Iconic Vagina Museum to make new home in Bethnal Green
The Vagina Museum has moved from Camden Market to Bethnal Green - Credit: Ali Wright/Archant
The Vagina Museum has found a new home in Bethnal Green after its lease in Camden came to an end last year.
Hailed as the "world's first bricks-and-mortar museum dedicated to the gynaecological anatomy", the museum had been based in Camden Market since 2019.
After almost six months of temporary closure, the Vagina Museum has announced it will re-open in Tower Hamlets on March 19.
The Vagina Museum team in their former space (Left to right: Florence Schechter, Zoe Williams and Sarah Creed) - Credit: Angus Young
Founder and director Florence Schechter, who is based in Belsize Park, said: "During our temporary closure, we've had so many people express how much they missed us.
"Since the beginning of this project, it's been crucial to us for the Vagina Museum to exist as a physical space.
"These last few months have been tough as we've searched for a new home."
In August last year, the museum appealed for "urgent help" to find a new site after Camden Market's owner Labtech said it would not renew its current leases.
At the time, the museum's director of marketing and development Zoe Williams said Labtech showed them a new space, but "it was far from ideal".
She said it was tucked away on an upper floor, reliant on a single lift for accessibility, and that the museum needs a community-facing presence.
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Now, the Vagina Museum has connected with ENTER - a "collective building and creative hub for the arts" - and will enjoy premises roughly three times larger than its former site.
An expanded version of its exhibition Period: A Brief History will open next month, with free admission.
The exhibition is being sponsored by the Body Shop - Credit: Ali Wright
"We're excited to become a part of the vibrant community in Bethnal Green," Florence added.
Joe Ball from ENTER said: "The ENTER project is about taking over non-artistic buildings that aren't in use and opening them up to be creative hubs for people to explore their art.
"The Vagina Museum is a fantastic partner that helps set the tone of an inclusive and forward-thinking space."
Address: ENTER, 18 Victoria Park Square, London E2 9PF
Website: www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/
