Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition

A new exhibition about the women who reshaped punk is about to be unveiled at the Museum of Youth Culture. From this Friday (October 23) onwards, rare and previously unseen artwork, photography, fashion and archives celebrating the punk rocker Poly Styrene will be open to the public.

Women who changed the punk
Written by: Phoebe Hennell
Photography: courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture

The exhibition forms part of the inaugural UP YOURS! GOD SAVE THE QUEENS festival, a new London-wide programme running from July to November 2026. Alongside the exhibition, the festival has so far included a live performance “God Save The Queens – 50 Years of She-Punk”, featuring a newly formed supergroup of pioneering musicians from The Slits, X-Ray Spex and The Raincoats last Friday at Electric Brixton.

The Museum of Youth Culture opened its doors in June this year, founded by Jon Swinstead, as a spinout of his cult “post-drug culture” mag Sleazenation that used to be handed out for free to clubbers in the 1990s.

Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect at the exhibition.

Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (1 of 8)

Poly Styrene fronted X-Ray Spex and became one of the most distinctive voices of British punk, with her braces, bright clothes and lyrics about consumerism and identity. The exhibition brings together material that shows how she, and the women around her, reshaped what punk could look and sound like.

Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (2 of 8)
Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (3 of 8)
Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (4 of 8)
Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (5 of 8)
Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (6 of 8)
Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (7 of 8)
Women who changed punk: Museum of Youth Culture’s new exhibition, photo by courtesy of the Museum of Youth Culture (8 of 8)

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