Women in the Arts Summer 2024

DEAR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS,

It has been a pleasure to see NMWA’s renewed building filled with art, discovery, and celebrations in recent months.

In April, we opened New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 the seventh in our committee-supported Women to Watch series and just the second new exhibition since NMWA’s renovation—and hosted our annual Spring Gala. Thanks to all who attended and enjoyed the festivities in support of our mission! In May, the first season of our after-hours series, NMWA Nights, culminated with a sold-out crowd who arrived in “new worlds”-themed costumes and delighted in art and performances.

This issue’s cover article highlights another fresh installation, the second season of artist-spotlight films entitled “In Focus: Artists at Work.” This immersive theater experience greets visitors upon entry, transporting them into contemporary artists’ studios. Introducing artists whose work is on view in NMWA’s galleries, the short films of “In Focus” exemplify the museum’s mission. Through ambitious projects such as this one, we support today’s artists by sharing their voices and the distinct stories behind their work.

Audiences adored the first four featured “In Focus” films from October through mid-May, and the second season has been extended through April 2025. The new installation includes films on artists Ambreen Butt, Sonya Clark, Colette Fu, and Graciela Iturbide. Viewers will travel to destinations such as Philadelphia, as Fu rollerblades to the studio where she creates large-scale pop-up books, and Mexico City, where Iturbide reflects on her decades as a photographer. If you can’t come to NMWA to experience these films in our tri-screen gallery, please visit us on YouTube to enjoy them wherever you are!

Don’t miss all that the museum has to offer this summer— as always, this is possible thanks to you, our members and supporters.

CHAMPION WOMEN THROUGH THE ARTS

MUSEUM INFORMATION 1250 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005

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ADMISSION

NMWA Members free, Adults $16, D.C. residents $13, Visitors 70 and over $13, Visitors 21 and under free, Visitors with disabilities plus one free; Active-duty military and qualifying family members visit free May 18–September 1

Free Community Days are the first Sundays and second Wednesdays of every month.

WOMEN IN THE ARTS Summer 2024 Volume 42, no. 2

Women in the Arts is a publication of the National Museum of Women in the Arts®

DIRECTOR

Susan Fisher Sterling

EDITOR

Elizabeth Lynch

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Alicia Gregory

DESIGN

Studio A, Alexandria, VA

For advertising rates and information, call 202-266-2814 or email elynch@nmwa.org

Women in the Arts is published four times a year as a benefit for museum members by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005-3970. Copyright © 2024 National Museum of Women in the Arts. National Museum of Women in the Arts®, The Women’s Museum®, #5WomenArtists™, and Women in the Arts® are registered trademarks of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

On the cover: Still (detail) from “Ambreen Butt,” from the NMWA film series “In Focus: Artists at Work”

fb.com/WomenInTheArts @WomenInTheArts @WomenInTheArts

“With my work, I want to eliminate boundaries between people, between art and craft.”

COLETTE

FU IN “SCREEN TIME,” PAGE 6

FEATURES

6 Screen Time

A new installation of the immersive video series “In Focus: Artists at Work” glimpses into the studios of contemporary artists, and NMWA takes a fresh approach to the #5WomenArtists campaign.

LAURA HOFFMAN AND VIRGINIA TREANOR

Close Encounter: Well Prepared and Maladjusted

Delve into the work of Amy Sherald through a painting on view this summer.

ASHLEY W. HARRIS

14

“These gallery walls sing”: A Conversation with Poet Alexa Patrick Composing a new poem for the museum’s reopening led the author to reflect on the legacies of women artists.

ALICIA GREGORY

// DEPARTMENTS

2 Culture Watch

4 Education Report

5 Dedicated Donor: Fred M. Levin and the Shenson Foundation

10 Calendar

16 Museum Events

20 Supporting Roles

21 Museum Shop

Culture Watch

EXHIBITIONS

CALIFORNIA

Wendy Maruyama: A Sculptural Survey

Fresno Art Museum

July 27, 2024–January 5, 2025 https://fresnoartmuseum.org

Maruyama is known for her innovative work in wood furniture, wildlife portraits, and large-scale paper installations, celebrated with this retrospective.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939

National Portrait Gallery Through February 23, 2025 https://npg.si.edu

Convention-defying women including Berenice Abbott, Josephine Baker, Zelda Fitzgerald, Peggy Guggenheim, Romaine Brooks, and Gertrude Stein contributed to modernist circles in Paris.

KANSAS

Elizabeth Layton: Drawing as Discourse Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park Through July 28, 2024 https://nermanmuseum.org

Thirty works on paper highlight Layton’s intellectual, reflective, and advocatory drawing practice exploring the body, mortality, art history, and politics.

MASSACHUSETTS

Kathia St. Hilaire: Invisible Empires Clark Art Institute, Williamstown Through September 22, 2024 https://clarkart.edu

Through techniques that combine printmaking, painting, collage, and weaving, St. Hilaire tells stories of Haiti’s history and the diasporic communities in which she was raised.

MISSOURI

Hangama Amiri: A Homage to Home Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City Through August 24, 2024 https://kemperart.org

In Amiri’s first museum solo exhibition, the Afghan Canadian artist combines painting and printmaking with textiles, weaving together stories of her homeland and diasporic experience.

NEW MEXICO

Carmen Herrera: I’m Nobody! Who are you? SITE Santa Fe Through September 16, 2024 https://sitesantafe.org

Upending stereotypes around ageism, Herrera created art well into her 100s. This exhibition spotlights her minimalist style of geometric abstraction in paintings and three-dimensional works.

NEW YORK

Nsenga Knight: Close to Home Queens Museum Through January 19, 2025 https://queensmuseum.org

Honoring domestic spaces and cultural traditions, Knight modeled this immersive installation after her family homes in Cairo and adorned it with artifacts and her own art.

VIRGINIA

A Grand Menagerie: The Sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington Torggler Fine Arts Center, Newport News Through October 6, 2024 https://thetorggler.org

Huntington is known for her sculptures of animals, though she also produced small-scale collectibles and monumental public sculptures.

WASHINGTON

Martine Gutierrez

Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle Through July 28, 2024 https://henryart.org

Through varied works—music videos, billboards, films, photographs, live performances, and publications—Gutierrez investigates identity as social construct and an authentic expression of self.

