By Jennifer Jean Okumura
President, Massachusetts

A new Spring, new upcoming, and more in 2023!

I hope this email finds you enjoying the winter with your families and friends. The most important are the conversations held, relationships strengthening, our connections with new and familiar faces, love, and care. Be well for 2023 welcomes new creative adventures for all; here are a few energizing updates to read, share and enjoy!

First, we welcome Heather Stivison, Membership Chair, and Madolin Maxey, Exhibition Committee Advisor, appreciative this board congratulate our 2022 scholarship recipients. Sarah Grinnell $1500., Kara Keene $1500., McKayla Vermette $1000. Special recognition award underwritten by the Charlie & Joanne Occhino. 2023 application open

Sarah Grinell $1500, Kara Keene $1500, McKayla Vermette $1000. Special recognition award underwritten by Aetna Corps.

Changing Lives, Changing Futures, Installation

Welcome back in 2022, Junior League of Boston and NAWAMA’s long-standing partnership to showcase works at their HQ building at 117 Newbury Street. This gallery will be an ongoing, non-juried 2-month rotating gallery for our members, and President Kathleen Quinlan Riley chose to display our newest members. It is great exposure in a prime and prestigious area because of its numerous upscale boutiques and shops; it
has earned a reputation as one of the most expensive streets in the world. In addition, we continue our members’ visibility through our PR coverage via sponsor Artscope Magazine Jan/Feb, July/August, Sept/Oct, November/December ads, Artscope eblast current Color and Form, Brian Goslow at Artscope Magazine Preview Article, and Rachel Flood Page’s review. Enjoy the reception  and NAWAMA Art Salon, Social & Art Chat feature Artists Christine Frisbee and Silvina Mizrahi and Founding Publisher Kaveh Mojtabai  along with Artscope e-blast, social media platforms, and Hello World, An Art Affair Around the Globe (a virtual travelogue of artworks created by nearly 250 artists working in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia and our online ‘Shops’. Local community collaboration, such as SEBA and South End Business Alliance, is influential in supporting, strengthening, and unifying us as artists. With that said, our Chapter continues to grow with a healthy roster of events. I’ve included some pragmatics to begin putting on your calendars below.

1. Begin the year with a well-received show at John Joseph Moakley US Courthouse, Seaport ‘Trust the Process’ October 2022-January 2023 in the front, atrium & harbor park galleries, best of two submitted works for the non-juried show and reception and awards with Marissa Gallery Director.
2. Junior League HQ, Newbury Street, Boston – ongoing two-month rotation
3. ‘Marketing and Social Media as Part of your Creative Arsenal IX’ March 2, 1-3 pm workshop
4. TransCultural Exchange’s 2022 International Conference Create the Future – residencies to explore
5. NAWA MA Social, Art Salon, and Art Chat VI featuring a phenomenal Contemporary Artist Christine Frisbee, renowned Sculptor and Interdisciplinary Argentinian American Artist Silvina Mizrahi, and Art Chat with Founding Publisher of Artscope Magazine, Kaveh Mojtabai, a series of informative and interactive discussions on November 13, 2022. Click here to see.
6. Galatea Fine Art, SoWa Art & Design District ‘Contrast’ – May 5-28, 2023 *A Call for Art’ out now
7. Cotuit Center for the Arts ‘We’ve been around forever’ – May 7-June 11, 2023 *A Call for Art’ out now
8. Gallery Sitka South, 227 Spring St, Newport, RI ‘Pattern Play’ – May 27-June 21, 2023 *A Call for Art will go out in February 2023
9. Multicultural Arts Center ‘We are not women; we are gods’ – June-July 11, 2023 Juror Artistic Director, Najee Brown. *A Call for Art will go out in February 2023
10. The Berkshire Art Museum ‘FEMALE’ – June 7 to October 8, 2023
11. URI Providence Campus Gallery ‘Dance with Orange’ – July 3 to 27, 2023 in collaborative partnership with the URI Providence Campus Arts and Culture Program
12. The Wedeman Gallery at the Yamawaki Art and Cultural Center, Lassell College ‘Ambition’ – November 2023
13. ‘Member Soiree’ at District Hall, Boston – Spring 2023
14. The Art Complex ‘Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?’- April 28-September 3, 2024 *Meeting with former NAWA MA president Kim Alemian and Craig Bloodgood on Monday, November 28, to finalize prospectus.
15. John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, Seaport ‘Time’ – July – September 2024
16. NAWA Museum of Art (A Virtual Experience Museum) ‘What Line?’ SC/FL/MA more details to come in 2024

In keeping this good vibe going from the beautiful collaborations with colleagues, creative friends, and our families with untempered optimism for a fantastic year ahead. Art will always shine and inspire us in our lives as it is the glue that connects laughter and tears. I cannot wait to connect with all our members and hear of their successes. 2023 will be the big one; let’s get it as we continue to make waves as a chapter and individually; congratulations to all as we go into the holidays. You are appreciated for everything you do, from the phenomenal Board to our unparalleled members.

