - Octavia Butler and Khairani Barokka
Selection from Octavia Butler’s Dawn, 1987
Poems by Khairani Barokka published in The Missing Slate.
Nov 6 - Clarice Lispector
extracts from The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector.
Oct 6 - Carla Lonzi, Vai Pure
Lea Melandri, Autonomy and the Need for Love: Carla Lonzi, Via pure, 2000.
4 Sept - Ni Una Menos Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation, 2004 (Intro)
Cecilia Palmeiro, “The Latin American Green Tide: Desire and Feminist Transversality,” 2018
2 July - White Women Listen!
Hazel V Carby, ‘White Woman Listen!’, 1982.
9 Jun - Women acting collectively
The Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective, Sexual Difference: A Theory of Social-Symbolic Practice, 1987.
2 Jun - Ecofeminism
A E King’s, ‘Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism,’ 2017
1 May - Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee
Selection from Cha's Dictee, 1980.
Sue J. Kim, Narrator, Author, Reader: Equivocation in Theresa Hak Kyung
7 April - The Feminist Practice of Affidamento (Entrustment)
Selections form Italian Feminist Thought, Bono and Kemp ed.
March 6 - Lea Melandri, Love and Violence
Andrea Hajek, A Room on One’s Own: Feminist Intersections between Space, Women’s Writing and Radical Bookselling in Milan, 2018.