WELLCOME COLLECTION COLLECT WHOSE MENOPAUSE? MATERIALS
Sometimes personal projects lead you in the most unexpected and brilliant directions.
After receiving my Whose Menopause?Arts Council England project grant in 2022 and completing the project in 2023, here I am in 2024 with the Wellcome Collection team who have today accessioned a selection of our work as well as our zine. I’m so pleased for everyone in Bolton who took part in the project. But I’m particularly delighted that we’ve been able to help increase the representation of LGBTQ+ healthcare stories in such an internationally important collection.🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
The Wellcome have supported the project all the way from my R&D phase. They weren’t in my original bid. I walked into the library off Euston Road one day and asked about historical archive material related to menopause. We used items from the collection throughout our workshops in Bolton: they inspired our conversations and taught us a thing or two. Sometimes you just need to be brave and ask a question for an interesting door to open…
I’m also excited to be continuing my participatory research work with the Wellcome. But more on that another time…
Whose Menopause? was co-produced with three community groups: Breightmet Butterflies, a weekly women’s group based in Breightmet, Bolton; Sanctuary Storytellers, a women’s creative writing group based at Bolton Central Library and part of City of Sanctuary Bolton; and LGBTQ+ Horwich, a group formed exclusively for the project following an open call for members from the LGBTQ+ community to share their experiences.
The project challenged typical menopause narratives, which often exclude people identifying as LGBTQ+, working class or from the global majority.
The project was funded by Arts Council England and supported by Bolton at Home, Indigo Gender Service, NHS Bolton CCG and other community partners including Manchester Menopause Hive. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
You can view all the works and arrange to see them in person through the Wellcome Library catalogue.