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Arc in Movement

Two performers in flowing beige costumes pose gracefully under warm stage lights, surrounded by draped garments on hangers in a minimalist setting.
Saturday 15 November 2025 - Saturday 10 January 2026

Produced in partnership with Tenfoot Dance Company and performed across North Lincolnshire, Arc In Movement is a film and multimedia installation created as part of The Woman’s Movement 100—a major national touring project.

Exhibited at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Autumn 2025, the work shines a light on our unique place and community.

You may have seen a procession of people dressed in stone-coloured costumes at key landmarks around Scunthorpe in October 2025. This was our intergenerational community cast—50 women and a handful of men—representing the suffragette and suffragist movements. Aged between 13 and 80, the cast came together to rehearse and explore locally relevant themes in the lead-up to the centenary of equal voting rights for all women in 2028.

Arc In Movement celebrates our area and our stories through movement, dance, visual art, and poetry. Filmed on location at:

  • 20-21 Visual Arts Centre
  • Normanby Hall Country Park
  • Julian’s Bower
  • Winn Street
  • Frodingham Footbridge
  • Keadby Bridge
  • The Ridgeway Walk
  • East Common Lane
  • Scunthorpe High Street
  • British Steel

This dance-for-film piece captures our heritage and looks toward a future shaped by industry, landscape, community, unity, and strength—while acknowledging the ongoing struggle for equality.

Alongside the film, the exhibition features:

  • Installations documenting the creative process
  • Documentary photography
  • Artistic interventions designed to provoke reflection and discussion

Creative workshops will run throughout the exhibition, encouraging continued dialogue and engagement.

This long-term project is the vision of Fred Garland of Tenfoot Dance Company, developed in collaboration with visual artists and academic research focused on female equality, emancipation, and democracy. North Lincolnshire’s chapter follows Hull’s Turning the Tide, which explored women’s roles in renewable energy and offshore wind, featuring dancers and female scientists.

Our story begins with Scunthorpe-made steel used in the Humber Bridge and expands to reflect our landscape, industries, allyship, and activism. The exhibition has also been shaped by contributions from students at North Lincolnshire Engineering UTC, steelworkers, and spoken word groups.

Looking ahead to 2028, Arc In Movement aspires to be part of a national presentation in London marking 100 years since all women gained the right to vote. North Lincolnshire’s film and exhibits will join those from Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool, Hull, and other regions in a unified celebration of this historic milestone.

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Two performers in flowing beige costumes pose gracefully under warm stage lights, surrounded by draped garments on hangers in a minimalist setting.