International

UNITED KINGDOM

Judy Chicago: Revelations Serpentine Galleries, London Through September 1, 2024 https://serpentinegalleries.org

This exhibition, along with Judy Chicago: Herstory at LUMA in Arles, France (opening June 30), marks the groundbreaking feminist artist’s largest solo presence in Europe to date.

Anita de Monte Laughs Last

In Xochitl Gonzalez’s second novel (Flatiron Books, 2024), a Cuban-born feminist artist dies an untimely death, probably at the hands of her famous sculptor husband. While Gonzalez’s characters Anita de Monte and Jack Martin are clearly based on Ana Mendieta and Carl Andre, the character that anchors the book’s other storyline is vibrantly new. Raquel Toro is a Brooklyn-born art history student at Brown University in the late 1990s. An outsider on the Ivy League campus, she struggles to find her way in the art world and in a new relationship with an older art star. When Raquel learns of Anita’s story, she finds the strength to deal with issues of race, gender, and power in her own life. Gonzalez weaves together the perspectives of multiple characters to deliver a critique of the white, male-dominated worlds of art and academia. While Gonzalez’s writing is exposition-heavy at times, it can also be free. After Anita’s death, she shape-shifts into a bat that haunts her husband. From the afterlife, she exclaims, “I want to be alive! I want to be alive! I want to be alive!”

Christine Sun Kim: Oh Me Oh My

“I couldn’t find a frame of reference, and then I realized I had to build my own,” says artist Christine Sun Kim in an interview in Christine Sun Kim: Oh Me Oh My (DelMonico Books, 2024). Her work is often rendered in handwritten infographics, video captions, musical scores, or shapes that symbolize the gestures of American Sign Language, her first language. Its straightforward appearance belies a humorous, nuanced perspective on sound, modes of communication, and power dynamics in the hearing and Deaf communities. “Communication is everything,” she says. “You can communicate ideas without words. That’s what infographics do. And it’s akin to body language, which is something I’m very familiar with.” This monograph, a collaboration among four museums that presented Kim’s work from 2022 to 2023, includes insightful essays from curators, artistic collaborators, and others. Daisy Desrosiers, curator of Kim’s exhibition at The Gund at Kenyon College, writes about her art’s power to prompt discovery and transformation: “Considering hearing versus non-hearing forms of communication, Kim cleverly reveals what each overlooks.”

Elizabeth Lynch //

Welcoming Back Interns

This spring, we welcomed interns back into the building for the first time since 2020. Three interns were chosen from more than 200 applicants to work at NMWA from January through May. Liliana Garcia and A. Renshaw worked with Elizabeth Ajunwa, director of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center (LRC), and Dani Brogdon, reference and technical services librarian, on a variety of projects in the LRC.

Renshaw says, “My internship in the LRC helped me learn new skills and hone old ones, including art handling, research, and archival organization. I’ve most enjoyed working with the artists’ books! This wasn’t a medium I

was very familiar with prior to interning here, but it has quickly become my new favorite.”

Adja Gningue worked with Paris Valladares, digital

In addition to mentorship from their supervisors, interns learn about different types of work across the museum.

outreach and social media specialist, to support digital accessibility efforts. She helped create materials for the museum’s social media platforms and research new collaborators for social media partnerships.

Gningue says that the internship “granted me a newfound appreciation for digital content creation and the impact of digital graphics on storytelling. One project that I am most proud of is helping with the museum’s #5WomenArtists campaign, which spotlights women artists with disabilities this year.”

In addition to mentorship from their supervisors, interns also had opportunities to learn about different types of work across the museum.

In April, interns attended a staff walkthrough of the new exhibition New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 with Virginia Treanor, senior curator, and in May they toured the museum’s art storage area with Catherine Bade and Neda Amouzadeh, NMWA’s registrar and assistant registrar.

Funding for the paid internship program comes from a generous bequest from

Marjorie Rachlin, a longtime supporter of the museum.

Gaining Momentum

We received 485 applications for the museum’s summer internship term, which begins in June. Selected candidates will provide integral support to departments throughout NMWA on many planned projects. In the Education Department, Adrienne L. Gayoso, senior educator, and Ashley W. Harris, associate educator, will host an intern with a special focus on preparations for the return of the Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) Teacher Institute in July. Neda Amouzadeh will work with an intern on a comprehensive archival project digitizing NMWA’s art collection documentation, including accession records and object files.

The museum hosts interns during three terms per year: fall, spring, and summer. Each term features a rotating selection of positions across departments. To learn more and apply online, visit https://nmwa.org/ work-with-us/internships

Dedicated Donor

IN THE RENOVATED AND RENEWED NMWA , Fred Levin continues a multigenerational legacy of support that stretches across the country and back to the museum’s earliest days.

Levin was raised in a San Francisco family with a longstanding love for the visual and performing arts. His story with NMWA begins when his cousins Ben Shenson and A. Jess Shenson were introduced to museum founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay. The Shenson brothers, who were physicians, met Holladay as she was traveling to galvanize members of the incipient museum. The Shensons were already significant donors to the arts and Jewish social services in California, and they were inspired by Holladay’s vision. (Ben Shenson was once quoted as saying, “We don’t play golf. We have no hobbies. All we know is medicine and art.”)

“Fred Levin’s connection to NMWA, along with the legacies of the Shensons and Nancy, is a wonderful example of intergenerational support by a generous, civic-minded family. It was great to share the reopening with Fred and his family, and we appreciate their enduring commitment to the museum and its vibrant future.”

NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling

The brothers became founding members of NMWA in 1985, and their support never wavered. Levin says, “I heard fascinating stories about the museum from that point forward.” While working in business he, too, became increasingly involved with the arts, through his own interests and travels, as well as joining his relatives for events including opera and symphony performances. He and his wife, Nancy Livingston Levin (who passed away in 2019), have served on the boards of numerous museums and performing arts organizations, especially in San Francisco, bolstering their family’s tradition of support for major cultural institutions. After Ben’s death in 1995 and Jess’s in 2002, the Levins became leaders of the Shenson Foundation.

When he met Wilhelmina and Wallace Holladay himself, Levin was struck by their clarity in focusing on collecting works by women artists. The encounter prompted him to consider what he had learned in school: “I thought about my classes as an art history major, and almost no women were mentioned—Georgia O’Keeffe, Berthe Morisot, maybe a bit about Louise Nevelson. There was a lot I didn’t know.”