Last, be well, be safe, and be in touch with anything. We look forward to seeing all of you and on future endeavors.

By
Roberta Millman-Ide
President

This is my first quarter end as incoming Florida chapter President and I’m proud to say, it’s been a good beginning. My goals for my first year are to concentrate on selecting professional exhibition venues and encouraging creativity through professional development.

We have some exciting upcoming exhibitions in 2023 and our first exhibition this year extended an invitation of participation to members of the MA & SC chapters. The Alliance for the Arts Center Exhibition in Fort Myers featured 50 paintings and was an excellent gallery space. Our juror was Morgan Paine, Associate Professor of Art and Founding Art Program Faculty Member of the Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL who also moderated an artist panel for a select group of artists in the show. It was well attended and you can see the discussion on our YouTube channel at this link.

Our award winners for the Alliance of the Arts Exhibition were:

CURRENT NEWS

The SC Chapter is growing and growing well! In 2022, our board put together a fantastic membership recruitment plan. We offered a virtual discussion to answer questions and offer suggestions to artists who were planning to submit their applications to National. We emailed current members to remind them of their annual renewal. We called, visited, and lunched with current and prospective members. And thanks to new tracking software, we launched a successful renewal campaign. As of the campaign’s completion, the SC Chapter has 47 members, including 12 new members. Congratulations to our team for great work on building our Chapter.

And while we are at it, we’d like to introduce you to our new chapter members – Penny Beesley, Patrice Boyes, Rita Marie Cimini, Catherine Conrad, Meyriel Edge, Gloria Sampson Knight, Maidy Morhous, Mary Orton, Staci Swider and Sallie Taylor. We are thrilled to add you to our Chapter membership and look forward to your active participation in our organization.

HOW MEMBERS CAN HELP

Our Chapter provides exhibits, events and activities for the membership. When an artist joins the National Association of Women Artists, Inc., each member is required to volunteer at least 6 hours annually to the organization. With thanks to NAWA PR Committee Chair Mary Ahern for sharing her fantastic idea, the SC Chapter offers mini-projects requiring a time commitment of 6 hours or less. Here are some of the mini-projects for members needing those volunteer hours:

• Manage event registrations
• Design and print event name tags
• Review and update membership map (Photoshop skills required)
• Collect payments for events
• Vonunteer as a “Greeter” for events
• Publicity for exhibits and events
• Pitch NAWA SC at a potential exhibit venue in your Work with museum or gallery curators to show examples of our member’s work from our website and schedule a show one to two years out.
• Be on the curatorial team for a show scheduled in your
• Give a one-hour workshop in our Zoom professional development Share a technique, a residency or retreat experience, what or who your influences are, or your favorite artist.
• Proofreader for exhibitions, newsletter, reports

And for those interested in contributing to the direction of our organization, SC Chapter Board positions are open. These positions require a few hours per month. Help is always available from our current board and me, your Chapter president, as you learn your responsibilities.

THE BIG NEWS: 2023 Annual Meeting – Myrtle Beach, SC

Mark your calendars! SC Chapter membership, and any other NAWA members who wish to join us, will gather in person for the SC Chapter’s annual meeting on April 28, 2023 in Myrtle Beach, SC. We will gather at Burroughs Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach for a morning welcome and tour from the curator, Liz Miller. The timing works well with our planning of an in-person exhibit at Burroughs Chapin in January – March 2024. We will have a chance to see the incredible exhibit space and ask questions of the curator. The Burroughs Chapin exhibit is entitled The NAWA Sisterhood. This theme gives us a chance to both display our work and educate our audience on NAWA and its long history of supporting women artists.

Our next stop will be Brookgreen Gardens for lunch and the awards presentation of “We See: Creating from Verse.” We are fortunate to have Lisa Hammond as our special guest poet for this event. She will read from her work and discuss the connection between art and poetry. We will also introduce our exhibit theme, “Brookgreen Inspires,” for our 2025 exhibition at the incomparable Brookgreen Gardens. This theme allows our artists to explore the many ways that this exceptional place has inspired so many, including its founder and NAWA member, Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973). Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark and is home to the largest collection of American figurative sculpture in the US. Its educational mission extends to the ecology and history of the Low Country and has 360,000 visitors per year. After the program, members will be free to tour the sculpture gardens and galleries for the afternoon, gathering inspiration for this important exhibition on the horizon.

