Massachusetts

by Jennifer Jean Okumura, President

Art embodies the intersection of personal journeys and our creative community of shared experiences. Art acts as the catalyst that connects us with others.

Fall energizes and inspires us, as this season is most valued for its natural, lush beauty—an ideal backdrop for our current two shows. “Breakthrough” is at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Seaport, on the water. Thanks to everyone who attended the “Meet Hollis!” reception, with music by D’Amico Entertainment. We admire our juror, Hollis Taggart (New York dealer and President of Hollis Taggart Gallery and Hollis Taggart Downtown), and his incredible team’s resilience, as well as their ability to showcase diverse artistic voices and foster social connection through powerful visual narratives. The exhibit is truly memorable and resonates with many journeys and multicultural influences.

Meet Hollis reception

This inspired our second show, a fun and memorable “Adapt or Die—Dancing Between Art and Coexisting on Earth” reception, featuring mesmerizing music by Elijah. Our hearts are smiling with Erik, Kamal, Althea, and Rebecca’s vision, professionalism, and support. Events included Caio e Jess on September 20, 2025. Brazilian guitarist Caio Afiune and American vocalist Jessica Curran are award-winning musicians (ASCAP Young Composers Award, John Lennon Songwriting Contest) and professors at Berklee College of Music. Their compositions reflect shared experiences and cultural dialogue, blending rock, Brazilian music, and jazz with intricate rhythms, lush harmonies, and emotive melodies. Themes include mental health and compassion, feminism, and the natural world. Huá Yè presented “Nocturnal Reveries” on September 13, 2025, a solo piano program that explored the genre of nocturnes through late 19th- and 20th-century literature, capturing the solitude, wonder, and introspection of the night for a poetic, immersive listening experience. It featured nocturnes by John Field, Francis Poulenc, Gabriel Fauré, Chopin, Debussy, and an original improvisation on Chopin’s nocturne motif.

Adapt or Die reception

ArtZ Over Anxiety occurred on September 27, 2025, with art making, light refreshments, and a presentation and dialogue led by $weetss, who interviewed participating NAWA MA artists for her public access TV program that evening. A big thank you to Artscope for their online article written by Madeleine Lord.

Our momentum continued with the Call for Art: “Power Surge: Ignite the Future”’ December 2025, at Galatea Fine Arts in the SoWa Art & Design District. “Power Surge” refers to the electric energy that women harness to create and share their art globally. The show will be juried by Victoria J. Fry, a New York City-based painter, educator, curator, and the founder of Visionary Art Collective (VAC @visionaryartcollective, @newvisionarymag, and @warnescontemporary.). Save the date: December 18, 2025, for a guest presentation to explore the power of self-advocacy for women artists and for practical tips and strategies for navigating the art world, featuring Victoria J. Fry. Our holiday “Thank You Members” celebration, along with Sitka Newport’s “La Fête,” will run from December 12, 2025, through January 9, 2026. Through love, kindness, and sensory delights, we all connect in la fête—and more—as we continue to make waves in our new creative adventures for everyone.

EXHIBITIONS

Momentum and collaborations continue, and our hearts smile as we end on a high note with “ABOUT FACE” at the Dartmouth Cultural Center, juried by the director and our own Jill Law. Our artist members engage in many meaningful ways with the arts and culture as our chapter grows, supported by a vibrant schedule of events: nawama.org/calendar.

Collage of Exhibitions

GENERAL CHAPTER NEWS

We support our members through in-person and virtual exhibition opportunities, PR visibility, and fostering a sense of community. So far, we have held seven in-person exhibitions in 2025, including those previously mentioned. We also hosted nine in-person exhibitions in 2025, along with ongoing rotating gallery shows on Newbury Street and in partnership with the Junior League of Boston to showcase works at their headquarters building.

Our Marketing and Social Media as Part of Your Creative Arsenal IX workshops continue to support members, and we are proud of our 2025 scholarship recipients, including Genevieve Riegle, along with 2024 recipients Grace O’Malley, Elisha Torres Bueno, and Abeer Hassan, and more to come in 2026.

We further boost member visibility through Calls for Art, PR coverage, and our partnership with Artscope Magazine, which features our ads in January/February, July/August, September/October, and November/December. Special thanks to Kim Alemian for creating the ads. Our PR efforts included articles in the Artscope Art Basel issue, displayed during the Art Basel Magazine sector, full-page ads, and Artscope’s bi-weekly e-blasts covering topics such as multidimensional art, artistic analysis, and home and identity, as well as our social media platforms. We also participate in TransCultural Exchange (TCE) TV, Hello World, An Art Affair Around the Globe, and our online shops. Upcoming events include a Member Appreciation Soiree on December 18, 2025, an Art Salon in 2026, and Social & Art Chat in 2026, with collaborations involving local communities such as the South End Business Alliance (SEBA). These initiatives are vital in supporting, strengthening, and unifying us as artists. Our chapter continues to grow with a vibrant roster of opportunities and events.

ARTIST PROFILES

Carol Baum’s Run 4 & Run 9

Artist Carol Baum’s two works, Run 4 and Run 9, in Adapt or Die, merge two narratives, each responding to the exhibit’s theme. They are 36-inch square paintings with a shared stenciled background, illustrating the topography of her three-mile run in bright green and orange. She has completed this course three times a week for the past 45 years. Baum dedicates her runs to her daughter, who has a form of muscular dystrophy and cannot participate. The stenciled letters CTG symbolize the 19th chromosome components that cause the condition, repeating 196 times on the gene and in each painting.

The second narrative, written in uppercase stenciled letters, is taken directly from the journals of Sam and Dhieu, two South Sudanese refugees who moved into a home at the start of Baum’s run. The bright backgrounds of these paintings enhance the storytelling of a painful experience. The square format causes words to split and continue on the following line. Misspellings, missing letters, and ESL wording add to the drama as the two narrators recall their escape. The word “suitcase” is misspelled as “suicase,” where the missing letter poetically suggests escape, while still preserving the meaning and conveying a sense of limited possessions.

I recommend that visitors take the time to read each journal quote in the two Run works, imagine the moments when they were written, and praise the use of clear, stenciled painted lettering and topographical art to convey these pure stories to us, with the artist’s dedicated pursuit for her daughter being the reason she experienced all of this.

Erin Starr in her studi

Erin Starr is an award-winning international artist who resides in Barrington, Rhode Island. During her artistic career, she has exhibited her work in more than 150 shows globally, including numerous solo exhibitions. Starr is a member of NAWA, the Artist League of Rhode Island, Hera Gallery (Rhode Island), Shared Habitat Earth (Boston), and Little Van Gogh in Germany and Belgium.

Said Starr, “My art is a profound dialogue between the elements of our planet and my creative expression. The land and its elements are in a delicate balance; we hold the outcome in our hands by how we can prevent worsening climate change. The land and oceans are constantly transforming, and as our planet continues to warm, we see these effects more profoundly and rapidly. I see inspiration in the beauty and elements of the planet in its organic and abstract nature. My paintings represent the changing seas, land, and the balance of the Earth. I am creating a story of our planet, a story we are writing, the history we are making, and the future we will be living.

In my paintings, I use a mixture of mediums to create depth and texture. I work with acrylic and oil, pigment powders, ink, and gold leaf. I also work with a variety of textures, such as mica and pumice.”

Starr’s work has been featured in several publications, including Artscope, Art Studio, Create Magazine, and United Women Artists Magazine. Her paintings are part of private collections worldwide, including those in South Korea, Canada, Germany, Israel, Belgium, France, Spain, Nepal, and the United States. She is also the recipient of the first-place award at the Pawtucket Foundation Prize Show in Rhode Island, the Bristol Art Museum RI award, the Global Art Virtuoso Elite Artist Award, the International Premier Artist Prize 2024, and the Art of Healing award at the SIY Gallery in San Francisco.

Erica Joy’s photography has been showcased in regional exhibitions, juried shows, and private collections. She is also the founder of Erica Joy Photography, where she shares her work through fine art prints and storytelling. Erica adopts a thoughtful, grounded approach to her craft—focused on connection, care, and curiosity.

Joy lives and works just outside Boston, where she keeps exploring New England’s coastlines with her camera.
Said Joy, “Through the lens of my camera, I seek to capture moments of quiet awe—those fleeting, soul-stirring scenes in nature that invite reflection, stillness, and deep connection. My work as a landscape and seascape photographer is rooted in a deep reverence for the natural world and a desire to preserve its beauty in a time of increasing environmental fragility.

Based in New England, I am constantly inspired by the region’s changing seasons, moody coastlines, and expansive skies. I frequently revisit familiar places—windswept dunes, hidden lighthouses, and forest trails—not just to capture their shapes, but to explore how light, weather, and time alter them. This repetitive practice serves as meditation and as a way to see more deeply.

My photographic process combines intuition with intention. I use natural light, long exposures, and minimalist composition to strip scenes down to their emotional core. In doing so, I aim to create work that is not only visually striking but also emotionally powerful, —images that invite viewers to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with their surroundings.

Photography has always been more than a medium for me—it’s a language, a way to express what words cannot say. In a world often filled with noise and speed, my work provides a contrast: moments of peace, presence, and perspective.

I hope to engage with a community of artists and viewers who value that same sense of quiet attention. My work invites contemplation and connection, and I look forward to contributing a visual voice that celebrates nature’s poetry and power.”

IN CONCLUSION

Let’s maintain this positive energy from our amazing collaborations with colleagues, creative friends, and families, fueled by unwavering optimism for a fantastic year. Art will always shine and inspire us, serving as the glue that holds laughter and tears together. I look forward to connecting with all our members and hearing about their accomplishments. The year 2025 is significant, especially since daily news often lacks inspiration and human connection. Let’s make it a success as we continue to make waves both as a chapter and individually. Congratulations to everyone as we head into fall and the new year. You are appreciated for everything you do, from the incredible Board to our unmatched members.

Florida

by Denise Cormier Mahoney, President

Greetings from sunny Florida. We’re working hard as a board and committee member volunteers, and here are some of our latest updates:

EXHIBITIONS 2025-26

We currently have two exhibits open for entries on Smarter Entry until the December 15, 2025 deadline: The Herrig Center for the Arts in Bradenton and the Naples Botanical Garden in Naples.

The call for entries to the Morean Arts Center in St Petersburg, FL has just closed and the curator of the Center, Amanda Cooper, will be reducing the 97 entries to the 50 needed to fill their space.

CHAPTER NEWS

Our NAWA FL all-member meeting is scheduled for October 1, 2025 at 11:30 am. This is our third year inviting our full membership to attend a meeting. This is where we introduce new members from the current fiscal year, focus on a call to action for areas of volunteering need and kick off our member renewal dues period which is October 1-31, 2025.

Our scholarship committee has begun plans to have an annual 6”x 6” painting fundraising sale. We will ask each of our members to donate a 6”x 6” piece of art that reflects their style, created on a canvas wrapped wood panel or canvas whose sides are 2” deep. This will allow us to have consistency between all pieces.

ARTIST WORKSHOPS

Our monthly artist presentations are a wonderful way to share our talents, inspirations, studios and simply anything the artist wants to share. We post these on our members-only webpage for our members to view as many times as desired. Each member is invited to share their creative voice with us and those who give us permission are featured on our social media page.

Our April 2025 artist was Randy Globus, who shared with us her journal drawings in handmade books and how to make a “zine”. The link for her presentation is: https://youtu.be/KjAY2KxJsw8

Our May artist was Roberta Millman-Ide, who shared her textures in storytelling. The link for her presentation is https://youtu.be/mHocz9uPg2s

Our September artist was Janet Gold who shared her birdcages. The link for her presentation is https://youtu.be/gJdL60kRD5M

UPCOMING EXHIBITS/EVENTS

The Florida Chapter has four exhibitions scheduled for 2026, as follows:

The Morean Arts Center- St Petersburg, FL, January 16-March 25, 2026
The Herrig Center for the Arts- Bradenton, FL, March 24-April 17, 2026
The Naples Botanical Garden- Naples, FL, April 25-June 21, 2026, with a special preview evening with the Royal Palm Society
The Martin Arts Cultural Center- November 10-December 19, 2026, where Jane Baldridge will be designing playing cards featuring each of the accepted pieces. These cards will be for sale as a fundraiser for our scholarship program.

