It’s getting more and more common for museums to allow visitors to touch items on display. At “From the Desk of Simone de Beauvoir,” you can get your hands on everything. The National Museum of Women in the Arts’ installation celebrating the French feminist writer “has a participatory element to it,” says Sarah Osborne Bender, director of the museum’s Library and Research Center. “We’re playing visitors at her desk, in her apartment.” Museum-goers can sit in the chair, pick up the phone and riffle through materials that not only represent de Beauvoir’s past, but also show her impact on modern feminism.
1. The vibe
The installation isn’t an exact replica of de Beauvoir’s Paris studio, Osborne Bender says, but is meant to evoke the spirit of the writer’s space. “She was surrounded by all the materials she read and wrote,” she says.
2. The abundance
De Beauvoir, who died in 1986 at age 78, was no expert at decluttering, especially when it came to her desk. “She literally had removed the drawers to pack in more material,” Osborne Bender says.
3. The works
Among the papers are reproductions of handwritten essays that eventually became “The Second Sex” (1949), de Beauvoir’s most significant work. Also included are others’ works that show her impact on feminism through the years, including writings by Kate Millett and an issue of Bust magazine.
4. The conversation
Embracing de Beauvoir’s fondness for photographs, the exhibit features a bulletin board covered with pictures of people sharing how she has shaped their lives. Visitors can add to it by tweeting thoughts and photos with the hashtag #BeauvoirSays; museum staff will print them out and add them to the board. “[The photos] are really continuing the conversation about the impact she had on people all over the world,” Osborne Bender says.
National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW; through June 2, $10.
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