Vagina Museum Explained

Vagina Museum
Established:March 2017
Map Type:United Kingdom Greater London
Location:London, UK
Type:Museum
Visitors:119,000 (2020)
Founder:Florence Schechter

The Vagina Museum is the world's first brick and mortar museum about the female reproductive system.[1] [2] [3] The project is based in the United Kingdom, and moved into its first fixed location in Camden Market, London, in October 2019.[4] [5] Its first exhibition opened on 16 November 2019.[6] [7] It moved to its second premises in Bethnal Green on 19 March 2022 and was open to the public until Wednesday, 1 February 2023.[8] It reopened in its next long-term home in two railway arches in Bethnal Green on 4 November 2023.

Description

The Vagina Museum was founded in response to a lack of gynaecological representation within the culture and heritage sector throughout the world. The museum usually hosts two temporary exhibitions per year which explore a multitude of topics surrounding gynaecological health, social history, activism and discourse, as well as an events programme of talks, workshops, comedy, theatre and performance art.

History

The project to create the Vagina Museum was launched when the founder, Florence Schechter, discovered there was a penis museum in Iceland, the Icelandic Phallological Museum, but there was no equivalent for the vagina or vulva.[9]

2017–2018: Pop up phase

The museum's first event, a comedy fundraiser, was held on 19 May 2017 headlined by Hayley Ellis.[10] [11] [12] It has run a number of events since, including participating in a residency with The Mothership Group called Superculture.[13] Events as part of this residency have included a talk on "Vulvanomics" by Emma L. E. Rees, author of The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History, and a screening of the 2007 film Teeth (see vagina dentata) followed by a Q&A with Amanda DiGioia, the author of Childbirth and Parenting in Horror Texts: The Marginalized and the Monstrous and various comedy nights.[14] [15] They have also held events at Limmud Festival 2017[16] and the Royal Institution.[17]

The museum held its first exhibition in August 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[18] Its second pop up exhibition was called "Is Your Vagina Normal?",[19] and it travelled around the UK to Ancient House, Thetford,[20] Brainchild Festival 2018,[21] SQIFF 2018,[21] and Museums Association Conference 2018.[22]

In the 2017 Women of the Future Awards, Schechter was commended in the arts and culture category for her work with the Vagina Museum.[23]

A permanent museum was proposed with exhibitions on gynaecological anatomy from science to art to culture,[24] [25] [26] which was to be trans-inclusive.[27]

2019: Camden Market premises

On 21 March 2019, the Vagina Museum launched a crowdfunder to raise money to open a premises in Camden Market.[28] [29] [30]

The project was supported by Camden Council, and leader of Camden Council Georgia Gould said:

Camden has a proud and radical history of challenging prejudice and orthodoxy, however, we acknowledge that the stigma associated with talking about gynaecological health has meant ignorance, confusion, shame, and poor medical care for too many. 65% of 16-to-25 year olds say they have a problem using the word vagina or vulva with almost half of 18-to-24 year old women say they are too embarrassed to talk about sexual health issues. We are therefore incredibly excited that the Vagina Museum is seeking to establish in Camden, and hope that it is funded to provide an inclusive and intersectional centre for learning, creativity, activism, and outreach that will add immeasurably to our collective understanding of our bodies.[31] [32]
The crowdfunder raised £48,945[33] and in October 2019, the museum moved into Camden Stables Market[5] and began a programme of events. It opened its first exhibition, Muff Busters: vagina myths and how to fight them in November 2019. This exhibition was scheduled to end on 29 March 2020, but closed a few days earlier due to national lockdown restrictions in the UK. The next exhibition, Periods: A Brief History [34] opened on 21 May 2021.[35]

In August 2021, the museum announced that its landlord had decided not to extend its lease beyond September.[36] The Camden Market site closed but the museum retained its online presence while it sought a new premises.[37] On 22 February 2022, it announced a relocation to 18 Victoria Park Square in Bethnal Green and a scheduled reopening date of 19 March 2022.[38]

2022–2023: Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green premises

On 19 March, the Vagina Museum reopened at 18 Victoria Park Square in Bethnal Green.[39] The museum opened with its exhibition Periods: A Brief History, along with a new permanent exhibition titled From A to V.[40] Prior to the reopening, the museum was advertised on billboards in the vicinity with cheeky puns about other local businesses in the area.[41]

The Vagina Museum closed its original Bethnal Green premises on 2 February 2023.[42]

