A Room of One’s Own – Creating Feminist Dwellings
Exploring feminist approaches to housing
TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS
Tuesday 1 December 2026
A panel discussion with Dr. Lucy Brownson, Tracey Downie, and Emily Wheeler.
Part of the Earthly Paradise programme of talks.
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion exploring feminist approaches to housing and the role they can play in creating more equitable, supportive and inclusive communities for women. Bringing together Tracey Downie from Women’s Pioneer Housing Association, Emily Wheeler of Furnishing Futures and researcher Dr. Lucy Brownson, this conversation will examine the intersections of gender, housing, domestic space and social justice.
Together, our speakers will discuss how housing policy, design and provision can better respond to the realities faced by women, from affordability and security to dignity, wellbeing and belonging. Through their work, they offer practical and imaginative models for building a housing system that works for everyone.
Emily Wheeler is the founder of Furnishing Futures, a London-based charity that creates fully furnished, trauma-informed homes for women and children who have escaped domestic abuse. A former social worker, interior designer and writer, she has worked closely with women and children experiencing the combined challenges of severe domestic abuse, poor housing and inequality as well as understanding the power of design to change lives. Emily’s expertise, knowledge and experience in both social work and interiors gives her a unique perspective on how our homes affect our physical and emotional wellbeing and the positive impact that safe and comfortable homes have on individuals, families and society as a whole.
Tracey Downee joined Women’s Pioneer Housing Association as Chief Executive in 2022. She was previously Executive Director of Housing Management at Homes for Haringey and brings over 25 years’ experience in the housing sector primarily working in London-based housing associations with a commitment to resident engagement, community development and challenging inequality. She brings a wealth of experience from past senior, executive and non-executive roles to her role as CEO. Tracey mentors through the Future of London Leaders programme and is Board Chair of Ekaya Housing Association.
Dr. Lucy Brownson is an archivist, researcher, educator and cultural organiser based in Sheffield and London. She is a lecturer at University College London, teaching archival theory and practice, and a longtime co-organiser of Sheffield Feminist Archive, a community archive project documenting grassroots feminism across South Yorkshire. Brownson is interested in queer, feminist and liberatory approaches to archival practice, countercultural genealogies of knowledge and memory, and how histories of political activism are documented and taken forward.
Image: Detail from Matrix. Home Truths Exhibition, created 1980. Photographs of A4 boards by Cockpit Gallery. Courtesy Matrix