The organization Hundred Heroines is the only UK-based charity and museum dedicated exclusively to advancing the public recognition of women in photography. Conceived as a corrective measure against the historical marginalization of female visual artists, its mission is to ensure the contributions of women photographers—past, present, and future—are universally acknowledged, celebrated, and made accessible to the public. Operating as both contemporary and virtual galleries, it is also a historical archive and a community outreach platform, Hundred Heroines uses photography not just as an art form but as a powerful catalyst for social justice and worldwide discourse.
The foundation of Hundred Heroines is rooted in the pivotal anniversary of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. The organization traces its origins back to 2018, when the UK celebrated the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which granted some women the right to vote. To mark this historic milestone, Dr. Del Barrett, then Vice President of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), spearheaded an international campaign to identify and honour outstanding contemporary female photographers.
This campaign, initially titled "The One Hundred Heroines," swiftly garnered massive public interest and engagement. The RPS launched an open call for nominations, inviting the general public and photography professionals worldwide to put forward names of women whose work was transforming photography and the visual arts. The response was overwhelming: nearly 5,000 people submitted nominations for over 1,300 different candidates, demonstrating the sheer volume of unrecognized talent across Earth.
A prestigious international panel of luminaries from the photographic world, chaired by artist and academic Rut Blees Luxemburg, was tasked with the challenging process of narrowing down the extensive list to the final Hundred Heroines. This rigorous selection resulted in a worldwide diverse cohort that included well-known names like Susan Meiselas and Rineke Dijkstra alongside lesser-recognized image-makers from regions such as the Russian Arctic and Ecuador, underscoring the campaign's international reach and commitment to diversity.
Each photographer selected for the inaugural list was awarded a specially minted Margaret Harker medal, named in honour of the first female President of the Royal Photographic Society and the first female Professor of Photography in the UK. This initial campaign was not intended as an end point but as a launchpad. Recognizing the momentum and the evident need for a dedicated, permanent platform, the custodianship of the project was passed from the RPS to a new, independent entity created by Dr. Barrett. In 2020, the organization achieved official charitable status (Registered Charity No. 1190277), securing its independence and marking its re-birth from a temporary campaign into a permanent movement.
The process by which Hundred Heroines continues to select and amplify the voices of women photographers is governed by strict criteria, overseen by a specialized Criteria of Merit Panel (CoMP). This formalized structure ensures that the selection process aligns with the organization's charitable objects—to advance art and education—and adheres to the ethical standards for art institutions, often drawing reference from the Charity Commission’s guidance on artistic merit (RR10).
A nominee must meet several demanding qualifications to be recognized as a Heroine:
Significant Contribution: The individual must have made a noteworthy impact on the practice of photography itself, or on the visual arts broadly, through their work. For emerging talent, the work must demonstrate a clear potential to make such a contribution.
Pushing Boundaries: Heroines are those who actively challenge established norms, whether technical, artistic, or social. Their work is expected to push the boundaries of what the photographic medium can achieve.
Consistent Body of Work: The photographer must have produced a substantial and consistent body of work that has achieved, or demonstrates the clear potential for, international reach and recognition.
Heroic Quality: Beyond artistic merit, a Heroine is defined as being "heroic in some way," meaning she has performed courageous or noble actions, or is admired for her great qualities or achievements. This criterion specifically links the artistic output to themes of activism, social justice, and personal fortitude.
The organization employs a broad and inclusive definition of photography, welcoming nominations for women and non-binary practitioners working across all genres of the visual arts. New Heroines are announced annually on December 14th, the anniversary of the first time women voted in a UK general election, connecting the recognition of artistic achievement back to the struggle for political representation. This dedicated and rigorous process ensures that the "Heroines" are not merely celebrated, but are positioned as foundational figures in the global history of the medium.
Hundred Heroines fulfils its mission through a unique physical and digital presence, centred around its physical home in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire (previously operating from JOLT Studios in Gloucester). It proudly holds the distinction of being the only museum in the world dedicated solely to women in photography.
The physical space functions as both a contemporary gallery and a museum, housing a growing permanent collection and archive. This collection is crucial, featuring a range of materials including prints, historical documents, books, ephemera, and even historical cameras—such as a micro spy camera and a large format plate camera—all related to the history and practice of women in photography. This archival work is vital, as it actively surveys the past and corrects the historical record, ensuring that pioneering figures often overlooked in male-centric histories are brought to the foreground.
