We are a group of women in East London from a traditional and local industry who have united to demand a better deal. We work shifts, often in poorly maintained environments with extremely exploitative business practises. As self-employed contractors, every time we work we must pay fees to managers who also frequently charge up to 50% commission of our earnings, and can impose arbitrary fines on top. We are treated as employees, comply with shift schedules, conform to codes of conduct regarding our dress and behaviour. Yet we have no contracts of services or employment protections; we have no job security and can be sacked without notice. We have decided to take action and fight for better working conditions and improvements in our industry.

Oh – and we're strippers.

In 2014 we formed the East London Strippers Collective after conversations with co-workers increasingly turned to dubious business practises and poorly run venues. But the last thing we want is to stop working – we rely on these venues to earn a living, we want them improved not shut down. Campaigns by women's rights groups and media portrayals don't help. Their claims about us don't tally with our experiences. We weren't trafficked and we don't feel like victims. We work hard to remain financially independent; our emotional labour pays our tuition fees. We train hard to accomplish athletic pole routines and pay our soaring rents. Losing our livelihoods would have devastating effects.

Regular meetings have seen the ELSC grow and gain focus. By teaching ourselves how to run events, we create our own working conditions. Our pop-up parties have gained a reputation - there we are less stifled as performers, and by allowing greater expression the audience can see our pride and excitement.

After a year of hosting successful club nights, public talks and story-telling events, we hit upon the idea for an exhibition; the Art of Stripping was born.

Our biggest and most ambitious project yet is a 1-week exhibition of artwork produced by members of the collective, to showcase our multitude of talents and expansive artistic vision, with a programme of events running alongside the show. A plethora of talks, classes and parties including pole dancing workshops, a life drawing class (with a pole dancing model) a costume fair, an academic symposium, a film night and an eventual closing party falling on Halloween weekend.

The ELSC are a diverse group of women; several of us are practising artists. The comparison between what we do as performers and the visual arts is clear; both are disciplines that take time and effort to develop. This time we are showing our work instead of our flesh, in the hope that a more humanistic celebration of what we do, while acknowledging the poor conditions we work in, will help reverse the destructive trends within our industry.

Events like these are crucial to halt the erosion of long standing traditions and culture by damaging, agenda-led groups. By letting people who might never have entered a strip club before discover and explore our world, we hope to break down common assumptions. Stigma can only be fought when the public can see and understand a frequently hidden part of the night time economy. The women involved are finding our voices and uniquely, baring our souls as well as our bodies.