Levin says, “NMWA is an institution created by a fascinating couple who had a focus and a need to fill a void in art history. It’s an institution that should and will continue to grow.” For many years, the foundation funded the Shenson Chamber Music Concert series, which brought world-class

women musicians to the museum for free public performances. Along with Nancy, he also has served as a member of the NMWA Advisory Board and the museum’s San Francisco Advocacy group.

In recent years, new connections have strengthened Levin’s relationship with NMWA. The Levins met artist Hung Liu (1948–2021) after admiring her “mesmerizing” work and acquiring one of her paintings. They began a discussion about donating a work by Liu to the museum, which culminated in their gift of Winter with Cynical Fish (2014), a six-foot-wide diptych oil painting, in memory of his cousins the Shensons. In turn, Liu and her gallerist, Turner Carroll Gallery, donated another painting from the same series, Summer with Cynical Fish (2014) in memory of Nancy. Both works are on view in NMWA’s special exhibition Hung Liu: Making History, in one of the new gallery spaces created during renovation.

The renovation and grand reopening marked a celebratory moment for Levin, who has children and grandchildren living in Virginia. They came with him to enjoy the new space, including the Shenson Levin Family Gallery. Of the renovated museum, Levin says, “It’s fabulous, just incredible, to see the transformation.”

In Focus: Artists at Work came to life for the museum’s reopening last October, providing a window into the studio practices of contemporary artists. This video installation, which was recently named a Webby Awards Honoree, features short films on artists in NMWA’s collection and exhibitions. In a gallery just past the entry rotunda, In Focus greets guests with a first impression of the museum, provides a concluding moment of reflection, or, sometimes, both. The exhibition first showcased short films about the Guerrilla Girls, Delita Martin, Rania Matar, and Alison Saar. In May, NMWA launched its second season, featuring Ambreen Butt, Sonya Clark, Colette Fu, and Graciela Iturbide.

In the films, each artist describes her artistic practice in her own words, affording viewers an intimate understanding of the work.

These nationally and internationally recognized artists work in a variety of mediums and have been championed by the museum through recent solo exhibitions and collection acquisitions. In the films, each artist describes her artistic practice in her own words, affording viewers an intimate understanding of the work.

– Ambreen Butt: Featured in a monographic exhibition at NMWA in 2018, the work of Butt is meticulous and moving. The artist was trained in traditional Indian and Persian miniature painting, and she reimagines the genre to feature contemporary female protagonists and political subject matter. Working in painting as well as printmaking,

collage, and embroidery, Butt creates images that explore beauty, violence, strength, and vulnerability. In her works, heroines—both historical and contemporary—are redefined through the gaze of a woman artist. The film captures Butt’s creative spirit, which imbues her art: “I was mending . . . broken pieces of society. I bring them in my studio, I put them back together, and I create something new.”

– Sonya Clark: Watch as Washington, D.C.-born textile artist Clark transforms simple materials into powerful revelations and stirring tributes to her ancestors. “Textiles are a really powerful way of speaking. They speak of us and to us,” she says. Clark interweaves craft, history, and race to create

mixed-media works that celebrate Blackness and address racial stereotypes. Her works are made from black pocket combs, human hair, and thread, as well as flags, currency, beads, cotton plants, pencils, and found objects. The artist transmutes these everyday materials through her application of a vast range of fiber-art techniques. Clark’s first major survey exhibition was held at NMWA in 2021, and the museum’s collection includes several of her artworks.

– Colette Fu: Through intricate pop-up books, Fu shares her photography with vibrancy and dimension. Her complex and sculptural artist’s books reflect ideas of identity and its relation to society, combining images of people, architecture, and the natural world. In 2008 the artist received a Fulbright Fellowship to create photographic pop-ups depicting ethnic minority groups in China’s Yunnan Province, and in 2016 she had a monographic exhibition at NMWA. Fu photographs women and men in traditional attire, with food displays, and amid religious and ritual celebrations. The film presents her pop-up books in a new light: “With my work, I want to eliminate boundaries between people, between art and craft.”

– Graciela Iturbide: Peer into the studio of Iturbide, one of the most influential contemporary photographers of Latin America, as she transforms ordinary observation into personal and lyrical art. “I prefer photographing in black and white,” she says, “because when you shoot in black and white, you abstract something from reality.” Iturbide’s deep awareness of cultural symbols is evident in representations of processions honoring the dead, exuberant fiestas that highlight Mexico’s pre-Hispanic heritage, and much more. Her signature black-and-white gelatin silver prints reveal her own journey to understand her homeland, Mexico, and the world. In 2020, NMWA presented the artist’s most extensive U.S. exhibition in more than two decades.

NMWA Director of Digital Engagement

Laura Hoffman leads a #5WomenArtists tour on International Women’s Day

Visitors who saw (and raved about) the first “In Focus” films on view now have the opportunity to connect with the art of Butt, Clark, Fu, and Iturbide. In person, guests can enjoy the immersive theater design; to watch all eight films online, visit https://nmwa.org/infocus

#5WomenArtists: More Ways to Connect

Throughout 2024, NMWA’s #5WomenArtists campaign, which challenges participants to discover the work of women artists, delves into disability activism and advocacy. The award-winning initiative is now highlighting the work and platforms of disabled artists, artists who engage in disability activism, and accessibility art advocates and organizations. It also aligns with local, national, and global disability awareness initiatives. In addition to new online features and events, the museum is hosting in-person programs, such as an accessible art-making workshop and a special #5WomenArtists tour of works by artists with disabilities and chronic illness. The museum is committed to highlighting disability activism in this year’s campaign and beyond, weaving accessibility into our ongoing advocacy in partnership with members of the disability community. For more information, visit https:// nmwa.org/support/advocacy/5womenartists

Connect with NMWA online—or visit the newly renovated building—to experience digital initiatives designed to spark curiosity and inspire advocacy.

// Laura Hoffman is director of digital engagement and Virginia Treanor is senior curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

In Focus: Artists at Work is produced by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in collaboration with Smartypants Pictures and Art Processors.

The video series is generously supported by the members of NMWA. Project design is made possible through the generous support of Denise Littlefield Sobel, with additional funding provided by Jamie Gorelick and Richard Waldhorn.

Display screens contributed by Sony Corporation of America.

