Chloe Brown’s ‘A Soft Rebellion in Paradise’ film in exhibition in Millennium Gallery

In 1851, the Sheffield Women’s Political Association was the first British organisation to call for the vote for women. Almost 170 years later, Chloë Brown’s A Soft Rebellion in Paradise (2019) reimagines contemporary political activism and reawakens this forgotten aspect of the city’s history.

This powerful film continues the artist’s body of work comprising subtly subversive acts challenging the historical gender and class-based power dynamics of spaces. 200 women gather in Paradise Square, in Sheffield, a site that has been often used for protests and today is the centre of the city’s law quarter. They come together to perform a series of Soft Rebellions, including clapping, being silent and chanting the words of a specially commissioned poem by Geraldine Monk, with sound design and score by musician DIE HEXEN.

‘A Soft Rebellion in Paradise’ exhibition banner – Millennium Gallery, Chloe Brown.

Produced by Dana Bruce and Jennifer Monks, and exec produced by Caroline Cooper Charles. 

A Soft Rebellion in Paradise was commissioned by Sheffield Culture Consortium’s Making Ways initiative and funded by Arts Council England. The exhibition is supported by the ADMRC at Sheffield Hallam University.