Menopause Makes
Menopause Makes is an Arts Council England-funded community arts project exploring menopause through creativity, conversation and shared experience.
Running from June 2026 to June 2027, the project brings together people experiencing menopause - from peri to post, whether naturally or through medical treatment - alongside artists, community groups, friends, families and supporters across Coventry, Nuneaton and Warwickshire.
Through a programme of free creative workshops, participants are exploring lived experiences of menopause through textiles, photography, print, pattern, stitching, weaving, knitting, crochet, cyanotype, collage, movement and storytelling.
No previous artistic experience is needed. The emphasis is on making together, sharing experiences and creating space for conversations that are too often hidden or minimised.
The Giant Cardigan
At the centre of Menopause Makes is the creation of a giant walk-in patchwork cardigan installation, approximately five metres wide and up to four metres high.
The exterior will take the form of an oversized knitted and crocheted cardigan, created from patches and contributions made by individuals and community groups.
Inside, the lived experiences of menopause will be revealed through printed and painted fabrics, pattern, photography, cyanotype, stitched saris, words and personal stories.
Individual contributions will gradually come together to create a collective artwork - something visitors will eventually be able to walk inside, gather within and experience.
The images shown here include early visual mock-ups of how the final structure might develop. The finished cardigan will be shaped by the people who contribute to it, so its final appearance will evolve throughout the project.
Hot Flash Mob
Hot Flash Mob is the photography and image-making strand of Menopause Makes, developed with photographer Dr Jo Gane.
Through pinhole photography, collaborative self-portraiture, cyanotype and collage, participants are being invited to explore a simple question:
What does menopause look like?
Not the version we're usually shown - but your version.
The work explores visibility, identity, changing bodies, ageing, medicine, exhaustion, brain fog, domestic life, strength, joy and the many different realities of experiencing menopause.
A series of collaborative self-portraits will particularly focus on people currently experiencing perimenopause or menopause, creating a visual record of this often-overlooked stage of life.
Book here to attend -
Workshops & Community
Menopause Makes is being created through collaborations with artists, creative organisations and community groups across Coventry and Warwickshire.
Activities include print and pattern workshops and sari stitching with Rakha Madahar, photography and alternative photographic processes with Dr Jo Gane, weaving and embroidery, knitting and crochet, collage, creative conversations and eventually the construction of the giant cardigan itself.
The project is also working with community groups and organisations including the Menopause Support Group at The Grange Medical Centre, Saints Community Café, Nuneaton Gurdwara, Priory Visitor Centre/LTB Showrooms, Station Gallery, Coventry University and Imagineer Productions, with further partnerships continuing to develop.
Later stages of the project will include performance developed with Zoe Taal / Deleata Z, bringing aerial hoop and movement into conversation with the cardigan installation.
Exhibitions & Celebration
During spring and summer 2027, the individual contributions will come together as the giant cardigan is constructed and prepared for exhibition.
Exhibition and celebration activity is planned with Coventry University and Imagineer Productions at the Daimler Powerhouse, alongside further community exhibition opportunities as the project develops.
The finished installation will celebrate not one menopause story, but many — bringing together different generations, experiences, communities and creative voices.
Follow the Project & Get Involved
Menopause Makes is happening now, with workshops, calls for contributions and new opportunities being added throughout the project.
Follow @meno_makes on Instagram to see the cardigan developing, meet the artists and community groups involved, find upcoming free workshops and discover ways to contribute your own work or story.
Instagram: @meno_makes
https://www.instagram.com/meno_makes/
Whether you make a patch, attend a workshop, share a story, pose for a photograph or simply follow the journey, you can become part of Menopause Makes.
Every patch. Every story. Every voice.
