Vagina Museum searching for new home after property guardianship ends

The museum is currently based in Bethnal Green

A menstrual cup and tampon at display at the Vagina Museum (AFP via Getty Images)

The Vagina Museum, the “world’s first bricks and mortar museum dedicated to the gynaecological anatomy”, has announced it is looking for a new home.

The museum opened its doors at its current site in Bethnal Green, east London, in March 2022, after moving from its original premises in Camden Market.

However, it announced on Monday (30 January) that it has received notice to vacate the site, as it has been occupying the premises under a property guardianship in Victoria Park Square.

A spokesperson for the Vagina Museum said it has “always been aware that we may be asked [to] leave at a very short notice”.

“We are disappointed that this notice to vacate has come so soon,” Florence Schechter, director of the Vagina Museum said.

“In the 10 months the Vagina Museum has occupied our Bethnal Green home, we have achieved so much, welcoming thousands of people through our door. Together with ENTER, we’ve transformed an empty, unused building into a thriving community space.

“We had exciting plans for future exhibitions which will have to be put on hold for now,” she added.

“We are actively searching for a new home, and we invite anyone who can help us in this endeavour to reach out in solidarity with our vital educational work.”

In a Twitter thread, the museum confirmed it will have to vacate the premises by the end of this week and will be open to the public for free on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10am to 8pm.

It also asked members of the public to reach out if they know of any vacant spaces that the museum can “transform” into “a thriving heart of a community”.

The Vagina Museum was “homeless” between September 2021 and early 2022, after it left Camden Market.

Since opening its space in 18 Victoria Park Square, which was previously “vacant and unused”, the museum said it welcomed almost 40,0000 visitors.

It has been in operation since 2017, when it started with pop-up exhibition and moved to its first fixed premises in Camden Market in 2019.