Museums across the UK mark International Women’s Day with acquisitions, new exhibitions, events and partnerships
UK museums are taking varied approaches to highlighting and celebrating International Women’s Day this March.
Prominent exhibitions, acquisitions, partnerships, projects and events designed to bring awareness to the day have been scheduled.
The National Galleries of Scotland has acquired a rare artwork by a Glasgow Girl pioneer, while Imperial War Museums is set to open the UK’s first major exhibition on sexual violence in conflict.
In other initiatives, The Vagina Museum is to introduce ‘The Vulvanada’, and the East End Women’s Museum has announced a trustee drive.
A rare acquisition at National Galleries of Scotland
The National Galleries of Scotland has purchased a rare artwork as part one of its displays, which it said was in celebration of International Women’s Day.
The painting by one of Scotland’s most accomplished female artists, Olive Carleton Smyth, forms part of National Galleries of Scotland’s “mission to represent the extraordinary generation of Scottish women who trained and taught at the Glasgow School of Art in the late 19th and early 20th century”.
‘Bacchanale’, only the second painting by the artist to enter a UK museum collection, is now on show at the National as part of its free display, The Glasgow Girls,alongside four drawings by Scottish artists Jessie M King and Annie French.
The acquisition was made possible by funds from the Cowan Smith Bequest, the Iain Paul Fund and the Treaty of Union Bequest.
Charlotte Topsfield, Senior Curator of British Drawings and Prints at National Galleries of Scotland, said Olive was “an outstanding representative of the extraordinary generation of women who trained and taught at the Glasgow School of Art around 1900.”
A snack partnership at The Vagina Museum
The Vagina Museum in London has partnered with empanadas company De Nadas to launch a version of the snack ahead of International Women’s Day and to bring awareness to Endometriosis Action Month.
The ‘Vulvanada’, which will be available from the De Nadas shop – next door to the museum in Bethnal Green – features a recipe of spiced peaches, caramelised in a ginger and cinnamon.
As well as raising awareness, £2 from every sale will go to The Vagina Museum.
Zoe Williams, Director of the museum said the project is “ breaking taboos and eradicating shame.”
“We’re thrilled to team up with our neighbours in this unique collaboration. There’s nothing dirty and shameful about the vulva. Almost a third of young women are embarrassed to go to the doctor to talk about gynaecological symptoms, including symptoms of endometriosis such as heavy bleeding and debilitating pain.”
IWM announces first exhibition dedicated to highlighting sexual violence in conflict
Imperial War Museums (IWM) has used International Women’s Day to outline the full details of what it calls the UK’s first major exhibition dedicated to highlighting sexual violence in conflict.
‘Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict’ has been in the making for six years, the museum said, and “aims to shed light on the pervasive and devasting nature of sexual violence in conflict, a topic that remains under-discussed.”
It will feature case studies from the First World War to today, via 162 objects, including never-before-seen items, as well as testimonies and interviews with experts.
The museum hs worked with four NGOs on the exhibition: Women for Women International, All Survivors Project, Free Yezidi Foundation and Waging Peace.
Helen Upcraft, Lead Curator of Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, said: “By raising public awareness and deepening understanding of sexual violence in conflict, Unsilenced aims to inform visitors, empower survivors and contribute towards meaningful change in the fight against sexual violence in conflict.”
Sara Bowcutt, Managing Director of Women for Women International – UK added: “These topics are tough – but with rising conflict and the global rollback of women’s rights worldwide, they have never been more urgent.”
East End Women’s Museum bolsters board
East End Women’s Museum begins trustee drive with three new recruits
The East End Women’s Museum has used International Women’s Day to announce the appointment of three new trustees, part of a drive to bolster the board. A new Chair of Trustees, Catherine Owen, Head of Marketing and Events at The British Academy; a General Trustee, Laura Sainsbury, Head of Public Policy, Commercial and Institutional Banking at NatWest Group, and a Communications Trustee, Freya Barry, Media Manager at the British Library.
The museum does not currently have a physical space, but continues to run pop-up events and exhibitions. Next year will mark the museum’s tenth anniversary, and it said it is now looking to recruit for four other trustee positions to help support the museum as it “looks ahead to a busy year.”
Schedule International Women’s Day museum events
The West Midlands Police Museum is hosting a special International Women’s Day event where visitors can meet female officers and staff from various departments including forensics, firearms and road policing. The event takes place today, 8 March 2025.
The National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield is to host a series of events today, including ‘Sustainable Shades: The Art of Ochre with Louise Ann Wright’, a free drop-in event. Visitors can explore the transformation of mine water treatment by-products into vibrant ochre pigments. The event features demonstrations of the artist’s techniques, volunteer-led walks of the treatment lagoons, and opportunities to view samples and sketches created from this remarkable resource.
M Shed in Bristol is hosting an International Women’s Day celebration today, organised in collaboration with the ALICE Project and Bristol Council. The event features a women-led market, self-defence workshops with British Champion Emilia Jastrzebska, circus performances by Circomedia, and live music from MĀDŁY, Zubieta & Suaves.
Beamish Museum is collaborating with the National Federation of Women’s Institutes to launch a WI Exhibition showcasing materials used by WI members over the past 110 years. The exhibition features WI banners, posters, and ‘craftivist’ items highlighting the organisation’s history of achieving positive change for women and society. The WI Exhibition can be found in the 1950s Welfare hall from 08 March 2024 – 16 March 2024.
