Marianne Werefkin, Circus – Before the Show (detail)

Talk

Women’s journeys in the city and beyond

Panel discussion

Wednesday 25 January 2023 6.30 - 8pm

The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts

£15 / £9 conc

Friends of the RA book first

Inspired by our 'Making Modernism' exhibition, our speakers come together for a discussion on women’s experiences of city and countryside.

Our understanding of the early 20th century is shaped by stories of the increased freedoms that modernisation unlocked for women. The city as the true habitat of the ‘modern woman’ is at the centre of these conversations, despite reality being far more nuanced.

Inspired by the protagonists of the Making Modernism exhibition, this panel discussion will talk about how an increased mobility changed the way women artists interacted with the world and the work they produced. We will use this as a starting point to talk more broadly about how the built environment impacts women’s experiences of the city and the countryside and strategies for creating more hospitable spaces.

At a time where women’s safety is a key part of conversations surrounding public space, looking back to when these freedoms are perceived to have started is bound to provide some insight. Our panel will bring together architecture, art, and history to talk about women’s experiences of space. Speakers will include British artist and curator Lubaina Himid CBE RA, Lauren Elkin, author of Flâneuse: Women Walk the City and British architect Stephanie Macdonald OBE, co-founder of 6a architects.

The panellists will each begin by speaking about a journey that created a sense of place for them as a woman. They will then move on to a discussion looking at women’s unique experiences of travel both in a historic and contemporary context. There will be time for questions at the end of the event.

£15 / £9 conc

Friends of the RA book first

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Making Modernism

Go to the exhibition

Paula Modersohn-Becker, Girl with Child (detail)

Making Modernism

Don’t miss the first major UK exhibition devoted to the trailblazing women hidden from the history of 20th-century Modernism: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin.

Celebrated in their native homelands, this exhibition will introduce their innovative paintings and works on paper and bring together many works never seen before in the UK.

Find out more