Art She Crafted exhibition at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

HAPPENING 16 JAN–27 SEP '26 | A new exhibition at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam puts women’s creative work at the centre of art and cultural history. Art She Crafted: The Power of Women in Arts and Culture.

_{Image: April Bey, I Grew It Myself and It Was a Brilliant Blue, De Bahama's, 2022 © Michelle Muus Fotografie}

What's Art She Crafted about?

Art She Crafted is framed as a wider look at who gets remembered in art history, and who gets left out when access to money, space, training and recognition is uneven. The exhibition describes art history as shaped by power and opportunity, rather than a neutral timeline of styles.

You can expect a multidisciplinary presentation that moves between ancient and contemporary stories, and between named makers and collective traditions where women preserved knowledge, rituals and identity without individual credit. 

The opening was marked on 15 January 2026 by Rotterdam mayor Carola Schouten, with a show curated by guest curator Rajae El Mouhandiz, bringing together art, fashion, photography and design from across time and continents.

Mayor Carola Schouten opens Art She Crafted in Rotterdam

The museum’s opening moment came with a clear message from the mayor, focused on filling knowledge gaps and broadening the stories Rotterdam chooses to highlight.

“I wholeheartedly welcome any initiative that helps close this knowledge gap. By giving talented women from the past and present the platform they deserve, we celebrate and honour their achievements. And as a city and as a society, we can expand our knowledge and adjust our view. We can create space for inclusion and equality. We show our children that anyone, regardless of background, gender or ethnicity, can excel in any field, even if your efforts do not immediately receive the recognition you hoped for.” — Carola Schouten, burgemeester Rotterdam

Art She Crafted expands art history

One of the exhibition’s starting points is the idea that women have long shaped culture as makers, patrons, collectors, innovators and pioneers, even when their contributions were not recorded in the same way as men’s. The press materials point to figures with political and spiritual power who influenced art and knowledge production, including the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut and Empress Wu Zetian in China’s Tang dynasty.

The exhibition also highlights women who shifted modern visual culture and fashion on a global stage, including Baya Mahieddine and designer Hanae Mori, described as the first Asian designer admitted to the Chambre syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris in 1977.

Artists showcased include Sophia Kacimi, April Bey, Fong Leng, Malak Mattar, Naqsh Collective, Simone Rocha, Jeanne Lanvin, Yasmin Mansour, Amina Agueznay, Amrita Sher-Gil, Rei Kawakubo, Shirin Neshat, Safia Farhat, Singh Twins, Saida Bennoude Azzabi, Esma Yigitoglu, Laila Shawa, Baya Mahieddine, Dora Maar and Hanae Mori, with many more makers referenced from places including Tonga, Mexico and the Amazon region.

From left to right: Hanae Mori, Safia Farhat, Jeanne Lanvin © Michelle Muus Fotografie

The exhibition links Rotterdam to today’s global makers

Alongside historical figures, Art She Crafted is presented as responding to what El Mouhandiz calls a contemporary renaissance, where a younger generation of women bring tradition and innovation together. The show references artists and designers working with textile, embroidery and photography, including April Bey, Sophia Kacimi, Joana Choumali, Rei Kawakubo and Malak Mattar.

“Art She Crafted shows that women were not merely depicted in art, they helped shape it. This exhibition brings their stories together and highlights a global legacy that is far older, broader and richer than we often assume.” - Rajae El Mouhandiz, guest curator

 

The exhibition’s approach is deliberately wide: it places individual, well-documented careers next to forms of making that were often collective and unnamed, such as Palestinian tatreez embroidery and Shipibo ceramics from Peru. The through-line is simple: women’s creativity is treated as a constant force, shaped by social conditions, and visible across materials, regions and eras.

Malak Mattar, When the World Sleeps, Palestina, 2021 © Michelle Muus Fotografie

Directions to Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

Art She Crafted: The Power of Women in Arts and Culture is on view at World Museum Rotterdam (Wereldmuseum Rotterdam) from 16 January to 27 September 2026. 

Wereldmuseum Rotterdam sits on the river at Willemskade, right next to the Erasmus Bridge. The easiest route is metro to Leuvehaven or Wilhelminaplein, then a short walk along the water towards the bridge. Coming from Rotterdam Centraal? Take metro line D or E to Leuvehaven, or hop on tram 7 to Willemsplein and walk the last stretch past the skyline views.