Formed in 2015, the Feminist Duration Reading Group (FDRG) focuses on under-known and under-appreciated feminist texts and movements from outside the Anglo-American canon. The group’s free monthly programme, open to all, has encompassed film screenings, performances, workshops, translations, walks, meals, podcasts, writing and listening, as well as collective reading.

We often read out loud, one person, one paragraph or sentence at a time, in order to create connection and intimacy during meetings. With no pressure on participants to read in advance, this inclusive space nurtures learning as a communal experience. By giving a platform to feminist voices from diverse geographical backgrounds and artistic and academic disciplines, we facilitate a rich learning environment that aims to embody feminist practices.

Meetings have taken place in art galleries, community centres, universities, parks, and living rooms in the UK and Canada, and online during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 the FDRG produced the podcast ‘Nothing Worth Doing is Done Alone: On Friendship and Feminist Organising,’ commissioned by the Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof and HFBK Hamburg, featuring the voices of nineteen womxn linked to the group.

The FDRG is led by a Working Group of five (Beth Bramich, Sabrina Fuller, Taey Iohe, Helena Reckitt, and Dot Zhihan Jia) and a Support Group of seven (Angelica Bollettinari, Lina Džuverović, Lily Evans-Hill, Mariana Lemos, Katrin Lock, Sara Paiola, and Ehryn Torrell).