EXHIBITIONS

// //

KEY

New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 Through August 11, 2024

Holding Ground: Artists’ Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts Through October 20, 2024

Hung Liu: Making History Through October 20, 2024

Impressive: Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella Through October 20, 2024

In Focus: Artists at Work Through April 2025

Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter September 20, 2024–January 12, 2025

F Free

M Free for members

Free for members and one guest

A Free with admission

R Reservations required at https://nmwa.org

O No reservations required

E Exhibition-related program

V Virtual/online program

(Please note that the time zone for all online programs is Eastern Time)

Automated speech-to-text transcription is enabled during most virtual programs. To request additional access services, please check the online calendar for contact information or email accessibility@nmwa.org. Two weeks’ notice is appreciated but not required.

Daily / Weekly / Monthly

For museum admission, advance online reservations are suggested. Limited walk-up availability.

Free Community Day

FIRST SUNDAYS & SECOND WEDNESDAYS 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

The first Sunday and second Wednesday of each month, NMWA offers free admission to the public. Enjoy current exhibitions and the collection galleries. Advance registration is required, with limited walk-up availability.

Open Studio

FIRST SUNDAYS & SECOND WEDNESDAYS 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O E

During Free Community Days, visit the museum’s new studio for drop-in art-making activities. All ages welcome; children twelve and younger require adult supervision.

Collection Highlights Tour

MOST DAYS 2–2:45 P.M. & FIRST SUNDAYS 11–11:45 A.M. // M A O

During these interactive, docent- or staff-led talks, look closely and discuss artworks from the museum’s collection. Join as often as you like—tour content varies.

Gallery Talk

MOST WEDNESDAYS 12–12:45 P.M. // F M O E

Conversational, thematic staff-led talks highlight several works on view. Content varies.

The Bigger Picture

SELECT SUNDAYS 2–3:30 P.M. // R

On select Sundays (dates follow), this new lecture and conversation series shakes up the art historical narrative by exploring art from the sixteenth century to today through the museum’s collection and thematic topics.

Art Chat @ Five

SELECT FRIDAYS 5–5:45 P.M. // F M R E V

On select Fridays, jump-start your weekend with art! Join NMWA educators online for informal 45-minute art chats about selected artworks from NMWA’s collection.

June

6/26 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

6/26

Curator’s Perspective: Hung Liu

WED 6–7 P.M. // M R V

In this members-only presentation, Associate Curator Orin Zahra shares behind-the-scenes insights into Hung Liu: Making History

6/28

Art Chat @ Five

FRI 5–5:45 P.M. // F M R V

Visit

for reservations, a complete calendar of events, and more information.

July

7/3 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

7/7 Free Community Day

SUN 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

7/7 Open Studio

SUN 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O

7/7 Collection Highlights Tour

SUN 11–11:45 A.M. // M A O

7/8–12 Teacher Program: Art, Books, and Creativity Institute

MON –

FRI 9 A.M.–4 P.M. // R

Empower and inspire your students through art! Join NMWA educators, professional book artists, and curriculum and literacy specialists for this annual intensive institute centered on NMWA’s Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) curriculum. $50 materials fee.

7/10 Free Community Day

WED 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

7/10 Open Studio

WED 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O

7/10 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

7/17 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

7/20 Wikipedia Edit-a-thon 2024: Disability Activism

SAT 11 A.M.–2 P.M. // F R NMWA’s annual Art+Feminism edit-a-thon helps improve Wikipedia entries. Join us to contribute to entries related to women artists and disability activism.

7/22 Virtual Educator Summer Camp: Puzzle Books with Priya Pereira

MON 10–11:30 A.M. // F M R V

Join us for 1.5-hour sessions each day July 22–26 with guest artists and educators. These fun, hands-on, participatory sessions welcome anyone who identifies as an educator. Registrants receive a supply list, digital resources, and a meeting link in advance of each session.

7/23 Virtual Educator Summer Camp: “Memory Blocks” with Suzanne Coley

TUE 10–11:30 A.M. // F M R V

7/24 Virtual Educator Summer Camp: “Junk Journals” with Sarah Matthews

WED 10–11:30 A.M. // F M R V

7/24 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

The Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon returns to NMWA on July 20 with a special focus on disability activism

7/25 Virtual Educator Summer Camp: Fishbone Books with Nathalie Ryan

THU 10–11:30 A.M. // F M R V

7/26 Virtual Educator Summer Camp: Volvelles with Emily Martin FRI 10–11:30 A.M. // F M R V

7/26 Art Chat @ Five FRI 5–5:45 P.M. // F M R V

7/31 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

August

8/4 Free Community Day

SUN 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

8/4 Open Studio

SUN 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O

8/4 Collection Highlights Tour

SUN 11–11:45 A.M. // M A O

8/7 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

8/7 NMWA Collects: New Acquisitions

WED 6–7 P.M. // M R V

In this virtual presentation, members near and far get a first look at recent additions to the museum’s collection.

8/10 Firsthand Experience Workshop: Pop-Up Books

SAT 10 A.M.–3 P.M. // R

Learn about pop-up books and create your own with artist Carol Barton. Learners ages thirteen and up are welcome to join for hands-on making, conversation, and discovery. $25 general/$22 students, seniors, D.C. residents/$20 members.

September

9/4 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

9/8 Free Community Day

SUN 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

9/8 Open Studio SUN 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O

9/8 Collection Highlights Tour SUN 11–11:45 A.M. // M A O

9/11 Free Community Day WED 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

9/11 Open Studio WED 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O

9/11 Gallery Talk WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

9/18 Gallery Talk WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

F Free

M Free for members

Free for members and one guest

A Free with admission

R Reservations required at https://nmwa.org

O No reservations required

E Exhibition-related program

V Virtual/online program (Please note that the time zone for all online programs is Eastern Time)

8/14 Free Community Day

WED 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // F M R

8/14 Open Studio

WED 10 A.M.–4 P.M. // F M O

8/14 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

8/21 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

8/23 Art Chat @ Five

FRI 5–5:45 P.M. // F M R V

8/25 The Bigger Picture: Spaces and Places

SUN 2–3:30 P.M. // R

How do we shape our physical environment, and how are we shaped by it? Consider the ways women claim space and find inspiration for their art. $25 general/ $22 students, seniors, D.C. residents/$20 members.

