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Florence Schechter
Founder of Vagina Museum From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Florence Schechter is a British activist who is the founder of the Vagina Museum and was director from 2017 to 2024.[1] She is also a consultant, science communicator, and public speaker.[2] She is currently the Director: Creative Programmes and Collections at Museum of the Home.[3] Her debut book, V: An Empowering Celebration of the Vulva and Vagina, was published by Penguin Random House in March 2023.[4]
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Early life and education
Schechter's father is Klezmer musician Grigori Schechter.[5] She graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2014 with a BSc in Biochemistry.[6][7]
Prior to the Vagina Museum, she interned at the BBC show QI.[8]
Vagina Museum
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In 2017, Schechter founded the Vagina Museum[9] after discovering that there was a penis museum in Iceland, but no vagina equivalent anywhere in the world.[10] She was the Vagina Museum's Director from 2017 to 2024.[1] The first ever fundraising event was held at Unit 5 Gallery, London in May 2017.[11] The first pop up exhibition was held in August 2017 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The following year, it toured an exhibition around the UK called Is Your Vagina Normal?.[12]
The Vagina Museum opened its first semi-permanent location in Camden Market with the inaugural exhibition Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How to Fight Them,[13] opening on 16 November 2019.[14][15] To open the museum, a fundraising campaign was held which raised almost £50,000.[16] In 2021, the Vagina Museum closed its doors in Camden Market after the landlords refused to renew the lease in their unit.[17][18][19] The Vagina Museum reopened in its second location in March 2022[20][21] in ENTER, a venue located in Bethnal Green.[22] The museum then opened in its long-term location in two railway arches in Bethnal Green after a crowdfunding campaign that raised over £85,000.
The museum is dedicated to being trans-inclusive.[23]
Schechter has lectured around the world about her work with the Vagina Museum, including the Royal Institution,[24] British Science Festival,[25] Conway Hall,[26] Freud Museum,[27] and National Student Pride.[28]
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Writing
On 11 October 2022, it was announced that Penguin would be publishing Schechter's debut book V: An Empowering Celebration of the Vulva and Vagina.[29] The book was published in March 2023 and is illustrated by Nadia Akingbule.[30] The book is suitable for ages 14+. As part of the marketing campaign, she went on tour to Cheltenham Science Festival, Surgeons' Hall Museum,[31] Burgh House,[32] and Conway Hall.[33]
Schechter is currently signed with United Agents.[34]
She has also written articles for a number of publications including DIVA magazine,[35] Metro,[36] and The Huffington Post.[37]
In 2024, she published a guide for the museums sector called "So You Want to Build a Museum".[38]
Public speaking
Schechter has been working in the science communication sector since 2016, mostly based around biology.[39] She has written and presented a number of podcasts for Chemistry World, podcast of the Royal Society of Chemistry,[40] and for the BBC's Boring Talks.[41]
In 2019, Schechter performed her debut show "Queer by Nature" at Vaults Festival,[42] all about same sex sexual behaviour in animals.[43][44]
She has spoken at and contributed to a number of different conferences and festivals including Green Man Festival,[45] Imperial College London,[46] and Bradford Literature Festival.[47] She gave the keynote speech at SCI:COM 2022 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium[8] and British Science Festival 2024.[48]
Schechter has appeared in a number of podcasts including The Guilty Feminist,[49] Doing It with Hannah Witton,[50] Drunk Women Solving Crime,[51] and Arts & Culture.[52]
She was a contributor to the Peacock documentary Queer Planet, which premiered in 2024.[53]
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Honours and awards
Schechter came highly commended in the Women of the Future Awards in 2017.[54]
In 2019, she won Pioneer of the Year in the Sexual Freedom Awards.[55]
In 2020, she was nominated for the Rising Star of the Year Award with DIVA magazine.[56]
In 2023, she came highly commended in the Young Entrepreneur Category at the DIVA awards.[57]
Personal life
Schechter is bisexual.[58]
References
External links
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