Bethnal Green Vagina Museum closes as guardianship ends

The Vagina Museum has received notice to vacate its premises at ENTER in Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green.

It occupied the space under a property guardianship, in which a property guardian occupies premises that would otherwise be empty to ensure it is secure and safeguarded, often at reduced rent.

The museum's last day open to the public is today (Wednesday, February 1).

It will then close its doors and relocate - although no new site is yet confirmed - after less than a year at the location.

The Vagina Museum previously exhibited at a location in Camden (Image: Vagina Museum)

The museum's director Florence Schechter said: "As a property guardianship, we have always been aware that we may be asked to leave at very short notice.

"We are disappointed that this notice to vacate has come so soon.

"In the ten months the Vagina Museum has occupied our Bethnal Green home, we have achieved so much, welcoming thousands of people through our doors."

She said that in partnership with arts organisation ENTER, the museum had transformed an empty, unused building into a "thriving" community space.

Sad news. We’ve received notice to vacate our premises at Bethnal Green by the end of this week. As a property guardianship, we’ve always been aware that we may be asked to leave with very short notice. We’re disappointed that it has come so soon.

— Vagina Museum (@vagina_museum) January 30, 2023

She added: "We had exciting plans for future exhibitions which will have to be put on hold for now.

"We’ve proved once again the demand for a Vagina Museum.

"We are an agile and resilient organisation who has overcome homelessness before, and we’re optimistic that we will do so again.

The museum's exhibition, Periods: A Brief History and From A to V opened to the public in March 2022 (Image: Vagina Museum)

"We are actively searching for a new home, and we invite anyone who can help us in this endeavour to reach out in solidarity with our vital educational work."

In 2021, the Vagina Museum’s lease for its first premises in Camden Market came to an end, and it spent six months without a premises. 

Following a period of temporary homelessness between September 2021 and early 2022, the Vagina Museum reopened its doors to the public at the Bethnal Green site in March 2022.

The site had been vacant and unused for some time, and the Vagina Museum and ENTER opened within the space in a property guardianship in early 2022.

ENTER, a collective and creative hub opening up empty buildings to creative use, will also be vacating the premises later this week.

The Museum, which is free admission, has welcomed almost 40,000 visitors in the ten months it has been operating in Bethnal Green.

The future use of 18 Victoria Park Square has not been confirmed to the Vagina Museum or ENTER.