Spain is culture

8 March is International Women's Day, and many events take place to assert women's role in the evolution of history, society and culture. It is also the perfect chance to discover the "Museos en femenino" project. This project includes several themed routes in five national museums, which show how women actively participated in different artistic periods and disciplines. A great plan for the month of March... or for any other month of the year!

The presence of women in art – this is what the "Museos en femenino" project is all about. It is the result of the work carried out jointly by the Feminist Research Institute at the Complutense University in Madrid, the e-Mujeres Association and the participating museums. The paintings, sculptures and other works of art also reflect aspects like power relationships at the time, cultural determining factors, social differences, and habits and customs. The themed routes offered by "Museos en femenino" therefore interpret the artworks from the perspective of gender.

The project website includes detailed descriptions of the artworks, exhibition maps and PDF guides of each route. Here is a list of the museums and routes you can find:

Prado Museum
It offers two routes: "Women and Power" and "Women's Jobs". The first route takes a look at portraits to recover the important role of noble women when claiming rights, and of royal women in the government of Spain and in international politics. It aims to explain in what ways they were limited. The second route shows the specific and shared jobs that women did, stresses their sociocultural value and highlights individual contributions. It will tell the stories behind paintings such as "The Countess of Chinchón" by Goya, "The Spinners" by Velázquez, and "The Moneychanger and His Wife" by Marinus van Reymerswaele.

Reina Sofía Museum
"Feminism. A feminist interpretation of avant-garde movements" explores historical avant-garde movements with a critical view of images that represent the dominating male value system, and explains the absence of women and acknowledges their work in the fight to overcome these models. From Picasso's "Guernica" to Man Ray's "Ingres's Violin", including María Blanchard.

Costume Museum
"Bodies that can be modelled. Clothing as an implement to control the female body" explains how women's figure has been transformed by clothing according to beauty standards and the moral values of each period. It also explores how the way people dress has expressed social, economic and class connotations throughout history.

National Archaeological Museum
It has two routes revolving around the theme of women in the Greek and Roman societies. It explains how women had an active presence in ancient culture and civilisation. Whether by following the rules or by breaking them, they helped to improve society with their contributions and influence on education, economy, politics and science.

González Martí National Museum of Ceramics
A tour round the rooms in this museum in Valencia shows the female influence on the works in its permanent collection: as symbolic representations, inspiration, models... It also analyses their participation in everyday life, and the separation of duties and spaces throughout history.