Help us find Greater Manchester's hidden women: Join the 'Seeing Us' project

An introduction to the 'Seeing Us' project

Where are the women in Greater Manchester’s galleries, offices and archives? That’s the question at the heart of 'Seeing Us', a new project from our culture workstream co-led by Sarah Galligan and Amina Ali. We’re exploring the representation of women in the arts across the region – from those working behind the scenes, to those on display, to those whose contributions have been lost to history.

Through Seeing Us, we’re mapping who’s working in the arts, who’s represented in exhibitions and who’s tucked away in archives – including a focus on working-class women whose voices and visibility have often been overlooked. This is a call to action for community groups, activists and creators who want to help us answer these questions and uncover women's hidden stories.

Seeing Us – at work

Data collection around women working in the arts by GM4Women2028 is challenging due to the fragmented nature of the sector and the high number of freelancers, amongst other factors. The Arts Council has supported GM4Women2028’s data collection around gender composition in senior roles in the National Portfolio Organisations self-reporting but this represents a small part of the sector. We're keen to explore the questions raised in Seeing Us by drawing upon Greater Manchester's cultural institutions.

Seeing Us – in exhibitions

We want to know about representation inside galleries and museums. Quite simply, where are the women? And, because class is a large determining factor in those working in the cultural sector and traditionally in those being able to show their work, we propose to explore this predicament: Where are the working class women?

Seeing Us – in history

We plan to ask this question of gallery and museum archives: Are women hiding there or have they been overlooked?

We’re busy collating a plan of activity and we want to connect with community groups, activators and creators throughout the borough who want to answer these questions too.

How can you help?

Our first root through Lancashire Archives unexplored boxes of lost women will be mid-September. Now, we'd love to connect with offices of key Greater Manchester galleries and museums. We'd also love to audit these same key Greater Manchester galleries and museums. Can you get involved in Seeing Us alongside our culture team to drive the Seeing Us project forward?

Please message here to register your interest. We can't wait to hear from you.