8/28 Gallery Talk

WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

9/18 NMWA Nights

WED 5:30–8 P.M. // R

The museum’s after-hours series returns in the fall. Check the website for updates and tickets.

9/19 Member Preview Day: Suchitra Mattai

THU 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // M + R E

Join us for a special preview of Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter. Mattai blends collage, painting, textile, and sculpture to explore history and identity. Tours throughout the day.

9/20 Opening Day: Suchitra Mattai FRI 10 A.M.–5 P.M. // A M + E

9/22 The Bigger Picture: Material Matters

SUN 2–3:30 P.M. // R

An artist’s medium carries meaning. Learn how women innovated with unconventional materials and techniques and elevated historically undervalued ones. $25 general/ $22 students, seniors, D.C. residents/$20 members.

9/25 Gallery Talk WED 12–12:30 P.M. // F M O E

9/27 Art Chat @ Five FRI 5–5:45 P.M. // F M R V

// Education programming is made possible by the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, with further support provided by the Leo Rosner Foundation and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Harriet E. McNamee Youth Education Fund and William and Christine Leahy.

The Women, Arts, and Social Change public programs initiative is made possible through leadership gifts from Denise Littlefield Sobel and the Davis/Dauray Family Fund, with additional support provided by Anne N. Edwards, the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family, and the Susan and Jim Swartz Public Programs Fund.

Close Encounter

Well Prepared and Maladjusted

When you visit the exhibition Holding Ground: Artists’ Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts, take a moment to explore a painting newly nestled amid the intricate and inspiring artists’ books. Examine the figure’s posture, facial expression, attire, and surroundings. What strikes you? How would you describe the colors that you see? How might this person be feeling? What questions would you pose if you could?

Amy Sherald, Well Prepared and Maladjusted, 2008; Oil on canvas, 54 x 43 in,; On loan from a private collection

Something Borrowed

The painting, on loan to NMWA through this summer, is Well Prepared and Maladjusted (2008), by Amy Sherald (b. 1973). Sherald considers it a pivotal work in her career, and it began with a chance encounter. When Sherald met her subject, the artist was working in Baltimore, and the model was a curatorial intern at the city’s Walters Art Museum. Drawn to her height, hairstyle, and overall look, Sherald chose to depict the woman in the outfit she was wearing that day. According to Sherald, “She was 6'3" and had on this polka-dot outfit from a secondhand store. . . . I saw my story in her.”¹ While Sherald painted, a poet wrote about her work as part of a program through the Studio Museum in Harlem. Once they were both done, Sherald found the perfect title for the painting from the poem’s lines.

While at NMWA, Well Prepared and Maladjusted joins Sherald’s They Call Me Redbone, but I’d Rather Be Strawberry Shortcake (2009), a 2012 acquisition currently on view in the museum’s collection galleries. Would it surprise you to know both artworks were inspired by the same woman?

The paintings began with color photographs taken by Sherald, who documented the model in various costumes. When translating the image to painting, the artist included two of her hallmark techniques: she painted the skin in shades of gray, and she removed the background, which focuses viewers’ attention on the figure by eliminating references to time and space. Sherald is often asked, “why gray?,” and she acknowledges that her answer to the question has transformed over the years. In part, it is a reflection on the history of photography. For Sherald, the invention of the camera and the accessibility of black-and-white photography represent a turning point: Black people could create their own images and control their stories widely for the first time.

Well Prepared and Maladjusted shares key qualities with Sherald’s more recent work, but her artistic evolution is clear in subtle shifts, such as a move away from the textured backgrounds seen here toward flatter planes of color. Still, the core of her work remains the same. Sherald has said, “My mission as an artist really hasn’t changed, to put more complex stories of Black life in the forefront of people’s minds and on the walls of museums. I think that’s what I want to continue to do . . . take up space and reclaim time.”²

// Ashley W. Harris is associate educator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Notes:

1 Hilarie M. Sheets, “The American Realism of Painter Amy Sherald,” September 9, 2019, https://www.culturedmag.com/ article/2019/09/09/amy-sherald-hauser-and-wirth

2 Hauser & Wirth, “Amy Sherald on ‘The World We Make’,” October 11, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtujIPB5eF4

“These gallery walls sing”

A Conversation with Poet Alexa Patrick

Alicia Gregory

Alexa Patrick, a poet and vocalist based in Washington, D.C., wrote and performed a new work, “Possibility,” for the museum’s grand reopening on October 21, 2023. Assistant Editor Alicia Gregory spoke with Patrick about the poem, the role of performance in her work, and her debut poetry collection, Remedies for Disappearing (2023).

Alicia Gregory: Describe your process for writing “Possibility.”

Alexa Patrick: I was allowed a sneak peek of the museum before it opened. I walked through the galleries, taking in and talking to each piece, imagining what the art or artists might say back to me. I realized that I was physically and artistically in a space that those artists had made for me. If not for those artists and their struggles to be seen and heard, my art might not have a platform. I felt a deep gratitude. This reopening felt like a time to ask: Where have we been? Where are we going? While pondering possibility and legacy, I allowed my piece to take me where it wanted. I am grateful for the thank you letter/ode/call-to-action/welcome that it turned into.

AG: What is the role of performance in your work?

AP: My work has always been rooted in performance. My mother is a professional singer and raised me to be a singer as well. Her mother, my grandmother, was a gospel singer. Her father, my grandfather, was a pastor and knew how to move a congregation. I come from a long line of folks who use/d their voices to affect people.

In poetry, there is a music and a sermon to it as well. If I am reading a poem and I maintain the same volume and tone, eventually the audience will stop listening. If I modulate my voice with the meaning of each word or phrase, if I say the word “possibility” like a celebration, the audience will lean in and let me guide them.

AG: As a writer, what is your most essential tool?

AP: Community! And that is a mixture of the community of the books on my shelf and the brilliant writers who wrote them, various artist groups that I frequent, and being out in the world observing the people who inhabit it. I see my writing and art as a means to strengthen community and (hopefully) make the world an easier place in which we can exist.

AG: Tell us about the poems and themes in your debut poetry collection, Remedies for Disappearing (2023).

AP: Remedies for Disappearing is an exploration of the various ways Black people disappear and resist disappearing, specifically Black girls in predominantly white spaces. I grew up in a small town in Connecticut where I was one of less than 1% of Black kids in a school of 1,200 students. It was often lonely, and I struggled with being hyper-visible while simultaneously being overlooked.

