This small exhibition brings together a collection of personal letters written by women from across our community as part of Southlands Arts’ celebrations for International Women’s Day 2026.
Each letter is addressed to a younger self — a girl, a teenager, a woman just starting out — and offers the kind of wisdom, reassurance, humour, and hard‑won clarity that only hindsight can give. Together, these voices form a gentle chorus of experience: moments of courage, lessons learned, joys remembered, and truths discovered along the way.
What began as an invitation to write and share has grown into a shared space for reflection. Some letters were selected for reading aloud at our event, sparking conversation and connection; others arrived quietly, entrusted to us to hold and display. Side by side, they reveal the many ways women look back with tenderness, honesty, and strength.
This exhibition honours those contributions — the vulnerability, the generosity, and the willingness to speak. It is a reminder that every woman’s story matters, and that when we share them, we create understanding, solidarity, and community.
If the response continues to grow, we hope to explore publishing these letters as a small anthology to support our work as a charity.
Thank you to everyone who took part. Your words open doors for others.