An exhibition exploring the role, impact and legacy of women in art will visit Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum in early 2027. 

Taking the title Making Her Mark and bringing together more than 50 works by women artists, the exhibition will explore a range of themes, including the power of collaboration, the struggle for recognition and representation, and the significance of the self-portrait for women artists.

The exhibition has been developed through a unique collaboration between Penlee House Gallery & Museum, (owned and operated by Penzance Council), Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, (part of Museums Worcestershire) and Kirkcaldy Galleries (part of cultural charity OnFife). Working together under the name Long Distance Connections, the three museums have brought together over 50 works by women artists from their respective collections.

Making Her Mark is the first exhibition to open as part of Art Fund’s £5.36million Going Places programme, a series of exhibitions touring the UK. The largest project of its kind, Going Places brings together 20 museums across all four nations to share and celebrate the UK’s remarkable collections in collaboration with local communities.

With works selected from all three collections, Long Distance Connections begin their collaboration by celebrating notable female artists from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, with extraordinary works by Elizabeth Forbes, Laura Knight, Dod Procter, Caroline Walker, Tracey Emin and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham amongst many more. Highlights include Elizabeth Forbes’ A Zandvoort Fishergirl (1884), Dod Procter’s Portrait of Eileen Mayo (1920 -1930), Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s Gurnards Head, No.2 (1947) and Caroline Walker’s Bathroom, Room 608 (2018).

A central focus of Going Places is for museums to collaborate with communities on each exhibition, particularly those from under-represented groups. Penlee House Gallery & Museum has been working with care experienced young people, supported by Carefree Cornwall, a charity which works with young people in and leaving care across Cornwall. Through a series of creative workshops led by local artists Elizabeth Howell and Kate Turner, young people responded to the artworks in the exhibition, explored artistic techniques and discussed issues around gender equality. Their artworks will be displayed within the exhibition, reflecting their views and hopes for a fairer future.

To find out more, go to the venue’s website: museumsworcestershire.org.uk