THE OVERLOOKED BODY PHASE 1

The exhibition is closed until 18 June 2026 when a new exhibition – The Overlooked Body, phase two – opens.  

The Overlooked Body challenges conventional understandings of medical research. The exhibition highlights a central yet often overlooked issue: that biological female bodies have been marginalised in medical research for decades. But what does this mean – and how do gender inequalities in medical research affect us today?

The first part of the exhibition opened on 22 January 2025 and was on display for the rest of the year. The second part opens in June 2026.

A highly topical issue

Through close collaboration with researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, the Science Museums address a highly topical issue. Based on the latest research, the exhibition poses questions such as:

• Why has the male body historically been treated as the medical norm?
• What are the consequences for diagnosis and treatment when other bodies are not taken into account?
• Which diseases and organs have been overlooked – and how can, and do, we work to change this?
• Why do we not already know more about this?

The exhibition has been created in collaboration with artists, visitors, researchers and, not least, young people. Through workshops, they are given the opportunity to shape the exhibition’s future content and to develop reflections based on their own curious questions.

A collaboration with researchers and artists

Associate Professor Felicity Mae Davis from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University leads the project. With support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and an interdisciplinary team of researchers and artists, the project aims to communicate complex medical research to a broad audience. By integrating art and research, the exhibition creates a sensory experience that can engage everyone – regardless of prior knowledge – with the questions at its core. She says:

“We are facing a genuine challenge: why are male bodies still the norm in medical research? Endometriosis, women’s pain, and even basic conversations about contraception have been overlooked for years. The Overlooked Body gives a voice to what has been neglected and challenges us all to think in new ways.”

An exhibition in two phases

The first part of the exhibition opened on 22 January 2025 and remained on view until the end of the year. It consisted of a smaller exhibition with three concrete case studies that laid the foundation for further reflection. Here, school pupils, researchers and artists met in a dynamic workshop environment to collectively create content for the larger and final exhibition opening in June 2026.

Why co‑creation?

Exhibitions of the future should be created together with their target audiences. When pupils take part in co‑creative processes, it strengthens their engagement, critical thinking and sense of citizenship. And together, we all learn more.

Contact

Do you have questions? Please contact us directly at: sm@au.dk