Make your next trip to the West End a celebration of women in culture
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/03/07/11/32/The%20Time%20is%20Always%20Now%20%C2%A9%20Photo%20National%20Portrait%20Gallery%2C%20London%202.jpg.jpg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)
What’s fantastic about International Women’s Day is not only its role in inspiring important conversations and spotlighting talent, but also galvanising men and women alike to celebrate the cause in the weeks and months after 8 March.
Whether it’s learning more about women in art by visiting some of London’s most iconic institutions or heading to the theatre to see a leading lady showcase her talents, there are plenty of ways to celebrate women in culture in the capital this spring.
Here are some great art and theatre experiences to put on your culture itinerary...
Lubaina Himid, Royal Academy of Arts
Paper-works relating to Naming the Money, Lubaina Himid’s Turner Prize-winning installation, will be in a free display at the Royal Academy of Arts until 16 June 2024.
A pivotal presence within Britain’s Black Arts movement, Himid’s work often explores reclamations of identity, and this set of 20 paper-works provides an early insight into the main piece, which features 100 life-size cutouts bringing attention to the hidden yet monumental contribution of the Black diaspora to Europe’s cultural and economic foundations.
The full Naming the Money installation is on display within the ticketed exhibition, Entangled Pasts, which runs at the Royal Academy of Arts until 28 April this year.
Angelica Kauffman, Royal Academy of Arts
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/03/07/11/40/Angelica%20Kauffman-48.jpg.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
The Royal Academy of Arts is also home to a major exhibition of Angelica Kauffman’s work.
Charting her life and career from child prodigy to her status as one of Europe’s most respected painters, you can discover more about how the Swiss painter played a part in transforming the genre of historical painting through her depiction of female figures within classical history and mythology.
Reframing Women and Self-Portraiture, National Portrait Gallery
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/03/03/21/56/Maeve%20Gilmore%20%28_Self-Portrait%20with%20Charcoal_%29%20by%20Maeve%20Gilmore%2C%20c.%201958.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
On the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery, head to Room 29 where you’ll find Reframing Women in Self-Portraiture, a specially curated room of self-portraits by women, delivered in partnership with the CHANEL Culture Fund.
The Reframing Women in Self-Portraiture display features work from a wide range of artists across different media, including Doris Zinkeisen, Barbara Hepworth and Sarah Lucas.
Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery can also dive into a major study of the Black figure, and its representation in contemporary art, at The Time Is Always Now, pictured main image.
The exhibition showcases the work of contemporary artists from the African diaspora – including Toyin Ojih Odutola, Amy Sherald and the aforementioned Lubaina Himid – and highlights the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life.
Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron, National Portrait Gallery
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/03/03/21/13/Sadness%20%28Ellen%20Terry%29%2C%201864%20by%20Julia%20Margaret%20Cameron%2C%20Albumen%20silver%20print%2C%20The%20J.%20Paul%20Getty%20Museum%2C%20Los%20Angeles.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron may have lived and worked a century apart – the former in the UK and Sri Lanka; the latter in America and Italy – but both significantly challenged the ability of portraiture to depict more than just appearance.
Exhibiting more than 160 rare vintage prints, the exhibition, which opens on 21 March and runs until 16 June 2024, suggests new perspectives to their work.
Women painters, the National Gallery
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/03/08/10/48/NG6671%20Artemisia%20Gentileschi%20Self%20Portrait%20as%20Saint%20Catherine%20of%20Alexandria%2C%20about%201615-17%20REPLACEMENT.jpg.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Europhiles, take note: a few steps away, at the capital’s iconic National Gallery, art lovers can lose themselves in exquisite work from notable Italian and French women painters.
There’s an enlightening online lecture on Impressionist Eva Gonzalès, alongside celebrations of the masterpieces of Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi – self-portrait pictured above – and Rosa Bonheur and Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun.
Opening Night, the Gielgud Theatre
Bafta and Olivier award-winning Sheridan Smith has returned to the West End to star in one of this year’s most hotly-anticipated musicals: Opening Night. Based on the 1977 John Cassavetes film, the musical – on a limited run at the Gielgud Theatre until 27 July 2024 – features new music from Rufus Wainwright.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Succession superstar Sarah Snook takes on all 26 roles in this groundbreaking adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s beloved novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Live performance and video collide for this contemporary production, which is on a limited run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 11 May this year.
Hadestown, Lyric Theatre
It won multiple awards while it was on Broadway and now Hadestown – co-created by Anaïs Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin – has found its home in the West End at the Lyric Theatre. Billed as a celebration of togetherness and hope, the musical brings to life the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone.
And don’t forget about food in the West End
![](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/03/07/11/09/HOL_LSQ_W_HOTEL.jpg.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
If you’re after a post-exhibition or pre-theatre bite, Muriel’s Kitchen – a neighbourhood bistro-style eatery serving fresh seasonal produce at the National Gallery – and Larry’s, an elegant spot to enjoy small and sharing plates at the National Portrait Gallery, are run by women.
Or, for something extra-special, try the Lois O’Hara-inspired Afternoon Tea at luxury hotel W London, pictured above – it’s an immersive experience where art meets gastronomy.
To find out more about the art and culture you can find in London’s West End, visit artoflondon.co.uk and follow @theartofldn on social media
MORE ABOUT