Art, Activism and the Women’s movement in the UK 1970–1990

This exhibition will be the first of its kind – a major survey of work by over 100 women artists working in the UK from 1970 to 1990. Through their creative practices, women’s liberation was forged against the backdrop of extreme social, economic and political change.

Women in Revolt! will focus on a hugely diverse range of artists and a wide variety of mediums including painting, drawing, sculpture, film and performance. This exhibition will explore and reflect on issues and events such as: the British Women’s Liberation movement, the fight for legal changes impacting women, maternal and domestic experiences, Rock Against Racism and Punk, Greenham Common and the peace movement, the visibility of Black and South Asian Women Artists, Section 28 and the AIDs pandemic.

The show will celebrate the work and lived experiences of women who, frequently working outside mainstream art institutions, were largely left out of the artistic narratives of the time.

It will showcase a productive, politically engaged set of communities, who changed the face of British culture and paved the way for future generations of artists.