Between Women takes images made by the photographer Franki Raffles from her base in Edinburgh during the 1980s and 1990s as a starting point to explore relationships between gender, labour, education, care and activism in photography since the 1950s in Scotland and internationally.

Raffles’ photographs appear alongside images by Sylvia Grace Borda, Sandra George, Carolyn Scott and Niu Weiyu which examine how gender is produced and reproduced through workplaces, housing and healthcare (particularly schools, playgrounds and nurseries) across both urban and rural landscapes.

These photographs highlight the possibilities for solidarity between women in sites and spaces spanning the local and the global, but also the importance of recognising differences and intersectional identities that account for the constructs of gender, race and class in activism and organising.

Between Women is curated by Vivian K. Sheng and Catherine Spencer, with support from the St Andrews Impact and Innovation Fund. With thanks to the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums, Edinburgh Napier University, Franki Raffles Estate, Craigmillar Now, Gaofan Photography Museum, Sylvia Grace Borda and Carolyn Scott.

The exhibition will tour between Monday 17th and Friday 21st February 2025 and venues will be added to our Tour Dates page as they are confirmed.

IMAGE: Franki Raffles, Propaganda wall, ‘Healthy babies, Healthy Children make China Strong’ with people on bicycles on the foreground, October 1984 – February 1985, digital scan from negative © Franki Raffles Estate, all rights reserved. Courtesy of the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums and Edinburgh Napier University, ID: 2014-4-T-CT064.