That said, as I wrote poems to the theme of disappearing—writing around my family history, D.C. culture, the other Black girls I went to high school with, and Black girls from critical missing person posters—I began to see a thread connecting us all. That thread became a remedy to the loneliness of feeling invisible. My hope is that my book will reach anyone who has ever felt like “the only.”

AG: There is a series of poems about prom in your book, and I hear you even hosted a prom-themed party for its release! Which five women artists (living or not) would you want in your prom clique?

AP: I LOVE this question! My prom clique would include Toni Morrison, who taught me what is possible with language; Morgan Parker, whose books always make me feel seen; Carrie Mae Weems, whose photographs make me feel powerful and beautiful; Toi Derricotte, who has taught me so much about love and communal responsibility; and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, who did the cover of my book! We’d get a white stretch limo, blast Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and take turns waving at strangers from the sunroof!

Shhh . . . Do you hear it? these gallery walls sing to us, their vibrant dialect of color, material, movement, teach us what our hands can do when they are steady, and intent.

Do you hear it? a museum of chronicled change of which women have not only always been part, but of which we’ve been a vital center. Never asking for power, but demanding it like an eye to a canvas, that says, yes, I am here and no, I am not moving.

FROM ALEXA PATRICK’S “POSSIBILITY”

To read “Possibility” in its entirety, visit https://nmwa.org/possibility, and to learn more about the poet, visit https://alexapatrick.com

Museum Events

A Milestone Gala

The museum hosted its annual Spring Gala on April 12, marking a joyous occasion for supporters and friends to gather and celebrate in the splendidly renovated building—a $70 million transformation that enhances NMWA’s ability to present women’s stories through art.

Among the highlights of the evening was the presentation of NMWA’s Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts to Tracee Ellis Ross, an iconic figure whose acting career and advocacy have influenced the artistic landscape. From pioneering performances to her steadfast dedication to inclusivity and representation, Ross exemplifies excellence and creativity.

The success of this year’s gala owes much to the dedication of Gala Chair Gina F. Adams, whose tireless efforts ensured an unforgettable event. We extend sincere gratitude to FedEx and Shaffer Wealth Partners | Rockefeller Global Family Office, as well as all donors whose support of the gala contributes to NMWA’s programming and mission, advancing the work of women artists for generations to come. Thank you!

Shaffer Wealth Partners

PEARL PATRON

Martha Dippell and Daniel Korengold

Ourisman Automotive of Virginia

Grunley Construction Company, Inc.

Lugano Diamonds

Jacqueline Badger Mars

Amanda M. Minami Legacy Fund for the Arts and Carlene

Carrasco Laughlin

RBC Wealth Management

SCAD

Patti and George White

SILVER PATRON

June and Mike Beyer

Marcia Myers Carlucci

Ashley Davis and Joel Frushone & Susan and Frank Dunlevy

Sara Fagen

Sue J. Henry and Carter G. Phillips

Winton and Hap Holladay

Amanda and Curtis Polk

Securiport

William C. and Karen H. Sonneborn

Mahinder Tak

CRYSTAL PATRON

Susan M. Ascher, MD

Janice Lindhurst Adams

G D Bassin Foundation

Charlotte Clay Buxton and C. Michael Buxton

Lorna Meyer Calas and Dennis Calas

Diane Casey-Landry and Brock Landr y

Mary and Armeane Choksi

Marcella and Neil Cohen

Susan Goldberg and Geoffrey Etnire

Pamela Gwaltney

Pamela Johnson and the late Wesley King

Sally L. and Christopher H. Jones

Jim and Sandy Langdon

Irene Natividad

Carol and Gerry Parker

Ella Peters

Stephanie Sale

Denise Littlefield Sobel

Amanda and Bruce Spivey

Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn

Susan and Scott Sterling

Roger and Nancy Nelson

Stevenson

Lucretia Dewey Tanner

Carol and Michael Winer

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Wolf

2024 Spring Gala

1. Spring Gala Chair Gina F. Adams welcomes attendees

2. Board Chair Winton S. Holladay, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Board President Susan Goldberg

3. Mariessa Terrell, Baille Benemelis, Keenan Austin Reed, NMWA Trustee Ashley Davis, and Maurisa Turner-Potts

4. George and Patti White

5. Roman Gronkowski and Denise Littlefield Sobel

6. Wendy Spainhour, Shannon Shouse, NMWA Trustee Sheila Shaffer, Dale Drennen Walker, and Renee Shaffer Galvin

7. Barb Rehm, NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling, and NMWA Trustee Marcia Carlucci

8. NAB members Christine Edwards, Angela M. LoRé, and Kathy Sierra

9. NAB members Tamara White, Barbara Richter, and Kathryn Turley-Sonne, and NMWA Trustee Sara M. Vance Waddell

10. Mihae Kim, La Fleur Paysour, Stephanie Chu, and Rania Matar

11. NMWA Trustees Stephanie Sale, Charlotte Buxton, Nancy Stevenson, Janice Adams, and Winton Holladay

12. Maken Payne

13. Paul Wharton and Amanda Polk

14. Desirée Knight and Angie Gates

15. Timothy Lowery and Lisa Porter

16. NAB members Tara Rudman, Lorna Meyer Calas, and Carol Parker

17. Carter Phillips, NAB member Sue J. Henry, and Ryan Merkel

Museum Events

International Women’s Day 1–2. On March 9, NMWA welcomes visitors for a full day of activities, including yoga in the Great Hall and flash tattoos with artist Bibi Abelle

Highlights from NMWA Nights 3–5. During the spring season of the museum’s after-hours programming, revelers enjoy gallery talks (seen here with docent Jazmin Mora), art-making in the Studio, cocktails, and entertainment

6. A pop-up installation from Black Art Library and its founder, Asmaa Walton (right)

7. Attendees enjoy games of cornhole and dance to the music of DJ Alex Love

8. Visitors strike a pose with Yael Bartana’s sculpture What if Women Ruled the World (2016)

Creative’s Keynote: Cecilia Alemani

9–10. Cecilia Alemani speaks at NMWA on March 10; after her talk, attendees enjoy refreshments in the Great Hall

Opening Celebration for New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024

11. Featured artists gather with NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling and Deputy Director Ilene Gutman at the opening reception for New Worlds

