field notes: in person session at the wellcome collection, february 2026

We held our first in-person session of 2026 at the Wellcome Collection in February. The purpose of the session was:

• To view some of the materials we’ve found through our online cruising the collection activities (you can find lists of all the materials the group have found here and here).

• To share zines made by the group since we last got together in November 2025.

• To start collectively deciding the most important messages we want to get across to healthcare professionals and others about gynae inequities.

• To have a look at the space in the Wellcome Collection Reading Room where we’ll be showing some of our work as well as items from the Collection.

• To decide how else we want to share our key messages.

As always, viewing the collection in real life inspired the discussion and encouraged group members to open up on topics that may ordinarily feel difficult to talk about.

It reminded me again just how difficult it is to convey the real heart of this project, which can be found in the growing friendships, connections and sharing of stories between group members. The creative work we’re making during this year feels like a permanent ‘visual mark’ of those conversations. We’re starting to think about how we can share the process we’ve been through as part of our display.

It was another brilliant day, with all our standard approaches to safeguarding and care put into place.

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This participatory research and socially engaged project is being delivered in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection.