The National Association of Women Artists supports female artists through exhibition and programs.
The National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) is a major force for affirmative action, addressing the art establishment’s exclusion of professional women artists from the major art community. In 2014, NAWA will celebrate its 125th anniversary. The organization challenges and illuminates the disparity between the contribution and representation of female artists shown in galleries and museums.
NAWA’s greatest contribution to the art world is its vast membership of women artists who have chosen NAWA to be the conduit through which they impact the art world, by way of exhibitions, education and mentoring. Some 125 years ago when no one would accept woman’s art into a major exhibition, five determined female artists created “The Woman’s Art Club.” It grew to become The National Association of Women Artists, the first professional art association exhibiting women’s work. Over the years it has attracted many famous artists: Mary Cassett, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Isabel Bishop, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Louis Nevelson, Alice Neel, Audrey Flack, Miriam Schapiro, Pat Adams and Faith Ringgold, to name a few. Their experiences proved the need for a women’s art organization.
NAWA 2012 Medal of Honor winner Marie Hines Cowan’s “Sphinx”
Why the need today?
Today there is a perception of equality in the fine art field. This thinking has left many of the young women coming out of art schools (where they are in the majority), accepting the false premise that their work is being judged on equal terms. Statistics prove this is not true:
- The Gagosian group, 12 venues in eight cities, no women in 11 of them.
- MOMA in 2012 showing of 169 works–13 were women’s.
- A survey done by the National Museum of Women in the Arts showed that in the major museums women are shown at an average of 5 percent.
- In blind portfolio reviews, women do well. There is no difference in the acceptance rate: but when gender is known, there is a 1/3 drop of acceptance.
Making a difference
NAWA empowers and supports women artists through its exhibitions around the country and through its educational programs, as well as through its own NAWA gallery. It encourages young women to be bold, and to understand the history that has been left out of the conversation for the last 400 years. We have to learn about and honor the women who went before us, the remarkable women like Artemisia Gentileschi and Berthe Morisot and the hundreds more. Knowledge of the past helps us understand the dynamics of today.
NAWA will encourage and support women aritsts until the term “Woman Artist” is no longer used as the subtitle for a show, or for the description of the work created by a woman. The work must stand on its individual merits.
NAWA 2012 Medal of Honor winners, Esther Berman’s “Inferno” (left) and Danielle Austen’s “Daily Dome” (right). Not pictured are winners Judith Modrack’s “I’m Here” and Leah K. Tomaino’s “Climbing Mount Rainer.”
Information
The organization’s headquarters are in New York City with a chapter in Florida. There are exhibitions held throughout the United States. NAWA has created a platform where artists from many different regions and backgrounds can communicate and share ideas. This networking encourages growth and understanding between the various communities around the country.
If you are a female artist consider joining NAWA. Membership categories are: professional, student, and associate. For those who are not artists but would like to support our mission join as a friend and supporter. Download an application at thenawa.org or call 212-675-1616.
