This summer, BOXPARK Shoreditch is home to one of London’s boldest and most unforgettable exhibitions. STEFDIES With Friends: THE AUDACITY – The Female Gaze & Taking Up Space is the kind of show that doesn’t just hang art on walls. It sprawls across the floor, invites you to lie down, laugh, stretch, and feel. 

Curated by renowned photographic performance artist Stephanie Leigh Rose (aka STEFDIES), this powerful group exhibition features 21 female-identifying artists claiming space in every way that matters.

Here are 5 reasons you’ll love THE AUDACITY – and why you need to see it before it closes on 27 July.

1. It showcases unapologetic female talent

Every single artist featured in THE AUDACITY is female-identifying, UK-based, and fiercely individual. From raw portraiture to satirical collage and tactile textiles, this exhibition celebrates voices that have too often been overlooked or silenced – and they’re not asking permission to be here. Expect bold, brave, deeply personal work from emerging artists and established names alike, unified by a shared mission: to take up space unapologetically.

2. It’s not just art – it’s a whole experience

Forget passive gallery viewing. THE AUDACITY is alive with daily events that turn BOXPARK into a feminist creative playground. Think yoga and massage pop-ups, kids’ art workshops, live painting, and even mother-and-baby mornings. Whether you’re here to stretch, scribble, connect or just recharge, the programme invites all bodies and all energy levels to take part.

3. The opening performance was literally groundbreaking

This isn’t just another exhibition opening – it launched with a mass ‘die-in’ on Shoreditch High Street, where all 21 artists (plus STEFDIES herself) lay face-down in performance protest. Funny, moving, and wildly theatrical, the act became a visual metaphor for female resistance and visibility. That’s the spirit of this show: radical, tongue-in-cheek, and deeply human.

4. It reclaims the female gaze

From subversive self-portraits to emotionally resonant textile works, THE AUDACITY flips the script on how women are seen and how we see ourselves. This is the female gaze turned inward, outward, and sideways. It’s personal and political. It’s messy and precise. And it’s often hilariously self-aware. The result is art that doesn’t pander – it invites, provokes, and dares.

5. It’s the start of something bigger

Curator STEFDIES describes THE AUDACITY as ‘a big, loud invitation to take up space without apology’ – but it’s also just the beginning. This exhibition is the first under The Audacity banner, with plans for artist residencies, mentorships, and future shows. In a world that tells women to shrink, this show expands – with humour, heart, and a healthy disregard for the rules.

THE AUDACITY runs until 27 July 2025 at BOXPARK Shoreditch.
Free Entry | Open daily | Full events calendar online.
Come for the art. Stay for the audacity.

Hear more here