Exhibition showcases pioneering women in science
09/08/2026Many women have made a significant contribution to science – yet their achievements have often been overlooked. The travelling exhibition ‘Versäumte Bilder’, which opens at JMU on 17 September, shines a light on such women.
The exhibition features AI-generated portraits of female scientists and pioneers, of whom there are often no surviving representative depictions.
The communication designer and science photographer Gesine Born has created the portraits based on historical sources, biographical information and – where possible – in consultation with relatives of the women portrayed. The images are visual interpretations of figures who were never honoured with a painted or photographic portrait during their lifetimes. They invite us to reflect on gaps in historical records and forms of recognition.
Barbara Thein: A Würzburg native with a spirit of innovation
A distinctive feature of the travelling exhibition is that it grows with each venue: every host institution conducts research into its own history to identify a female researcher or innovator whose achievements have so far received little recognition. Based on this research, Gesine Born creates a new ‘missing portrait’, which permanently expands the travelling exhibition and travels on to the next venue.
The Würzburg University Archives and the Office of the Women’s Representative have selected Barbara Thein (1775–1842) for this purpose. She was the first woman for whom there is evidence of having carried out academic work at the University of Würzburg – at a time when, with very few exceptions, women were strictly excluded from universities, academia and education.
Barbara Thein, too, was not officially enrolled. She worked in Joseph Bonavita Blank’s natural history collection, where she carried out remarkable work. Her duties included taxidermy and the repair of specimens. In doing so, she developed her own methods; her particular skills in taxidermy using ethyl alcohol are documented in writing.
Barbara Thein was notpaid by the university, but by Blank – with money he set aside from his own salary. When the researcher handed over his collection to the university in 1804, he attached a condition: an annual salary, to be paid by the university, for his assistant. However, the university ignored this demand for more than ten years.
Since 2023, the path leading from the Hubland-Süd campus to the Schönstatt Centre has been named after Barbara Thein. The University Archives honours this innovator with an article on its website.
Further portraits of female researchers
Alongside Barbara Thein, the travelling exhibition in Würzburg features 16 further portraits of innovative women, compiled by Gesine Born in collaboration with various universities and research institutions in Germany.
Anyone wishing to attend the exhibition opening on Thursday, 17 September 2026, at 6.00 pm, in the Forum of the university building at Wittelsbacherplatz 1, must register via the online form .
Among those featured are, for example, the astronomer Maria Margareta Winkelmann-Kirch (1670–1720), whose portrait was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, and the urban sociologist Erika Spiegel (1925–2017). Her portrait was commissioned by the Schader Foundation.
Funding scheme ‘Focus on Innovative Women’
The project ‘Travelling Exhibition: Missing Images’ is funded under the ‘Focus on Innovative Women’ funding guidelines by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The aim is to enhance the visibility of women in science, research and innovation.
The travelling exhibition highlights omissions from the past and stimulates a societal dialogue on equal opportunities, the culture of remembrance and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. As a sub-project of the overarching initiative ‘Focus on Innovative Women’, it also builds on the findings and measures from the projects funded under this funding scheme, making them accessible to a wider audience.
“My great dream is that it will inspire – and that institutes will now look through their archives to see which women are not visible. There are women in science who really do not have a single photograph – at most, a passport photo in their personnel file. But to me, that is not a representative portrait.”
Gesine Born, science communicator
Visiting the exhibition
The exhibition can be seen from 17 September to 26 October 2026 in Würzburg, in the Forum of the university building at Wittelsbacherplatz 1. It is aimed at a wide audience and invites visitors to re-examine questions of visibility, representation and recognition.
Via QR codes in the exhibition, visitors can delve deeper into the life stories of the women portrayed and learn more about how the AI-generated portraits were created.
The travelling exhibition’s website, https://wanderausstellung-versäumte-bilder.de, also offers a permanently accessible digital gallery featuring all the portraits, as well as background information on the project. It also presents interesting facts on the topics of gender equality, socially responsible AI and women in science and innovation.
Travelling exhibition: "Versäumte Bilder"
17 September to 26 October 2026
University building at Wittelsbacherplatz 1
97074 Würzburg
The venue is accessible to all.
Opening hours:
Summer break (until Friday 9 October 2026)
Monday–Thursday from 7.00 am to 4.00 pm
Friday from 7.00 am to 1.00 pm
Term time (from Monday, 12 October 2026)
Monday–Friday from 7.00 am to 9.00 pm
Admission is free.
Further information on the travelling exhibition
https://www.innovative-frauen-im-fokus.de/wanderausstellung/
Website for the travelling exhibition
https://wanderausstellung-versäumte-bilder.de
Contact
Travelling exhibition at the Würzburg campus:
Natalie Nikolaus
Office of the Women’s Representative, University of Würzburg
T +49 931 31-83568
natalie.nikolaus@uni-wuerzburg.de
Project Coordination & Communication for the Travelling Exhibition: ‘Missed Images’
Dr Sibylle Schmidt
Meta-project “Focus on Innovative Women” (meta-IFiF)
Centre of Excellence for Technology, Diversity and Equal Opportunities e. V.
T +49 521 92278827
schmidt@meta-ifif.de
www.innovative-frauen-im-fokus.de
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