Bringing together women with complex lived experiences to shape new approaches to collecting and commissioning
A three-year project, supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, brought together 17 women with lived experiences of complex inequalities and trauma to work collaboratively with the team at Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL) and wider community to shape new approaches to collecting and commissioning art works for museum collections.
From its inception in 1991, GWL’s co-founders have been thinking differently about curating, with germinal projects like Castlemilk Womanhouse giving marginalised communities a voice in exhibition making. With funds to commission artists (which traditionally GWL has not had, with the collection made up almost entirely of donations), We Make Museums follows this lead, exploring how collective decision making can shape collections in inspiring ways.
To this end the group has been exploring art works in the GWL collection as well as visiting cultural resources in Manchester, Rochdale and Edinburgh to learn about (other) intersectional feminist practices.
Together, they have deepened the GWL’s understanding about systemic exclusions and approaches to working that can either act to marginalise and misrepresent, or conversely to support and represent, diverse audiences.
In autumn 2025, after two years exploring collections and feminist histories, GWL launched an Open Call to artists, seeking proposals that would speak to their core values of addressing gender inequality, access, anti-racism and climate justice. From 120 applications they commissioned three remarkable artists – Sohaila Baluch, Ruth Ewan and Alixandra Prybyla – to make new works foregrounding socially engaged practices rooted in care, anti-racism, feminist protest and collective knowledge making.
The GWL has enjoyed seeing how each artist’s distinct vision intersects and complements one another and are excited that an exhibition of this work will animate their space and be part of Glasgow International Festival. The exhibition runs from 5 June to 26 September 2026. Conversations and collaborations in We Make Museums are ongoing.