A bold push to redraw the gallery map: why a trio of regional spaces are choosing to foreground women artists
If you’ve walked through the quiet halls of Penlee House in Cornwall or similar regional galleries, you’ve probably sensed a familiar pattern—rich in history, light on women’s bodies of work. Yet a new collaboration is turning that familiar script on its head. The Making Her Mark program brings together Penlee, Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, and Kirkcaldy Galleries in Scotland to stage a conversation across geography and time, prioritizing female artists whose contributions too often lived in the shadows of male contemporaries. This isn’t mere curation; it’s a deliberate reorientation of what counts as a regional art story.
What makes this initiative so striking is not just the artists involved, but the method of collaboration itself. The idea began as a quick “speed dating” exercise among institutions that share the same struggle: vast collections, uneven displays, and the stubborn legacy of gendered access to art education and opportunities. Personally, I think the value here lies in how this format forces galleries to rethink their own limits—what they own, what they show, and how they can work together to amplify voices that have been undervalued for generations. What many people don’t realize is that these geographic spaces have a surprisingly large influence on the canon we’re fed and the careers we celebrate.
A portable canon, big as a tapestry
The first installment places work by Tracey Emin and Barbara Hepworth in proximity, with other notable names like Laura Knight, Elizabeth Forbes, and Gillian Ayres turning the walls into a map of female modernism and craft. The arrangement at Penlee is symbolic as well as aesthetic: Emin’s boldness in a room above a marble fireplace against Hepworth’s sculptural clarity creates a dialogue that travels beyond the wall labels. What this really suggests is a deliberate move away from chronological single-author showcases toward a cross-generational, cross-institutional dialogue about scope, voice, and medium.
From a personal perspective, the choice to feature Emin prominently—even in a space not commonly associated with her work—speaks to a broader trend: regional venues can act as disruptors, not just custodians. This matters because it signals that fame and significance are not bound to major metropolitan galleries but can emerge wherever there’s a willingness to challenge tradition and reframe the audience’s expectations.
The program also spotlights historical barriers that shaped what “counts” as art. Dod Procter’s Portrait of Eileen Mayo, for instance, foregrounds a truth about women artists’ schooling: access to life drawing was restricted, leaving them to rely on peer-mentoring or private study. The charge here isn’t merely to display, but to illuminate the labor and restrictions behind every brushstroke. From my vantage, the piece becomes a mirror for how institutions today still decide who deserves the bench, the studio, and the spotlight—and how we might collectively unseat those gatekeepers.
Lessons in curatorial risk and the value of collaboration
If there’s a through-line, it’s this: collaboration isn’t optional when the goal is structural change. The tapestry by Imogen Bright Moon, a large textile loan from Worcester, underscores another truth about collective curation—scale and space can become political statements. It’s a reminder that logistics can become a feature, not a bug, when institutions decide to push beyond comfortable boundaries to test how audiences respond to unfamiliar scales and media in a calm, public setting.
From a broader view, this is not just about showcasing forgotten women; it’s about rethinking how museum networks operate. Gracie Divall notes that Going Places is prompting new collecting policies and cross-network relationships. The practical implication is profound: if more galleries adopt this joint-narrative approach, we could see a healthier, more plural art ecosystem that redistributes attention, funding, and influence toward diverse makers across regions.
What’s in it for the public—and what’s at stake
The Making Her Mark project doesn’t shy away from the political. Kate Turner’s workshop with care-experienced young people—producing a protest banner that now hangs in Penlee—shows how art can be a form of civic education, not just aesthetic encounter. This is where the commentary becomes activism. I’d argue that the real test of these exhibitions is whether they spark ongoing conversations beyond the gallery walls, about gender equity in pay, access, and representation in the arts sector. From my point of view, these conversations aren’t luxuries; they’re prerequisites for any credible cultural economy.
A future-forward frame: heritage craft and refugee experiences
Looking ahead, the Going Places program promises exhibitions that explore heritage crafts at risk and the experiences of refugees. This expansion isn’t a side quest; it’s a signal that regional museums are leaning into timely, human-scaled issues. If we zoom out, this aligns with a broader cultural shift: institutions recognizing that localization can illuminate global patterns—migration, labor, and the reproduction of culture across borders—without sacrificing the depth a regional lens provides.
The bigger takeaway
What makes this project compelling isn’t merely the artworks on the wall. It’s the audacious assertion that regional galleries can, and should, redefine the literary arc of art history in public space. My takeaway is simple: the more we decentralize cultural authority and empower cross-institutional storytelling, the closer we get to a more honest, inclusive art narrative. If you take a step back and think about it, this isn’t just about filling galleries with women’s work; it’s about rebuilding trust between institutions, artists, and audiences who deserve to see themselves reflected in the walls they visit.
In sum, Making Her Mark is more than an exhibition series. It’s a manifesto for how regional culture can lead, rather than follow, the conversation about who gets to create, own, and define art.
