We Turn Tables

Fewer than 10% of DJs in the UK currently identify as female. Our project We Turn Tables (formerly Turn the Tables) makes DJing accessible to women and gender expansive people who have never tried it before through a series of hands-on taster workshops and four-week DJing courses. These take place in Calderdale where, despite a thriving local music scene, there are no comparable opportunities.

Led by experienced female and gender minority DJs who can share firsthand experiences of working in the industry, We Turn Tables teaches basic DJing skills in a supportive face-to-face environment. Each session aims to demystify and increase the accessibility of specialist DJing equipment while building participants’ confidence and self-esteem. The project is already building a local community of like-minded people, who regularly attend open deck events and support each other through ways such as loaning kit and watching one another’s DJ sets. The eventual outcome will be increase the community’s opportunities in the local music scene and create shareable and open-access resources for a wider pool of female and minority gender DJs.

We Turn Tables launched with two taster workshops supported by Scurrah Wainwright Charity and led by DJs JoMo (Jo Morfee) and Léna C in Hebden Bridge and Todmorden in autumn 2024. These proved extremely popular, and with continued mentoring and encouragement several of the participants have since performed DJ sets at local music nights. With support from Hebden Royd council, further workshops are taking place in spring 2025.

“Trying out digital decks in a positive women’s space was really useful for confidence and community building. I feel less scared of the electronic equipment and gained some useful insights.”

“I felt really supported in our safe space of women. Jo and Lena were fantastic and really patient, too.”

“Learning a completely new skill has reignited a passion for music for me, and I’m already making plans to develop my skills.”