Women Empowerment Shows

Where learning, creative work and community participation meet

Concept and approach

The Women Empowerment Shows are the point where learning, creative work and community participation meet. They are not planned as exhibitions in which women simply hand over finished work to be displayed. The approach is participatory: women develop individual and co-created pieces through the Learning Programme, write or shape the descriptions of their work, and take part in decisions about how creative work and messages are presented.

The art pieces are a main result of the learning process. Through collage and expanded creative practice, women can explore perspectives on gender, equality, identity, care, work, culture, belonging, personal experience and future possibilities. Some may choose to make work that is explicitly personal; others may prefer symbols, collective themes, social questions or imagined futures. Both forms of participation are equally valid.

WORICA’s early learning activities already show why this matters. In Greece, a moodboard worked best when the storyteller explained the meaning of a cultural reference before aesthetic decisions were made, protecting cultural meaning and recognising the woman as a knowledge-holder rather than simply a source of inspiration. In Spain, collage became a way to build empathy and make unfamiliar realities visible. In Italy, creative work helped women move from legal terminology to personal meaning. These lessons guide the exhibition process.

The shows also follow the project’s women-centred approach to consent and safety. Creative work can build confidence, connection and professional identity, but it must never require a woman to expose trauma. A participant decides which meanings remain private, which can be shared with a group and which can become public. The same principle applies to names, photographs, videos, quotations and personal stories.

The exhibitions will therefore be both creative and educational spaces: a place for women to make their work visible, for communities to encounter different perspectives, and for the project to show how art can support dialogue about equality and inclusion.

What makes a Women Empowerment Show

Women decide. Participants shape the themes, select the works and help plan how the exhibition looks and speaks.
Art is the result, not a decoration. Each woman develops an individual piece with her own description, and each country also creates co-created pieces.
Consent comes first. Participation in an activity is separate from consent for photographs, video, quotations or public stories.
Open to the community. Family, friends, local organisations, educators and decision-makers are invited to meet the work and the women behind it.
One show in each country. Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and Greece will each host a local exhibition in 2027–2028.

Shows by country

Six local exhibitions are planned, one in each partner country. Dates, cities and venues will be announced here as soon as they are confirmed. Until then, here is what women in each country have already been exploring.

Sweden

Early WORICA activities in Umeå have explored rights, safety, belonging, work, family and support through visual and participatory methods. Women drew Rivers of Life, mapped equality across places such as home, school, work and healthcare, and worked with practical case studies about violence, harassment and discrimination. These conversations will provide an important foundation for the later creative programme and the work women choose to present publicly.