12. Board Chair Winton S. Holladay welcomes attendees

13. Jun Mizuguchi, Keiichi Nakatani, and NMWA Japan Committee co-chair Noriko Kashiwagi

14. NAB and Massachusetts Committee chair Sarah Bucknell Treco, William J. Catacosinos, and NMWA Trustee Juliana May

15. Aime Chao, Tara Rudman, Lisa Lubliner, Robin Rosa Laub, Lucy Buchanan, Lorna Meyer Calas, Julia Goodman, Carol Parker, and Amanda Minami from the San Francisco Advocacy group

16–18. Artists Marina Vargas, Molly Vaughan, and April Banks with their works on view in New Worlds

Fresh Talk: Conscious Creators

19–20. Speakers Zsameria Rayford, Anne Marie Johnson, Aurora Robson, and Kelly Perkins in conversation on May 5 about ethical production

Supporting Roles

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Winton S. Holladay—Chair of the Board, Susan Goldberg—President, Lucretia Adymy Risoleo— Treasurer and Finance Chair, Charlotte Buxton—Secretary, Nancy Duber—Governance Chair, Susan Fisher Sterling— Alice West Director**, Pamela Parizek—Audit Chair, Marcia Myers Carlucci—Building Chair, Amy Weiss—Communications Chair, Ashley Davis—Government Relations Chair, Nancy Nelson Stevenson—Works of Art Chair, Diane Casey-Landry—Investment Chair, Gina Adams, Janice Adams, Belinda de Gaudemar, Deborah Dingell, Martha Dippell, Susan Dunlevy, Anjali Gupta, Pamela Gwaltney, Eliza Holladay, Cindy Jones, Marlene Malek, Ann Walker Marchant, Jacqueline Badger Mars, Juliana May, Bonnie McElveenHunter, Stephanie Sale, Julie Sapone**, Alejandra Segura, Sheila Shaffer, Karen Sonneborn, Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn, Annie Totah, Sarah Treco**, Sara M. Vance Waddell, Alice West, Patti White ** Ex-Officio (Board list as of July 1)

NMWA ADVISORY BOARD

Sarah Bucknell Treco—Chair, Noreen Ackerman, Kathe Hicks Albrecht, Sunny Scully Alsup, Susan M. Ascher, Virginia Barbato, Jo Ann Barefoot, Gail Bassin, Arlene Begelman, Sue Ann Berlin, Catherine Little Bert, Brenda Bertholf, Caroline Boutté, Nancy Taylor Bubes, Deborah G. Carstens, Amb. Maria Eugenia Chiozza, Barbara Cohen, Marcella Cohen, Marian Cohen, Donna Paolino Coia, Robyn D. Collins, Linda Comstock, Margaret Conklin, Lizette Corro, Elizabeth Crane, Lynn Finesilver Crystal, Elizabeth Cullen, Mary Lou Dauray, Verónica de Ferrero, Belinda de Gaudemar, Kitty de Isola, Michele De Nevers, Katy Graham Debost, Alexis Deutsch, Ellen Drew, Kenneth P. Dutter, Christine Edwards, Anne N. Edwards, Gerry Ehrlich, Elva Ferrari-Graham, Chuck Fleischman, in honor of Lisa Claudy Fleischman, Charlotte K. Forster, Rosemarie C. Forsythe, Barbara S. Goldfarb, Sally Gries, Michelle Guillermin, Anjali Gupta, Pamela Gwaltney, Florencia Helbling,

Sue J. Henry, Imogene Jensen, Jan Jessup, Alice Kaplan, Paulette Kessler, Arlene Fine Klepper, Doris Kloster, Carol Kolsky, Robin Rosa Laub, Elizabeth Leach, Cynthia Madden Leitner, Sarah H. Lisanby, M.D., Fred M. Levin, Bonnie Loeb, Gloria and Dan Logan, Angela M. LoRé, Clara M. Lovett, Joanne Ludovici, Marcia MacArthur, Linda Mann, C. Raymond Marvin, Rebecca Matejcek-Chang, Ellen Stirn Mavec, Dee Ann McIntyre, Cynthia McKee, Constance C. McPhee, Lorna Meyer Calas, Anu Mitra, Milica Mitrovich, Mary V. Mochary, Claudia Pensotti Mosca, Kay Woodward Olson, Nancy Olson, Monica T. O’Neill, Carol Parker, Anthony T. and Trisja Malisoff Podesta, Laurel Rafter, Lucy Rhame, Helena Ribe, Barbara Richter, Elizabeth Robinson, Tara Rudman, Stephanie Sale, Consuelo Salinas de Pareja, Steven Scott, Kathy Sierra, Ann Simon, Geri Skirkanich, Heidi Brake Smith, Dot Snyder, Denise Littlefield Sobel, Patti Amanda Spivey, Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn, Pamela Stanger, Judith Karlen Stein, Sara Steinfeld, Jo Stribling, Christine Suppes, Susan Swartz, Cheryl S. Tague, Mahinder Tak, Judy Spence Tate, Lisa Cannon Taylor, MaryRoss Taylor, Brooke Taylor, Deborah Dunklin Tipton, Marichu Valencia, Sara M. Vance Waddell, Minal Vazirani, Victoria Vermes, Toni G. Verstandig, Virginia Voorhees, Paula S. Wallace, Harriet L. Warm, Krystyna Wasserman, Patti White, Tamara White, Carol Winer, Rhett D. Workman, Susan Zimny

SPACE TO SOAR

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

We wish to thank supporters of the Space to Soar capital campaign, whose generosity enabled the museum’s major building renovation. Although we can only list donations of $20,000 and above due to space limitations, we extend sincere gratitude to all donors.

