The portrayal of women, and how women portray themselves, was a major theme in the Renoir and the New Era exhibition. Taking this theme as a jumping off point the curator Anna Liesching invited artist and activist Emma Campbell to run a two week reading group as part of the Reimagine, Remake, Replay initiative. RRR is National Museums NI’s youth engagement programme which aims to connect young people and museum collections in meaningful ways through creative media and the latest technologies.

Participants were provided with a selection of readings that looked at women’s freedom in public space at the time of the Impressionists, reflected on women artists and the feminist art movement. Over two online evening sessions the group discussed the readings, looking at Renoir’s a Loge and the prints by Berthe Morisot in the exhibition while making their own reflections, all facilitated by Emma. The online event lead to some insightful and personal topics of conversation, possibly more explorative than they would have been in a formal gallery environment. Many participants said the event was personally important to them, and timely, because of recent events concerning women’s space in the world. They were then asked to respond to the sessions in whichever medium they chose.

You can find the responses, including zines, blogs, poems and artworks, on the Reimagine, Remake, Replay website.