Brochure Interessengemeinschaft Frau und Museum
An initiative becomes an institution
Getting involved + making visible
On 3 November 2020, the Interessengemeinschaft Frau und Museum celebrated its tenth anniversary of foundation, unfortunately only in a small circle of the board due to Corona, but with a lot of joy in what has been achieved and what now exists.
Unfortunately, the presentation of the brochure “Mitmischen + Sichtbarmachen”, which was developed for this occasion, had to be abandoned. Who would want to register for a party to celebrate success and have to appear with a hygiene mask, only to be served an aperitif at tables of four?
So we decided to send the brochure in nice envelopes with special stamps to those for whom they are intended: Members of the IG Frau und Museum, people who have been involved in one of the projects, interested institutions in culture and equality. We still have stock to hand out to other interested people.
The brochure presents activities and contacts that the IG has taken up, worked on and presented in the 10 years of its existence. We have tried to achieve the goal stated in the statutes: “…to create a platform to show the often not shown history, reality, achievements and influence of women in society as well as the relationship between the sexes”.
Museums as a Mirror of Societies
The sections are divided thematically. For example, under “An exhibition gets under your skin”, the first ideas of how to proceed some 15 years ago are described. Other titles of the thematic areas described are: “The Relevance of IG Frau und Museum, the Female Gaze”, “Museums as a Mirror of Society, Viewpoints and Demands”, “Mediation Formats and Versatile Events”. Our ideas made visible to the public and our political interventions and worldwide networking work are dealt with in the following areas: “Political interventions, at a high level” and “Networking work from local to worldwide”. Our personal visions are shown in “Future with origins”.
In all these points, contacts with the International Association of Women’s Museums have always been important. Our membership in this association broadens the view of women in Switzerland to the situation of women in other countries and thus represents an important aspect. We have been able to experience how our work on women’s history and representation can have significance for all women worldwide.
Another important aspect of our approach is always to look from the past to the future. So it is certainly not surprising that we have an appetite for more projects. A foundation stone for a collection from a female perspective is to be laid soon, also with a view to a real women’s museum in Switzerland.
So we hope for interested readers and hope that the insight into our work will bring you knowledge and ideas in terms of equality and development towards an equal society.
Martha Beéry-Artho, President
Activities of the IG Frau und Museum