Exhibition: Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights

Originally scheduled for spring 2020, the landmark exhibition shows how the work of contemporary feminist activists in the UK has its roots in the long and complex history of women’s rights.

Global events of 2020, including the coronavirus pandemic and renewed momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, have thrown the inequalities people face into even sharper relief. This exhibition and accompanying events programme seek to amplify the voices of those with lived experiences of challenging injustice and campaigning for change.

From bodily autonomy and the right to education, to self-expression and protest, this new exhibition explores how feminist activism in the UK has its roots in the complex history of women’s rights. With social and racial inequalities thrown into sharp relief by recent world events, join the debate and add your voice to the many fighting for a fairer world.

Be inspired by those who paved the way. Cornelia Sorabji, the first woman to study law at Oxford University. Hope Powell, the first British woman to gain the highest European football coaching license. Meet Suffragettes such as Sophia Duleep Singh and challengers of recent years such as those behind the No More Page 3 campaign.

Explore the work of contemporary activist groups working online and offline today. Get to grips with the causes they fight for, from ending period poverty and supporting refugee women to securing abortion rights and increasing the number of women and girls involved in science.

Works from artists including Khadija Saye and Jo Spence explore how art gives voice to the fight for self-representation. Protest fashion and banners created by organisations such as direct-action group Sisters Uncut, human rights advocates Southall Black Sisters, and the Women’s Liberation Movement are among the many diverse items featured in the exhibition.

Recognising that inequality is experienced differently depending on race, gender identity, class and sexuality, this exhibition celebrates those who have struggled to overcome the barriers to living a fully-realised life.


This exhibition includes some items relating to the body, sexual and domestic violence, abortion, sex work and enslavement.