The tools women use: the Women’s Gallery, Suffrage 125 and contemporary feminist museology

Tuhinga 32: 5-17

ABSTRACT: This article provides case studies of the Wellington Women’s Gallery and the Suffrage 125 commemorations at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and wider Wellington, thereby exploring the concept and implementation of feminist museology as it manifests in the capital city. Each case study investigates the various items, contributors and accompanying programmes that have been used to continue the struggle for gender equality, as practised within the galleries, libraries, archives and museums sector. By examining these exhibitions, their themes and their content, the article reflects on the tools that have been used in the history of feminism, and how – despite the progress of suffragism and feminism – gender inequality remains an ongoing issue. It concludes by stating that these two case studies were more than just commemorations of the struggle for gender equality, and should be understood as feminist acts in and of themselves.

KEYWORDS: Museum, feminism, Women’s Gallery, Wellington, Suffrage 125, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, gender equality, activism, Marian Evans.