2023–present: Poyser Street, Bethnal Green premises

Following a fundraising drive in 2023 raising over £85,000 in which over 2,500 people donated, the museum found new premises on Poyser Street, Bethnal Green.[43] It signed a lease with The Arch Co for six years.[44] The museum reopened in November 2023, initially on the ground floor only as lifts were not yet available. A range of temporary exhibitions are planned, with the first one about endometriosis.[45] Its first exhibition in its temporary gallery, titled "Endometriosis: Into The Unknown" was created in collaboration with Oxford EndoCare, part of the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, and the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics based at the University of Oxford.[46]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The World Needs a Vagina Museum. Sarah. Laskow. 28 April 2017. Atlas Obscura.
  2. Web site: Why I'm Opening The World's First Museum Dedicated To Vaginas. Refinery29. Abigail. Moss. 4 September 2017.
  3. Vagina Wissen: Gibt es bald das weltweit ERSTE Vagina-Museum?. Cosmopolitan. de. 26 April 2017. Vagina knowledge: Will there soon be the world's FIRST vagina museum?.
  4. Web site: World's first vagina museum to open in Camden Market with myth-busting free exhibition. 18 September 2019. London Evening Standard.
  5. Web site: Vagina museum in London aims to 'banish shame'. 18 September 2019. BBC New UK.
  6. Web site: The world's first vagina museum opens in London. 17 November 2019. Cosmopolitan.
  7. Web site: World's first vagina museum now open in London. 16 November 2019. Metro London.
  8. Web site: Vagina Museum in search for new home following second eviction . Museums Association . 31 January 2023 . 2 February 2023.
  9. Web site: A woman is campaigning to open the world's first vagina museum. 12 April 2017.
  10. Someone is crowd-funding to create the world's first vagina museum. 25 April 2017. Stylist. Hayley. Spencer.
  11. Web site: There's a museum for penises, but not for vaginas, yet that could change. Rachel. Thompson. Mashable. 10 April 2017.
  12. Web site: Comics raise cash for a vagina museum. Chortle. 10 April 2017.
  13. News: A vagina museum is coming to London. 23 August 2017. Evening Standard. Jessie. Thompson.
  14. Web site: a vagina museum is opening. London On The Inside. 23 August 2017.
  15. What's happening with The Vagina Museum?. Time Out. Katie. McCabe. 30 August 2017.
  16. Web site: Limmud Festival 2017 - Presenters: S. events.limmud.org.
  17. Web site: Valentine's Day vaginas. The Royal Institution. 25 January 2022.
  18. Web site: Avec Florence Schechter, au Royaume-Uni un musée du vagin en gestation. 14 January 2018. TV5 Monde. Julia. Gaulon. fr. With Florence Schechter, a Vagina Museum is in gestation in the UK.
  19. Web site: Discover The Museum That Will Be Dedicated Solely To Vaginas. February 2018. Cultura Colectiva. Maria. Suarez.
  20. Web site: The Vagina Museum Comes to Ancient House, Thetford. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180927160521/https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/Ancient-House-Vagina-2018.aspx. 27 September 2018. Visit Norfolk.
  21. Web site: Is Your Vagina Normal?. Brainchild Festival 2021.
  22. Web site: Festival of Change line-up unveiled for Belfast 2018. Museums Association. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20190216094136/https://www.museumsassociation.org/news/08082018-festival-of-change-belfast-2018. 16 February 2019. Geraldine Kendall. Adams. 8 August 2018.
  23. Web site: Women of the Future Awards shortlist 2017. Women of the Future Awards.
  24. This woman wants to create the world's first Vagina Museum in London and she needs your help. Time Out. Alexandra. Sims. 21 April 2017.
  25. News: Vaginas deserve their own museum according to this woman. The Independent. 29 March 2017. Kashmira. Gander.
  26. News: This woman is trying to open a vagina museum. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170613043209/https://www.indy100.com/article/vagina-museum-campaign-florence-schechter-amsterdam-7682741/. 13 June 2017. 13 April 2017. Jessica. Brown.
  27. Web site: Meet The Millennial Science YouTuber Who Is Setting Up The World's First Vagina Museum. 20 August 2023 .
  28. Web site: The Vagina Museum will open in London this year — with your help. 2019-03-21. Evening Standard. en. 2019-03-23.
  29. Web site: The world's first Vagina Museum opens this fall in the UK. Public Radio International. en. 2019-03-23.
  30. Could you help the world's first Vagina Museum become a reality?. Anezka. Turek. 20 March 2019. DIVA. 24 January 2022.
  31. Web site: Crowdfunder launched to make world's first physical Vagina Museum a reality. Museums + Heritage Advisor. en-GB. 2019-03-23.
  32. Web site: the Vagina Museum needs your Help!. 2019-03-21. Funny Women. en-GB. 2019-03-23.
  33. Web site: The Vagina Museum needs your help to open. crowdfunder.com. en-GB. 2019-10-11.
  34. Web site: Future Exhibitions – Periods: A Brief History – 4 April - 25 October 2020. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20200220205545/https://www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/pages/future-exhibitions. 20 February 2020. Vagina Museum.
  35. News: London's Vagina Museum is set to reopen this month with an exhibition dedicated to the history of menstruation. Pink News. Maggie. Baska. 10 May 2021.
  36. News: Atkinson . Rebecca . 24 August 2021 . 'Outpouring of support' as Vagina Museum seeks new home . Museums Association News . 24 August 2021.
  37. Stylist. Vagina Museum: people share how the vital Camden space changed their view on vaginas. 27 September 2021. Leah. Sinclair.
  38. Web site: Mills . Eleanor . 22 February 2022 . Vagina Museum finds new premises . 2022-03-03 . Museums Association . en-US.
  39. Web site: 2022-02-22 . The World's First Vagina Museum Is Right Here In London . 2022-04-04 . Secret London . en-GB.
  40. Web site: Thompson . Jessie . 2022-03-18 . A warm welcome: inside the Vagina Museum's new home in Bethnal Green . 2022-04-04 . Evening Standard . en.
  41. Web site: Vagina Museum "Neighbours" by TheOr London . 2022-04-04 . www.campaignlive.co.uk . en.
  42. Web site: 2023-02-25 . Finding a new home — Vagina Museum . 2023-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225214306/https://www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/newhome . 25 February 2023 .
  43. News: Banfield-Nwachi . Mabel . 2023-10-09 . London's Vagina Museum to reopen after surpassing fundraising goal . 2024-02-12 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  44. Web site: Barker . Sam . 2023-05-26 . The Vagina Museum Has Found A New Home And Will Reopen Next Month . 2024-02-12 . Secret London . en-GB.
  45. News: London's Vagina Museum to reopen after surpassing fundraising goal. Mabel. Banfield-Nwachi. 9 October 2023. The Guardian.
  46. Web site: Hardaker . Alistair . 2023-10-09 . Vagina Museum to reopen "bigger and better" Bethnal Green site next month . 2024-02-12 . Museums + Heritage Advisor . en-US.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vagina Museum".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.