National Museum Of Women In The Arts Inc

Exhibitions: there's no place like homethe renovated building expanded nmwa's gallery space, adding structural capabilities and updated technology to enable impressive inaugural exhibitions. In the first-floor teresa lozano long gallery, the immersive video installation in focus: artists at work greets visitors and introduces nmwa's mission through the stories of eight contemporary women artists in nmwa's collection. In short, powerful videos, ambreen butt, sonya clark, colette fu, the guerrilla girls, graciela iturbide, delita martin, rania matar, and alison saar describe their artistic practices in their own words, affording viewers an intimate understanding of the work. In may, the video series, which is also available on youtube, was named a 2024 webby awards honoree, reaching an even wider audience.contemporary sculpture took center stage in the sky's the limit. Visitors were enthralled by large-scale works that dangled from the ceiling and cascaded down walls. This dramatic exhibition would not have been possible in the building before its renovation: new infrastructure allows curators more flexibility in planning installations. The sky's the limit debuted several collection works never before exhibited at nmwa, including a 164-foot-long abstract photograph by mariah robertson, a sparkling, subtly shimmying sculpture by beatriz milhazes, and a showstopping chandelier by joana vasconcelos that combines crocheted wool and murano glass.on the fourth floor, within the gloria and dan logan learning commons, the brand-new maryross taylor galleries featured three exhibitions focused on key strengths in nmwa's collection:- hung liu: making history presented liu's poignant "weeping realist" portraits, through works on paper and major paintings.- holding ground: artists' books for the national museum of women in the arts highlighted nine new works by celebrated book artists.- impressive: antoinette bouzonnet-stella featured a fascinating series of twenty-five classical prints by the seventeenth-century french artist.visitors enjoyed the brand-new galleries-more space dedicated to nmwa's mission-as well as the breadth of these exhibitions."even for a correspondent with a keen interest in feminist art history, nmwa's inaugural shows are a revelation." sarah cascone for artnetin the third-floor galleries, the ongoing collection installation remix presents familiar favorites and never-before exhibited works. A joyous life-sized sculpture by niki de saint phalle, pregnant nana (1995), greets visitors as they enter. The new floor plan features extended sightlines and open niches: gallery-goers can catch a long-distance glimpse of deborah butterfield's large-scale horse sculpture big horn (2006); spend time with arresting portraits by delita martin, may stevens, and gwen john; and delve into nmwa's wide-ranging collection of photography by rania matar, berenice abbott, and yevonde, among many others. Guests enjoy discovering connections among artworks in thematic groupings, in some cases anchored by a medium and in others by a shared hue or idea.meanwhile, thirteen other nmwa works traveled to special exhibitions around the world, sharing the museum's holdings with new audiences. Lavinia fontana's portrait of costanza alidosi (ca. 1595) featured in exhibitions at the national gallery of ireland, art gallery of ontario, and baltimore museum of art. Louise abbma's painting a game of croquet (1872) traveled to muse marmottan monet in paris, in an exhibition-coinciding with the summer olympics in paris-that explored the visual history of sports.a whole new worldin april, new worlds: women to watch 2024 opened to great fanfare. It was the largest iteration of the signature exhibition series, a dynamic collaboration between nmwa and its national and international outreach committees. New worlds featured twenty-eight women artists from around the globe whose works envisioned new realities, responding to a world transformed by a global pandemic, advocacy for social reform, and political division."it's hard to think of a finer example of the museum's execution of its . . . Role as the first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts than new worlds." brian p. Kelly for the wall street journalprogramming convened artists and engaged our audience to illuminate the exhibition:- six virtual artist panel discussions, open exclusively to members, featured twenty-four new worlds artists. Nearly 400 members attended the programs.- at a nmwa nights bash in may, attendees wore costumes inspired by the exhibition's theme.over the two-day committee conference coinciding with the exhibition's opening, 110 representatives from twenty-five of the museum's thirty-one national and international outreach committees came together at nmwa. Members toured new worlds and the newly renovated building; exchanged ideas during panels focusing on programming, fundraising, and advocacy; networked with each other and nmwa stakeholders; and attended receptions at the residences of the french and british ambassadors. The formal conference program concluded with the opening reception of new worlds.