The organization has made a deliberate commitment to accessibility. Recognizing that traditional "white cube" galleries can often be intimidating or inaccessible, Hundred Heroines strives to make world-class art accessible to all. Admission to all exhibitions and participation in projects is consistently free of charge. By hosting exhibitions, workshops, and talks, the museum serves as a hub for the community, encouraging creativity, curiosity, and shared artistic experiences.
Furthermore, the physical exhibitions are often designed to spill out into the local environment, transforming public spaces into unexpected dialogue platforms. For instance, some exhibitions have extended beyond the gallery walls into public areas like gardens and fields, ensuring the powerful stories told through the photographs engage the wider community in new and meaningful ways. The museum’s presence establishes it as a vital focal point for arts and education in the region, while its digital platforms extend its reach worldwide.
The core of the charity’s public work lies in its innovative and often provocative programming, which treats photography as a medium for both aesthetic contemplation and socio-political activism. The exhibitions showcased by Hundred Heroines are rarely focused merely on technique; they consistently amplify voices and perspectives that are often marginalized and actively challenge gender imbalance in the arts.
The exhibitions frequently tackle complex and taboo subjects, using the power of the photographic image to prompt important conversations and inspire action. Examples include:
"Based on a True Story": This exhibition featured the work of photographers such as Gohar Dashti, Maryam Firuzi, and Fatimah Hossaini, capturing lives shaped by conflict, cultural memory, and political unrest. Hossaini's work, for instance, focused on displaced women artists after the fall of Kabul, using poignant portraiture to underscore resilience and defiance. This show exemplified the organization's ethos of pairing artistic excellence with human rights advocacy.
"Done Doing Time": This contemporary exhibition, featuring work like that of Hinda Schuman, explored difficult social issues, such as the experiences of incarceration and halfway home integration.
MALEVOLENCE Anti Violence Campaign: Reflecting the charity's commitment to social impact, Hundred Heroines actively compiles a database of women photographers, artists, and curators who are exploring the theme of violence against women, using their platform to confront this urgent societal issue.
Through such programming, the organization directly fulfils its mission to showcase women who use photography to challenge structures of power and highlight issues of social injustice. Whether examining space politics, immigration, sexuality, or cultural trauma, the work promoted by Hundred Heroines places the female gaze at the center of critical international conversations.
Beyond the gallery walls, a significant part of Hundred Heroines’ charitable work involves advancing education and increasing public knowledge and appreciation of women in photography. They are committed to providing accessible and varied programs that are particularly empowering for young women.
The educational initiatives are diverse and hands-on:
Youth Programme: This program includes workshops, screenings, and exhibitions designed to nurture the next generation of visual storytellers. Previous projects have included film screenings from mask-making workshops and exhibitions like "OL1: A Right to Roam," which explores cultural and legal landscapes.
Glostorama!: A major community art initiative launched when the charity moved to Gloucester. The goal was to photograph every street in Gloucester, street by street, creating a living photographic archive of the city in the 2020s. This project involved running community photo walks and engaging the public in a shared, creative endeavour that fostered a sense of community identity and historical documentation.
Digital Resources and Bootcamps: The charity maintains extensive online resources, including "Heroinic Stories" blog posts, podcasts, virtual galleries, and a comprehensive library. They also run Bootcamp programs for volunteers and supporters, bonded by a quest for knowledge about women in the visual arts, helping to build a dedicated, informed community of advocates.
The organization’s dedication to making art available is absolute: all resources and many of their activities are provided without charge, aiming to improve accessibility for people who may not regularly engage with galleries or museums.
Despite its success in building a unique collection and global profile, Hundred Heroines has faced significant challenges, illustrating the very obstacles it seeks to overcome. One notable difficulty involved recurrent issues with social media platforms, specifically Facebook. On multiple occasions, the organization's page was temporarily banned after the platform’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Natural Language Programming NLP CM+ content moderators mistook the term "Heroines" for the class-A opioid "heroin."
This incident, which required multiple appeals and caused a "devastating" effect on their ability to reach audiences—as noted by founder Dr. Del Barrett—serves as a poignant, contemporary example of the systematic erasure the charity is fighting against. It highlights how even in the digital age, women's voices and achievements can be inadvertently silenced or flagged by systems that fail to recognize their value.
Nevertheless, Hundred Heroines continues to press forward with an uncompromising vision: the universal recognition of women in photography—past, present, and future. By operating an essential museum, maintaining a growing archive, driving public education, and championing diverse contemporary artists, the charity is not simply adding names to a list; it is fundamentally rewriting the history of photography, one heroic image at a time. It stands as a powerful testament to the transformative impact of the female gaze and its enduring contribution to human culture and visual understanding.