$15 million+

Wilhelmina C. and Wallace F. Holladay, Sr.*

$5–$14.9 million

Gloria and Dan Logan/Revada Foundation, Jacqueline Badger Mars

$2–$4.9 million

Marcia Myers Carlucci, Betty Boyd Dettre*, Events DC, Ann M. Farley Trust, Denise Littlefield Sobel, MaryRoss Taylor

$1–$1.9 million

Winton and Hap Holladay, Clara M. Lovett, Marlene A. Malek, Estate of Evelyn B. Metzger, Sue J. Henry and Carter G. Phillips, J. Christopher and Anne N. Reyes Foundation, San Francisco Advocacy Group, Dr. Alejandra Segura, Susan and Jim Swartz, The Texas Committee, Estate of Susan Wisherd

$500,000–$999,999

David Boies and Jonathan Schiller, Mary Lou Dauray, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Martha Lyn Dippell and Daniel L. Korengold, Cindy and Evan Jones, Fred M. Levin in memory of Nancy Livingston Levin, The Honorable Mary V. Mochary, Sarah and Ross Perot Jr., Lucy S. Rhame, George and Patti White

$250,000–$499,999

Nancy and Marc Duber, Elva Ferrari-Graham, Jamie Gorelick and Richard Waldhorn, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Gloria Pieretti* in honor of the Testolin Pieretti Family, Linda Rabbitt and John Whalen Family Foundation, Sheila and Rick Shaffer, Geri O’Toole Skirkanich, Christine Suppes, Alice and Gordon* West Jr.

$101,000–$249,999

M. A. Ruda and Peter J. P. Brickfield*, Charlotte Forster, Georgia Committee of NMWA, Anjali and Arun Gupta, Nancy Wood Moorman, Amanda and Curtis Polk, Laurel and John Rafter, Tara Rudman, Stephanie Wyndam Sale, Jayne Visser and Kristin Smith, Dana* and Jack Snyder, Susan and Scott Sterling

$100,000

Janice and Harold L.* Adams, Arkansas State Committee, Amy and Bret Baier, Grace Bender, Charlotte Clay Buxton and Michael Buxton, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Lorna Meyer Calas and Dennis Calas, Andrea and Richard Catania, Evonne C. and Robert T. Connolly, II, Ashley Davis and Joel Frushone, Lisa and Porter Dawson, Anne N. Edwards, FedEx/ Gina Adams, Charles and Lisa Claudy Fleischman Family Fund, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Belinda de Gaudemar, Pamela Gwaltney, Laurie Sands Harrison,

The Hayes Foundation, Diane Casey-Landry and Brock Landry, Mary Ann and Allen Lassiter, Lugano Diamonds, Kristen and George Lund, Bonnie McElveenHunter, Morgan Stanley, Northern Trust Company, Ohio Advisory Group, Kay Woodward Olson, Anthony T. and Trisja Malisoff Podesta, Lucretia Adymy Risoleo and Robert Risoleo, Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation in Memory of Arlene Schnitzer, Karen and William Sonneborn, Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn, Christoph and Pamela Stanger, Roger and Nancy Nelson Stevenson, Josephine L. and Thomas D.* Stribling, Leo Rosner Foundation/ Bill Robbins, Judy and Charles Tate, Deborah Dunklin Tipton

$50,000–$99,999

Bank of America of Greater Washington, Deborah G. Carstens, Susan Goldberg and Geoffrey Etnire, Robin and Jay Hammer, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Reed Miller, Julie Packard, Sharon Rockefeller, Jean Hall and Thomas D. Rutherfoord, Jr., Beth W. Newburger Schwartz, Patti Amanda and Bruce Spivey, UK Friends of NMWA, Marichu C. Valencia and Donald J. Puglisi, Amy Weiss and Peter J. Kadzik

$20,000–$49,999

Gail D. Bassin, Joan Bialek and Louis Levitt, Katherine and David Bradley, Deborah Buck, Rose and Paul Carter, Marcy and Neil Cohen, Robyn D. Collins, Liz and Tim Cullen, Karyn Frist, Jan Jessup, Alice D. Kaplan, Mr. and Mrs. Jim C. Langdon, Marcia MacArthur, Priscilla W. and Joe R. Martin, Robin Rosa Laub, Bonnie Loeb, Angela M. LoRé, Lowe Foundation, Dee Ann McIntyre, Mid-Atlantic Committee of NMWA, Monica O’Neill, Laura Perkins, Margaret H. and Jim Perkins, Mary Poelzlbauer, Dorothy and Ned Snyder, Alice M. Starr, Brooke and Heyward Taylor, Frances Luessenhop Usher, Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell, Courtney Johnson Walker, Velda Warner, Daisy Sloan White, Emily Gay* and Neville Gay Williams, Carol and Michael Winer, Carolyn and John Young

* Deceased (lists as of April 15)

Museum Shop

New Worlds: Women to Watch 2024 Exhibition Catalogue

This fully illustrated catalogue features personal statements by the exhibition’s twenty-eight featured artists, who share their visions of the past, present, and future. Softcover, 100 pages. $23.95/Member $21.56

Slogan Tote

From the Mexican brand Apuntes, this tote reads “Diseños, Ideas, Rayones, Poemas,” meaning “Designs, Ideas, Scribbles, Poems.” Tote available in Marine Blue, Lemon Yellow, and Mango. $30/ Member $27

“Excuses to Celebrate” Card Deck

This card deck offers thirty everyday practices that will help you access the joy and delight of being alive. $18/ Member $16.20

“Ocean Imagination” Silk Bandana

Santorini Candle

Transport yourself to the Greek islands with this Santoriniinspired fragrance, blending earthy fig, lush currant, warm sandalwood, and amber notes.

Inspired by colorful ocean floor scenes, this bandana features hand-rolled edges and can be worn in various styles to complement any outfit. 100% mulberry silk. 21 x 21 in. $50/ Member $45

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Sofia Coppola: Archive

Look behind the scenes in this book from director Sofia Coppola, which features firsthand insights and photos spanning her filmography.

$65/Member $58.50

National Museum of Women in the Arts: Collection Highlights

The museum’s new collection highlights catalogue explores the breadth of NMWA’s holdings, drawing connections among more than 180 works and sharing new essays by more than fifty artists and scholars. Hardcover, 264 pages. $60/Member $54

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COMING SOON

Suchitra Mattai

Myth from Matter

September 20, 2024–January 12, 2025

Suchitra Mattai (b. 1973, Georgetown, Guyana) layers vintage and contemporary materials into three- and two-dimensional works about identity and belonging. Drawing from personal memories as well as stories passed down through generations of her family, Mattai seeks to fill in the gaps of recorded history, focusing on the often-omitted experiences of women and people of color. Her

art blends techniques of collage, painting, sculpture, and fiber arts, making visible the presence of Indian women in the history of Guyana and the Indian diaspora in the West. This exhibition pairs Mattai’s recent work with historical objects, sparking a visual conversation that questions binaries such as East and West, art and craft, and history and memory.