Florence Schechter is the founder of the Vagina Museum and was director from 2017 to 2024.[1] She is also a consultant, science communicator, and public speaker.[2] Her debut book, V: An Empowering Celebration of the Vulva and Vagina, was published by Penguin Random House in March 2023.[3]
Early life and education
Schechter's father is Klezmer musician Grigori Schechter.[4] She graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2014 with a BSc in Biochemistry.[5][6]
Prior to the Vagina Museum, she interned at the BBC show QI.[7]
Vagina Museum
Visitors at the Vagina Museum exhibition Muff Busters - Vagina Myths and How to Fight Them
In 2017, Schechter founded the Vagina Museum[8] after discovering that there was a penis museum in Iceland, but no vagina equivalent anywhere in the world.[9] She was the Vagina Museum's Director from 2017 to 2024.[1] The first ever fundraising event was held at Unit 5 Gallery, London in May 2017.[10] The first pop up exhibition was held in August 2017 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The following year, it toured an exhibition around the UK called Is Your Vagina Normal?.[11]
The Vagina Museum opened its first semi-permanent location in Camden Market with the inaugural exhibition Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How to Fight Them,[12] opening on 16 November 2019.[13][14] To open the museum, a fundraising campaign was held which raised almost £50,000.[15] In 2021, the Vagina Museum closed its doors in Camden Market after the landlords refused to renew the lease in their unit.[16][17][18] The Vagina Museum reopened in its second location in March 2022[19][20] in ENTER, a venue located in Bethnal Green.[21] The museum then opened in its long-term location in two railway arches in Bethnal Green after a crowdfunding campaign that raised over £85,000.
The museum is dedicated to being trans-inclusive.[22]
On 11 October 2022, it was announced that Penguin would be publishing Schechter's debut book V: An Empowering Celebration of the Vulva and Vagina.[28] The book was published in March 2023 and is illustrated by Nadia Akingbule.[29] The book is suitable for ages 14+. As part of the marketing campaign, she went on tour to Cheltenham Science Festival, Surgeons' Hall Museum,[30]Burgh House,[31] and Conway Hall.[32]
Schechter is currently signed with United Agents.[33]
In 2024, she published a guide for the museums sector called "So You Want to Build a Museum".[37]
Public speaking
Schechter has been working in the science communication sector since 2016, mostly based around biology.[38] She has written and presented a number of podcasts for Chemistry World, podcast of the Royal Society of Chemistry,[39] and for the BBC's Boring Talks.[40]
In 2019, Schechter performed her debut show "Queer by Nature" at Vaults Festival,[41] all about same sex sexual behaviour in animals.[42][43]