Pennsylvania

by Lolly Owens, President

EXHIBITIONS 2025-26

Our inaugural exhibition is November 6, 2025, to January 6, 2026, at the historical Abington Art Center in Jenkintown, PA, just north of Philadelphia and part of the metropolitan area. The opening reception will be held Thursday, November 6, 2025, from 6pm to 8 pm.

Two Artist Talks are part of the exhibition. Artists participating in the Wednesday, November 19, 2025 (6pm to 8 pm) panel discussion are Margaret Montgomery, Kathleen S. Catanese, Jennifer Kish and Belle Manes. Bonnie MacAllister will give a talk on Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 10 am to noon and a workshop afterward.

Artist Jen Haefeli created invitations for members to send to family and friends.

EXHIBITIONS 2027

Indiana Museum of Art, Indiana, PA (January through March 2027). Theme: The World Is a Mystery.

Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier, PA (August 2027). Theme: Women’s Visions.

Pat Beachly, Chair of the Art & Design Department and Professor of Art at Seton Hill University in Pittsburgh, will be the juror for the NAWAPA 2027 exhibition at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art.

GENERAL CHAPTER NEWS

The Executive Board approved asking participating artists to donate to NAWAPA five percent (5%) of the sales price of any art sold during a NAWAPA-sponsored exhibit. This is in addition to any commission paid to the venue.

South Carolina

by Meyriel Edge, President

The NAWA South Carolina Chapter’s recent exhibition of 70 pieces, ‘Brookgreen Inspires-Women Create,’ lived up to its aspirations.

In 1930, New York sculptor and NAWA member Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, Archer Millington Huntington, bought more than 900 acres of land, previously a rice plantation, in which to display her large animal sculptures. Gradually, the works of other sculptors were added, and it became known as the Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens. Currently, 39 NAWA sculptures are on display. Brookgreen provided both employment and an artistic center for the community, and it continues with its mission, although many more visit each year.

Anna Hyatt Huntington was a visionary who vowed to protect the land and its flora and fauna. The gardens are full of glorious trees, plants, and flowers. Tucked away in a quiet area is an educational center/zoo with indigenous animals, such as alligators, raccoons and snakes. Many are injured and in need of care.

The exhibition title, ‘Brookgreen Inspires-Women Create’ certainly whet the appetites of NAWA members who produced 70 pieces that filled the Rosen Gallery. Robin Salmon, who has been the longtime resident curator did an admirable job of displaying the remarkably varied collection. She shared that it had been their most popular show, attracting more than 1,000 visitors, and sale of eight pieces.

Entering the gardens past the magnificent Hyatt Huntington horses sculpture is in itself inspirational, as were the works by NAWASC members that covered the spectrum of the fine arts. The new NAWA Chapter Award, plus the donations received, resulted in a larger selection of financial awards, fitting for a quality exhibition.

Brookgreen’s commitment to both art and science sparked a collaborative Art/Science field trip designed by a science teacher and myself years ago. Because students were permitted to run around and touch the Brookgreen sculptures, while making as much noise as they liked, they were curious and they learned. A quiet time followed in the Education Center/ Zoo for students to hold live creatures, and feel mass, form, and texture shortly after experiencing the sculptural pieces. The memory of that day inspired my work.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Melinda Welker made a presentation at Brookgreen, which featured her bird photography to show how art can inspire the preservation of natural wildlife habitats.

I am pleased to share our award winners:

Anna Hyatt Huntington Award, sponsored by NAWA, was judged by Robin Salmon, Brookgreen’s Vice President and Curator of Sculpture, and awarded to Josie Campbell Dellenbaugh, CT, for her bronze sculpture “Golden Apples of the Sun.” (insert image 1 here)(caption: “Golden Apples of the Sun” by Josie Campbell Dellenbaugh, media bronze sculpture 38”)