London underground map.
Reimagine the iconic London Underground map with the names of the women, non-binary people and other groups who have shaped the UK capital is the goal of the City of Women project, in which Londoners Emma Watson and Reni Eddo-Lodge, author of the bestselling book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, actively participate. with White People), edited by Bloomsbury Publishing.
They will do so together with fellow writer Rebecca Solnit and geographer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, authors of the book Nonstop Metropolis, which has served as inspiration and did the same four years ago with the map of the New York subway (you will remember because then became a recognizable poster which provoked numerous reactions and conversations about public space, history, gender, feminism and memory).
“City of Women hopes to address a particular imbalance head-on: the almost total absence (except for a handful of aristocrats and queens) of women and non-binary people in the names commemorated on the London Underground", they explain from Haymarket Books, an independent publisher that will be in charge of publishing it on International Women's Day 2021 (March 8).
In this way, in collaboration with specialists and together with other suggestions of a public nature, " we will produce an alternative map of the London Underground that honors some of the countless women and non-binary people, some very well known, others less so, whose activism, creativity, struggle and public service have greatly contributed to enriching our lives”, continues the editorial, which reminds us that, in addition to correcting the gender imbalance by changing the names of the 270 stops of this London public space, will also give representation to many people and communities of color, as well as the working class of London in all its diversity.
London-based writer and activist Reni Eddo-Lodge.
THE PROJECT
The project –launching in association with The WOW Foundation– seeks to identify notable London women or non-binary people who have had an impact on the history of the city, to then assign –based on their relationship with a specific local area– their names to each of the stations represented on the London Underground map. They may be well-known characters, hidden figures in the history of the capital or even anonymous heroes, and they will come from any sphere of society (art, business, sports, etc.).
To make the final list, as they tell us from Haymarket Books, the publisher will have the help of various experts (historians, writers, curators, museologists and librarians) and they will take into account the opinions received through a questionnaire open to the public in which they have already received more than 3,000 suggestions (from Virginia Woolf to Amy Winehouse).
The final design will be published by Haymarket Books and will be available as a poster for sale in bookstores, museums and specialty stores ; also as a free downloadable image, since, as happened with the New York initiative, the project hopes that schools and other educational groups use the map as a learning resource to find out more about the women of London.
“In this way, City of Women hopes to make a small contribution to recover and rename the public space and make it more diverse, democratic and representative”, the editorial concludes.