Gender equality globally has progressed over the last decades: More girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to advance gender equality. Despite these gains, many challenges remain.*

In this exhibition, the fifth-year art students in Loreto High School Beaufort explore the theme ‘Girlhood’, in the context of their own personal lives. Their work was created in collaboration with the artist Dragana Jurišić and supported by their art teacher Clare Bowe. Each artist brought their own unique perspective to a collaborative interpretation of the theme. Jurišić provided artistic guidance and empowered the students to explore their individuality. Jurišić says:

They explored girlhood and the gender stereotypes that often limit aspirations and self-expression in teenage girls. Today, young girls are bombarded with conflicting ideas about who they are supposed to be and what they should value, causing confusion and insecurity. Exploration of this topic will hopefully be empowering to the participants and enhance self-confidence and self-awareness.

The Pearse Museum has strong connections with the history of Irish education and Ireland’s struggle for political autonomy. Loreto Beaufort is also proud of its own history in educating girls which dates back to the seventeenth century and the foundation of the Loreto Order by Mary Ward. In the 1820s, Frances Teresa Ball set up the first Irish Loreto school here in Rathfarnham. Working in the face of great prejudice, the movement these women began has spread to all five continents and has educated many thousands of girls.

This project was supported by WorldWise Global Schools 2023-24 and Loreto High School Beaufort.