AUNTIES

AUNTIES is a one-off publication written by women in Aotearoa about their experiences of political organising.

A collection of essays, interviews, visual art and poetry, AUNTIES channels the political power of women, offering rare insights into what it means to struggle and create change in the workplace, environment, local community and beyond.

Activists, Nadia Abu-Shanab, Kassie Hartendorp and Ella Grace McPherson-Newton will be editing the project, which will feature the work of up to twenty writers and artists in a full colour, high quality publication. It will be launched on New Zealand Working Womens' Day, March 8th, 2018.

What you can expect from AUNTIES:

- The experiences of women on the frontlines with their feet in their struggle
- Real talk for real life in a real fucked up world
- The how-to-guide you would give to your children when they first experience injustice
- A call to action for better possible futures
- Imagining a world free from the violence of colonisation and capitalism
- Strong enough to hold our rage while we speak 'power to truth'
- Human enough to laugh at ourselves, each other and our enemies when we need to
- A big fuck you to those stealing what's collectively ours
- About relationships. The thing that makes us aunties is who we are to other people
- A tribute to those who have struggled so we may survive/thrive
- Embodied wisdom - the politics that we know in our gut even when the rest of the world doesn't believe it
- A woven moment of solidarity for future work to be built upon

AUNTIES is about uplifting the political experiences of those left out of the history books, sharing knowledge, and sparking action for radical change in Aotearoa.

A lot of the most important womens organising is done on a shoestring budget, and it's not always recorded either. We know the content is gonna be on point, but it's also important to us that we create something that looks and feels good. We want this to be a magazine that people can use, hold onto and share for years to come. It's rare that grassroots work ever gets showcased in a flash format. 

Too often, women are asked to work and create for low/no pay. We're crowdfunding so that we can pay the writers, artists and designers for their work. Any extra funds will go to printing or launch costs.

Aunties is a wero, a challenge. Knowledge lies in our communities that needs to be shared. On so many fronts, humble women are providing real collective leadership. And in these times, we need these lessons more than ever. Please support this project so that the kind of work AUNTIES will celebrate can spread, grow and develop everywhere it is needed. 

Artwork credit: Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho