East London Health Project's 1970s Feminist Art Posters on Women's Healthcare
The East London Health Project collaborated with the Women's Health Information Collective in the late 1970s to produce a series of three posters addressing women's health issues. Designed by Loraine Leeson, these works tackled themes including contraceptive pill concerns, collective action for health rights, and societal pressures affecting women's wellbeing. The project emerged from the Women's Health Movement of the 1960s-1970s, which advocated for reproductive rights and improved healthcare. These posters represent a significant intersection of activist art and feminist health advocacy, using visual media to raise public awareness about gender bias in medicine and healthcare access.
Key facts
- Three posters were created between 1978-1980 by Loraine Leeson for the East London Health Project
- The collaboration involved the Women's Health Information Collective, a group of health professionals
- Posters addressed contraceptive pill side effects, collective action for health rights, and societal pressures on women
- The project responded to NHS funding cuts in East London and broader women's health movement concerns
- Works featured a single model photographed by Leeson, a student from her Open University course
Entities
Artists
- Loraine Leeson
- Peter Dunn
Institutions
- East London Health Project
- Women's Health Information Collective
- Open University
- National Abortion Campaign
- Women in Media
- Science Museum
- National Health Service
- NHS
- Bethnal Green Hospital
- East London Trades Council
- Tower Hamlets Health Campaign
Locations
- East London
- London
- United Kingdom
- Tower Hamlets
- Bethnal Green