Women in the Museum Symposium at the Rijksmuseum: Exploring Art, History, and Gender Narratives

The 4th annual Women in the Museum Symposium, held at the Rijksmuseum on March 4, 2025, explores the materiality of objects as a means to understand the roles of women in art and history. The event features sessions on the influence of women makers, users, and trendsetters, challenging established narratives and diversifying museum collections.

The 4th annual Women in the Museum Symposium will take place at the Rijksmuseum on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. This year's event, themed 'Fabric of Fame: Materiality versus the canon,' focuses on the materiality of physical (art) objects as a gateway to understanding the history of women as makers, users, and trendsetters. By studying the diverse spaces and contexts in which women produced, used, collected, and commissioned objects, the symposium aims to illuminate their essential roles in art and history. It poses critical questions about how objects are interrogated, collected, and imbued with meaning within institutions, and the impact of these processes on women's visibility, as well as how material research can help diversify and display women's narratives. The symposium is structured into several sessions, including 'The material object: making the invisible visible,' which delves into objects and the women behind them, exploring interdisciplinary approaches to challenge established histories and disclose different narratives. Speakers in this session include Zara Kesterton on artificial flowers and 18th-century French women flower-makers, Sara van Dijk on Agneta Deutz's 17th-century table silver, and artist Mercedes Azpilicueta. Session 2, 'The 18th century revisited,' will reflect on new labels in the 18th-century galleries focusing on women actors, presented by Rijksmuseum curators Naomi Bisping and Josephina de Fouw. 'The curating community' session examines the increased visibility of women online versus in museums, and how community participation offers new methodologies for curatorial practice to diversify and become more inclusive, featuring Imara Limon and Alia Swastika. Finally, 'Deconstructing the canon' addresses how research into women's (art)history challenges the traditional canon, questioning new perceptions of quality and the consequences of artistic media practiced by women, with contributions from Pieter Roelofs, Marjan Sterckx, Diana Campbell, Rachel Esner, and closing remarks by Jenny Reynaerts.

Information regarding the programme and downloadable programme booklets are available on the Rijksmuseum website. Specific ticketing or admission details beyond access to the symposium sessions are not detailed on this page.