Taking Space III- Whitechapel Gallery

Taking Space is a chance for women to run together, to take up more space, to put our bodies where they aren’t expected to be- especially in cultural institutions. Taking Space III was held at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. Taking Space is an opportunity for sharing experiences, solidarity, and subversion. Held in an art gallery, sweaty women’s bodies invade the space, raising questions of institutional power and belonging.

Walking tours of the city have been used by many architectural organisations such as Open City and The Architecture Foundation as methods to understand the spaces of the city and to visit various buildings. This has expanded into cycling, but not yet to running. Furthermore, these events, which take in the city, do not question our role, and the significance of our bodies in a space.

To hold a community run event tested physical architectural spaces and Taking Space discusses different women’s experiences of spaces. The event was an opportunity to be active in the space of women running by bringing women together and the event challenged where bodies were acceptable, it challenges established systems of power and empowers women.

Taking Space is a curated research platform for women’s collective movement and sharing to understand the gendered limitations in public space and what can be done to create change.

This event brought bodies into action in the architectural and cultural sphere, intersecting questions around bodies, space, art and feminism. The event is the first series of its kind, bringing running and women’s agency into an active event space through an architectural lens.  The popularity around this discussion is clear as the third instalment of Taking Space unexpectedly sold out in under four hours.

Taking Space III was held in November 2023 and all ticket sales were by donation, a total of £598 was raised for the Magpie Project, in recognition that to be able-bodied and to take up space is a privilege many of us take for granted.

Taking Space has been supported by Newcastle University and is co-curated with Iona Morton.