Bethlem Museum of the Mind and Bethlem Gallery will be presenting two exhibitions early next year exploring historical and contemporary artistic perspectives on women and mental health, from the nineteenth century to the present day.
The Four Ages of Woman at Bethlem Museum of the Mind showcases diverse representations of women’s mental health and life experiences across childhood, youth, middle age and old age. The exhibition includes over thirty works by nineteen artists including Madge Gill, Anna Kavan, Bibi Herrera, Imma Maddox and Cynthia Pell, selected from the museum’s extensive collection, and key works on loan.
At Bethlem Gallery, contemporary artists Esther Maxwell-Orumbie and Sarah Carpenter have been working with service users and staff of the Mother and Baby Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital on Transitions, an exhibition looking at identity and the everyday, framed by the complex challenges experienced during the transition to motherhood.
The full list of artists presenting in The Four Ages of Woman are: Linda Bamford, Stephanie Bates, Lisa Biles, Madge Gill, Bibi Herrera, Charlotte Johnson, Anna Kavan, Stanley Lench, Esther Maxwell-Orumbie, Imma Maddox, Marion Patrick, Cynthia Pell, Maureen Scott, Charles Sims, Patricia Smith, S.P. Subbauucher and Elise Warriner Pacquette.
The two independent yet connected exhibitions presented at Bethlem Royal Hospital on Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, are free to attend and run from January 8 to April 25.
I am excited to be able to view this exhibition focusing on women from the 19th century to the present day dealing with the transition into Motherhood and living and dealing with Mental Health. I think it will have depth and understanding.