Barking and Dagenham Council is pleased to announce next steps as it moves forward with the development of a Women’s Museum at 4 - 5 Barking Wharf Square. 

Linked to the borough’s accredited local history programme at Valence House Museum and Archives, this inclusive space will serve as a platform to showcase the history, heritage, stories and role of women from both the local area and beyond. 

Opening in late 2023 and showcasing exhibitions, learning opportunities, events and workshops, the Women’s Museum will be a new place in Barking Town Centre for conversation and gathering. The aim is to create a welcoming, safe and inclusive space for people of all identities, abilities and backgrounds - trans and non-binary inclusive - to encourage exploration of critical issues relevant to our collective and diverse experiences. 

 

The Women’s Museum will build on our work to support the empowerment of women and girls; this includes the important work being led through local organisations such as Arc Theatre and Excel Women’s Centre, as well as the recently opened We Rise Hub located at the Barking Learning Centre which provides support, activities and events led by and for survivors of domestic abuse. 

Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement, said: “This announcement couldn’t come at a better time as we celebrate Women’s Empowerment Month. We’re so proud of the many incredible women who have contributed so much to our borough's rich history and identity. 

“The Women’s Museum will play a significant role in developing partnerships locally, regionally, and nationally as part of the wider remit of our museum and cultural offer here in the borough. I look forward to seeing the plans come to fruition over the coming months.”  

Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf, Curator of the Women’s Museum inaugural exhibition, said: “As someone with tender connections to friends and family in the area, I am honoured to be working with the richness of local histories. 

“This exhibition and programme is a precious opportunity to bring elements of the legacies and stories of the Abbesses and their connections to ambitions and lives of women, girls and folk living in the area today. There is so much creativity and community in the borough and I am delighted to be celebrating these shared and overlapping heritages.” 

Upcoming programme highlights include: 

• An inaugural artist commission by designer Claire Mason covering the façade of the future Women’s Museum space, installed for Women’s Empowerment Month this March until Autumn 2023.  The work evokes a timeline of local women’s history from 600AD to the present day, highlighting the important contributions of writers and activists such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Annie Huggett, social reformers including Elizabeth Fry, Muriel Lester and Doris Lester, Olympic and Paralympic athletes Ethel Scott and Beverley Gull, and cultural icons including singers Sandie Shaw, YolanDa Brown and Zara McFarlane amongst many others.  Claire Mason will continue to work with the Women’s Museum to develop its graphic and visual identity over the coming months. 
• An inaugural exhibition focusing on the radical history of the Abbesses of Barking Abbey conceived by curator and artist Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf, opening in late 2023. Taking a contemporary and feminist approach to this local history dating from the 7th Century and supported through research funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Schandorf will explore the role of female leadership historically to give an understanding of how the unique context of the Abbesses can serve to platform both past and current issues related to women’s power, identity and voice. 
• A newly commissioned girl’s empowerment programme led by Arc Theatre aimed at local young people aged 11 years and older and launching in November 2023.  The workshops will build on the work achieved through Raised Voiced, a weekly drama and presentation skills group led by Arc Theatre for students from schools and colleges across Barking and Dagenham, in which they created a series of films and resources to inspire, encourage discussion on, and raise awareness of issues challenging young women and girls today. 

Design work for the new Museum will be directed by Creative Lead Tracky Crombie and Architect Sib Trigg whose work takes an approach that is both collaborative and sustainable, as well as being community focused. Created using recycled, reclaimed and environmentally conscious materials and methods, the space will be inviting and welcoming for both residents and visitors to the borough to use. There will be ongoing opportunities for the local community to input in the development of the Women’s Museum over the coming months through the Citizen’s Alliance Network. 

For additional information please contact: valencehousemuseum@lbbd.gov.uk  

For ongoing updates, please check out the Women’s Museum website page on: www.valencehousecollections.co.uk