Curatorial, library, and publications:collectionduring nmwa's landmark reopening year, nearly one hundred acquisitions strengthened the museum's collection. In addition to the selections featured here, highlights include photographs by berenice abbott, renee cox, ann hamilton, marta mara prez bravo, and gillian wearing; works on paper by corita kent and nellie mae rowe; a painting by hung liu; and a sculpture by deborah butterfield. These works of art, donated by longtime patrons and new friends, will delight visitors and bolster nmwa's programming in the months and years to come.the museum's collection grew by 97 works during the recent year: 87 photographs, 4 prints, 3 drawings, 1 painting, 1 sculpture, and 1 mixed-media work.the popular fresh talk series returned with three forward-thinking conversations. "digital futures" featured artists and creators who specialize in digital art and currency. "conscious creators," in tandem with nmwa's annual makers' market, focused on ethical production and sustainability by artists, business owners, and creators. "influence and collecting" featured collectors discussing gender equity in private and public collections.january brought the debut of a lively and popular new monthly late-hours series, nmwa nights, which features activities and activations throughout the museum. Each evening featured a guiding theme, appearances and events from community partners, music, art-making, creative cocktails and mocktails, and spotlight conversations in the galleries. In total, more than 1,860 attendees enjoyed the lively energy of each sold-out event. Partnerships and highlights-drag kings, djs, a pop-up library, a clothing swap, and more-have surprised and delighted nmwa nights attendees.in the beautifully redesigned betty boyd dettre library and research center (lrc), staff welcomed nearly 4,000 visitors to browse the collections, including 25,000 books and print resources. The busy year featured scholarship and public engagement:- twenty-eight people booked special research visits, and the lrc fulfilled 191 reference requests.- the collection continued to grow with 160 new acquisitions, including books, zines, artists' books, and other publications.- curated book displays celebrate special exhibitions and the collection.the public engaged with library resources through tours and special programs. Lrc staff hosted special tours for visitors from the smithsonian advisory board, bainbridge island museum of art, museo nacional de arte de catalua, the district of columbia library association, and george washington university, among others. During the reopening celebrations, women writers from ars poetica wrote personalized typewriter poems for attendees. Programs throughout the year featured holding ground book artists, and a pop-up collaboration with black art library was a highlight of february's nmwa nights event.laying it all onlinenmwa's digital platforms amplified our art and programs to audiences near and far. In the recent year:- the website received 1.2 million visits from 860,400 users, a more than 60% increase from the previous year.- the percentage of digital users from washington, d.c., increased by 287% as local audiences planned their visits.- nmwa's social media posts received 8.7 million impressions across instagram, facebook, and x (formerly twitter).- nmwa's instagram account gained 18,451 followers, and the museum's new tiktok account garnered 50,000 views across fifteen videos.guests and partner institutions alike joined in for a celebratory social media campaign, #nmwanow. Upon the museum's reopening, nmwa held a photo contest inviting visitors to post images using the hashtag, which is now an evergreen tag for patrons to share their visits. Additional social media collaborations included partnerships with the national gallery of art, life magazine, metropolitan museum of art, new-york historical society, and international spy museum.meanwhile, the museum's popular virtual programs- refined in recent years and beloved by far-flung nmwa fan -continued to welcome participants from around the world. Highlights included programs tailored to educators as well as broad audiences:- in july 2023, 265 educators attended the museum's fourth annual virtual educator summer camp. Campers represented twenty-two states, washington, d.c., and seven countries including australia, bahrain, bermuda, canada, mexico, qatar, and spain. Across six sessions, educators and guest artists introduced participants to historical and contemporary women artists and enjoyed experimental making and close looking.- audiences adored nmwa's longstanding art chat series, which held seventeen events with 470 total attendees.in 2024, nmwa's #5womenartists campaign focused on disability activism and advocacy in the arts. The museum's social media channels featured local organizations centering accessibility, collection artists who have experienced a form of disability, and artists who engage in disability activism. Local photographer sophie lasher took over nmwa's instagram account to tour the museum from the perspective of a visitor with autism and adhd. On the blog, art historians who research accessibility in art history and design shared their work. The 2024 #5womenartists campaign reached an estimated 33 million people, with 626,000 interactions and 3,911 mentions.

Education & public programs:after a two-year, top-to-bottom renovation, the museum's transformed building opened to the public on saturday, october 21, 2023. To ring in the occasion, the open-house weekend featured celebratory events including poetry, music, dance, and art-making. Over the opening days, our new visitor services team greeted more than 2,250 guests-who were awed by the reimagined space-and the weekend's energy set the tone for a lively, busy year of art and programs.the women, arts, and social change (wasc) public programs initiative also debuted new series and restarted signature favorites, welcoming more than 3,320 audience members across eighteen events. Creative's keynote, a new guest-speaker program celebrating high-achieving artists and creatives, featured british art historian katy hessel in november and curator cecilia alemani in march. Alemani talked about her experience curating the 2022 venice biennale, which included an unprecedented number of women and nonbinary artists. Discussing recent strides and struggles in efforts to advance gender equity in the arts, she said, "we should be grateful for the work that museums [like nmwa] do for our society." guests enjoyed the programs in nmwa's upgraded, completely refurbished mars performance hall, which features plush seats and state-of-the-art technology.