Hotels abound in the Murrells Inlet, Pawley’s Island, and Litchfield areas – all convenient to both museums. Make plans now to attend this important day as we plan for exhibits in these prominent venues. Please email art.nawasc@gmail.com, subject line ANNUAL MEETING, if you have questions.

EXHIBITS  AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In Spring 2023 and coinciding with our annual meeting, NAWASC on March 15, 2023 will open “We See: Creating from Verse,” an online exhibit. Member artists will select a poem from the collection of SC poet Lisa Hammond to interpret through imagery. These images will be displayed alongside the poems in an online exhibition that celebrates the intersection of visual and literary imagery. The judge for this exhibit is prominent SC artist Mary Edna Fraser, whose work is grounded in ideas of conservation, stewardship and sacred landscapes. Our featured poet, Lisa Hammond, is the author of three chapbooks of poetry, Moving House, Goddess Suite, and Lily Watch. Her poems have appeared in numerous poetry journals. Her writing explores the intersections between story, art, history, family, and memory. She will be our featured guest at the annual meeting and will read from her work and present the cash awards, including her book for the 1st place winner. We are excited to present this exhibit that demonstrates the visual relationship between art and poetry and we are deeply grateful to Lisa Hammond and Mary Edna Fraser for their enthusiastic involvement.

As you see, we are working on exhibitions that will place NAWA artists in prominent, high attendance, quality locations. If you are a SC Chapter member, please consider giving back to your Chapter by assisting with exhibits. You could even bring one to your town. Email to volunteer, art.nawasc@gmail.com.

BOARD DEVELOPMENT

The SC Chapter is very interested in expanding its Board membership. If you are a member of National and the SC Chapter, and you have an interest in service in the arts, please contact us at art.nawasc@gmail.com. The SC Chapter Board is already strong with leaders who believe in the mission of NAWA and we would love add another board member who shares our vision. Our websites are full of information about the National Association of Women Artists (thenawa.org) and the SC Chapter (nawasc.org). Take a look and contact us to be part of the leadership of an organization with a strong mission to promote women artists. (https://nawasc.org/contact).

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

We want to give our members the opportunity to promote exhibits, workshops, publications – anything related to their art practice that they wish to advertise. Here are a few recent announcements:

Featured: Nancy Jacey
Featured artist and cover art for COLORED PENCIL Magazine including a 6-page article, March 2023. Go get your copy! Nancy’s work also was accepted into ArtFields. See “Oil on Canvas,” colored pencil on cold pressed illustration board at the 11-day exhibit from April 19-29, 2023.

Art Travel Experiences: Laura Hitchcock
Wild Hair Adventures Art Retreats takes groups of women artists to fun, arty places in the world. Pack your bags. The next trip is to Barcelona June 10 – 17 AND/OR June 17 – 24, 2023. For more information https://wildhairadventures.com and contact laura.hitchcock5@gmail.com.

Books for Sale: Lisa Anne Cullen
Little Orange Honey Hood: A Carolina Folktale: On Blossom’s Carolina-swamp journey to deliver medicine to Grandma, she meets a hungry alligator.
Three Wild Pigs: A Carolina Folktale: Lulu, Pop, and Grandpaw Curly are caught by surprise when Hurricane Wolf threatens to huff and puff and blow their coastal Carolina houses down. Lisa Anne Cullen is an artist, illustrator, author, and instructor. Her picture-books are published through the USC Press/Young Palmetto Books.

Retreats and Workshops: Fran Gardner
Fran Gardner leads creativity retreats that make space for thoughtful discussion, bold experimentation, and transformative insights that will strengthen your craft and clarify your creative intent. You’ll identify new, exciting paths for your work in community with other artists. Contact her at fran@frangardnerart.com for upcoming dates and locations. 2023 retreats are scheduled for August, October and November.

NAWA SC CHAPTER MEMBER FEATURE

Three SC Chapter members won awards in the Florida Chapter Exhibit, “Changing Direction”: Pat Zalisko (1st Place), Susan Irish (3rd Place), and StacI Swider (HM). This exhibit was held in person at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, FL in January 2023. Many thanks to our FL Chapter friends for inviting us to participate

NAWA SC is proud to be a part of the National Association of Women Artists and further the national mission – to promote awareness of, and interest in, visual art created by women in the United States – in our state of South Carolina. Please contact art.nawasc@gmail.com if you have questions about this news update, have news to share or wish to join the NAWA SC Chapter. To learn more about our members and our chapter, please visit https://nawasc.org.