Over het museum
The Vagina Museum began in 2017 as a project by Florence Schechter, who found that there was a penis museum in Iceland but no equivalent for the female anatomy. It started with pop-up events and exhibitions, including a first show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 and a touring exhibition called "Is Your Vagina Normal?" in 2018. It became a registered charity in 2019.
The first permanent home was in Camden Market from October 2019 until 2021. The museum then spent a year in a former property guardianship in Bethnal Green, which ended in early 2023. After a successful crowdfunding campaign it reopened in November 2023 in two railway arches on Poyser Street in Bethnal Green, where it remains.
The museum aims to reduce stigma around the gynaecological anatomy and to treat it as something to be celebrated. Its three galleries are named after Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy, enslaved women who were subjected to experimental surgery in nineteenth-century Alabama. The permanent exhibition, From A to V, covers anatomy, health, vulva diversity and activism. The museum also runs temporary exhibitions, a community gallery, a programme of talks, performances and workshops, and learning sessions for schools.
Hoogtepunten
- Permanent exhibition From A to V on anatomy, health, diversity and activism
- Free entry with a suggested £5 donation
- Galleries named after the Mothers of Gynaecology: Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy
- Regular events, talks and a gift shop
- Weekly access mornings: family, quiet and masked
Vaste collectie
- From A to V – The permanent exhibition in Betsey's Gallery on gynaecological anatomy, health, vulva diversity and activism.
- Opgericht
- 2017
- Beheerder
- Vagina Museum (registered charity)
- Directie
- Florence Schechter
Toegangsprijzen & kortingen
De toegang is gratis.
| Mensen met een beperking | –begeleider gratis · A carer or companion for a ticketed event gets a free ticket on request when booking. |
|---|---|
| Groepen | –School groups can visit self-guided free of charge; a one-hour tour on a Monday or Tuesday costs £300 for up to 30 pupils. |
Admission is free, with a suggested donation of £5 per person. Booking a free ticket online is recommended, especially for school groups. Some events are ticketed separately.
Toegankelijkheid
- Rolstoeltoegankelijk
- Lift
- Aangepast toilet
- Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats: geen informatie
- Hulphonden welkom
- Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
- Rondleidingen in gebarentaal
- Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
- Audiodescriptie
The ground floor is flat and smooth from the street, including the galleries, shop and toilet, and a lift serves the upstairs galleries. There is a single gender-neutral accessible toilet with grab rails and a baby changing bench. A hearing loop is available at reception, all videos are subtitled, and large-print guides and magnifying glasses can be borrowed. Sign language tours and audio description can be requested for events when booking. Guide and assistance animals are welcome. Folding seats are available on request. The museum is in railway arches, so trains can be heard every few minutes, and the space can be cold. A video tour with audio description and a quiet morning each week help with planning.
Kinderen & gezin
- Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
- Verschoonruimte
There is no minimum age for entry to the exhibitions, although some events such as film screenings are age restricted. Wednesday mornings are family mornings, with children of all ages and noise expected and extra nappies available; breastfeeding is welcome anywhere. A guide for teachers, youth workers and parents explains how the permanent exhibition relates to the school curriculum.
Bereikbaarheid & parkeren
Met het openbaar vervoer
Cambridge Heath station · 3 min. lopen
Cambridge Heath Overground station is a 3-minute walk and Bethnal Green Tube station 5 minutes. Buses 106, 254, 388, D6, L3 and N253 stop at Cambridge Heath station (stops M and P), buses 55 and N55 at stops N and O, and buses 309 and D3 at York Hall.
Met de auto
Geen eigen parkeerplaats bij het museum.
There are no parking spaces at the museum, and Poyser Street has double yellow lines. Nearby bays are mostly for permit holders from Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 5.30pm. The nearest NCP car park is in Whitechapel, a 32-minute walk away.
The museum is outside the congestion zone but inside the LEZ and ULEZ. The entrance what3words address is sizes.influencing.care. The nearest Santander cycle docking station is on Cambridge Heath Road at the corner of Nant Street.
Route plannenService & horeca
- Café: niet aanwezig
- Museumwinkel
- Garderobe: niet aanwezig
- Kluisjes: niet aanwezig
Gift shop on site. The museum has no café, but visitors may bring their own food and drink, as long as it is nut-free. There is no cloakroom or lockers, although bulky items can be kept behind the desk. Indoor bicycle racks are available.
Evenementen & zaalverhuur
- Ruimtes te huur
- Privéfeesten
- Zakelijke evenementen
The whole or part of the museum can be hired for parties, launches, screenings, performances, conferences, meetings and filming, with special rates for charities and emerging artists.
Aanvragen & detailsJe bezoek plannen
| Rondleidingen | ja · duur ca. 60 min. |
|---|---|
| Aanbod voor scholen | ja |
| Fotograferen | Photos for non-commercial use are welcome in the galleries; visitors are asked to be considerate of others and careful when sharing images of genitals. |
| Goed om te weten | A one-hour tour of the permanent exhibition can be booked for school groups on Mondays or Tuesdays, when the museum is closed to the public. The exhibitions deal with topics such as birth, abortion, FGM and discrimination, and a sign at the entrance warns about distressing content. |
