For the 2024 Dutch Design Week, as part of the Feminist Design Research Collective, I collaborated on an exhibition called Let’s Talk Menopause. The five of us, spread across three institutions (University Twente, Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology), interviewed six mothers and their daughters about menopause in a co-creation session and translated the insights from those sessions into an exhibition to break the taboo of talking about menopause. We exhibited five artefacts inspired by the creations of the mothers and daughters in the sessions at the Dutch Design Week 2024 as part of the Design United exhibition.
This project was a collaboration between Daisy O’Neill, Alejandra Gómez Ortega, Svetlana Mironcika, Carmen Heuvelmans and myself and was funded by 4TU Probe Funding from Design United. Photos by Maud Staassen Fotografie.
The Artefacts
Conversational Cups – Menopause can feel like a secret no one talks about. These cups invite you to start a conversation about it.
Hold Me – Menopause can feel like trying to contain an explosion. This object allows for tension release and self-care through squeezing.
Collecting Experiences – Menopause can feel like not knowing when something is related to menopause. This wall captures experiences; share yours.
Head into Menopause – Menopause can feel like living in a constantly changing body. Heading into this object will allow you to experience these uncontrollable changes.
Menopause Library – Menopause can feel like needing to convince others that what you are experiencing is real. This is a collection of resources curated by people experiencing menopause.
Find out more about the project and the collective here.
