A Box of One’s Own showcases the transformative gift of the archives and artworks from the multisite, cross-cultural exhibition project, Women Beyond Borders. Women Beyond Borders was founded by UCSB alum, Lorraine Serena (B.A. ’63, M.F.A. ‘75) in 1991. The project started with a small wooden box (measuring 3 1/2 by 2 by 2 1/2 inches) and an enticing invitation to women around the world—to transform this small container to one's liking. More than 900 people across 50 countries accepted it. The exhibition explores how Women Beyond Borders fostered experimental spaces for doing-it-oneself and doing-it-together, highlighted artistic media often dismissed for being in the realm of women, and challenged—through feminist practice and collectivity—hurdles for artistic freedom and expression in a wide array of geopolitical contexts.

A Box of One’s Own: Women Beyond Borders is organized by the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara and is curated by Letícia Cobra Lima, UCSB History of Art & Architecture Ph.D. candidate. 

Image: Jenny Marketou, Amazons of the Next Millennium (1996), 2023.005.160, Women Beyond Borders Art Collection founded by Lorraine Serena, the Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara