First Women UK: An exhibition celebrating 100 pioneering 21st century women is complete after a decade
Portraits of 100 pioneering 21st century women will be displayed together as part of a project that took a decade to complete.
In First Women UK, reportage and portrait photographer Anita Corbin has captured those who have been the first women to reach a certain position or achievement in their professional field.
The exhibition, taking place at the Royal College of Arts this summer, marks the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act.
From the world of sport, the list includes the likes of Nicola Adams OBE, who was the first woman to win British Olympic and European Games boxing gold medals, and Kelly Gallagher, the first woman to win a Winter Paralympic gold for Britain.
Political pioneers include First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, who was the first woman to hold the position, and Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.
Among the arts innovators are Rachel Whiteread, the first woman to win the Turner Prize, and Josie Rourke, the first woman to be made artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse.
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Public sector pioneers Dany Cotton, the first woman commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, and Col. Lucy Giles, the first female commander of RMA Sandhurst.
Corbin has been documenting the lives of women since the 1980s, beginning with her series of informal portraits of young women, entitled Visible Girls. She has since worked as a photographer for a number of publications including ELLE and The Observer.
Anita Corbin: First Women UK runs from July 20 - August 22 2018. For more information visit 1stwomenuk.co.uk
