Vagina Museum

The Vagina Museum is the world's first bricks and mortar museum about the gynaecological anatomy.[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]

For the virtual museum and online art project, established in 2014, see Vaginamuseum.

Vagina Museum
EstablishedMarch 2017
LocationLondon, UK
TypeMuseum
Websitevaginamuseum.co.uk

Description

The Vagina Museum was founded in response to a lack of gynaecological representation within the culture and heritage sector throughout the world.

Its mission[8] is to:

The museum hosts two temporary exhibitions per year which will 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

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 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 done 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]

The permanent museum will have exhibitions on the gynaecological anatomy from science to art to culture.[24][25][26] The museum will be trans-inclusive.[27]

2019: Crowdfunding campaign and 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 is supported by Camden Council, and leader of Camden Council Georgia Gould says:

“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 will end on 29 March 2020 and the next exhibition, Periods : a brief history [34] will run from 4 April 2020 to 25 October 2020.[35]

See also

References
  1. "The World Needs a Vagina Museum". Atlas Obscura. 28 April 2017.
  2. "Why I'm Opening The World's First Museum Dedicated To Vaginas".
  3. "Vagina Wissen: Gibt es bald das weltweit ERSTE Vagina-Museum?".
  4. "World's first vagina museum to open in Camden Market with myth-busting free exhibition". London Evening Standard. 18 September 2019.
  5. "Vagina museum in London aims to 'banish shame'". BBC New UK. 18 September 2019.
  6. "The world's first vagina museum opens in London". Cosmopolitan. 17 November 2019.
  7. "World's first vagina museum now open in London". Metro London. 16 November 2019.
  8. "Our Story & Mission". Vagina Museum.
  9. "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.
  11. Thompson, Rachel. "There's a museum for penises, but not for vaginas, yet that could change".
  12. Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Comics raise cash for a vagina museum : News 2017 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  13. "A vagina museum is coming to London".
  14. "a vagina museum is opening – London On The Inside". 23 August 2017.
  15. "What's happening with The Vagina Museum?".
  16. "Presenters". events.limmud.org.
  17. "Valentine's Day vaginas".
  18. "Avec Florence Schechter, au Royaume-Uni un musée du vagin en gestation". 14 January 2018.
  19. "Discover The Museum That Will Be Dedicated Solely To Vaginas".
  20. https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/Ancient-House-Vagina-2018.aspx
  21. "Is Your Vagina Normal?".
  22. "Festival of Change line-up unveiled for Belfast 2018 | Museums Association". www.museumsassociation.org.
  23. "2017 – Women of the Future Awards". Women of the Future Awards.
  24. "This woman wants to create the world's first Vagina Museum in London and she needs your help".
  25. "Vaginas deserve their own museum according to this woman". 29 March 2017.
  26. "This woman is trying to open a vagina museum". 13 April 2017.
  27. "Meet The Millennial Science YouTuber Who Is Setting Up The World's First Vagina Museum".
  28. "The Vagina Museum will open in London this year — with your help". Evening Standard. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  29. "The world's first Vagina Museum opens this fall in the UK". Public Radio International. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  30. EDITOR (20 March 2019). "Could you help the world's first Vagina Museum become a reality?". DIVA MAGAZINE. Retrieved 23 March 2019.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  31. "Crowdfunder launched to make world's first physical Vagina Museum a reality". Museums + Heritage Advisor. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  32. "the Vagina Museum needs your Help!". Funny Women. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  33. "The Vagina Museum needs your help to open". crowdfunder.com. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  34. https://www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/pages/future-exhibitions
  35. "Vagina Museum". vaginamuseum.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
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