I first met Susan Hammond at a Small Works Reception when the NAWA Gallery was on 39th Street, New York. Susan currently serves as NAWA Vice President but has been involved in NAWA in so many capacities. She is fascinating, brings an interesting background to NAWA , is an accomplished administrator and a noted photographer. And for those who do not know her, Susan has a great sense of humor. This is what she had to say when NAWA NOW interviewed her in February 2023:

What is your history with the military and what influence did that have on your work with NAWA?
In the mid 1980s after I closed two ceramic stores, my brother (who was a manager for the FAA in Washington, D.C.) advised me to take the Civil Service Exam and within a couple of weeks I was hired by the Department of Defense. I soon became one of two female illustrators (along with three men) to work on various non-lethal military equipment. My title was Technical Military Illustrator. Working with the military was an interesting but tense job, with short suspense dates to get work done. In the Military you re given a job assignment to do, they also give you a suspense date (when it has to be completed) and presented to the writer/engineer. Some suspense dates are within days and some weeks. That is what the Military calls it”.

I received numerous awards for my illustrations and a special award for work I completed for Desert Storm.

Another assignment I had was to go to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) in Maryland and take photographs of the FOX (NBCRS-Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance System). It detected chemicals in the air.

What a feeling to get into this vehicle and take pictures of the dashboard and equipment. This was my first assignment working with photography. I enjoyed it so much that I continued my education and received a BFA in fine art and an MFA in fine art and did two thesis photography exhibits and presentations.

You have had so many roles at NAWA, were there any positions that you have held that stand out? Did you find one role more rewarding than another?

I joined NAWA in 2002 and became the Membership Chair in 2005, President in 2008 and Executive Director in 2010. I remained the Executive Director until my retirement at the end of 2019.

Pigeon, 12 x 12 in.

I have been a dedicated and loyal NAWA member for over 20 years, and I am a firm believer in its mission and moving the organization forward until women have parity in the art world and equal representation in museums and galleries. That was why NAWA was founded in 1889, and we are still aiming for the same goals.

I enjoyed so many jobs during my Presidency and Executive Director positions, but three things really stand out: the New Members Induction Ceremony and Exhibit; the yearly Business Luncheon with a guest artist presenter; and, speaking engagements with schools, organizations and various NAWA events. I always enjoyed working with the NAWA membership (the long-standing members and also the new members). The New Members Induction Ceremony and Exhibit were always amazing and exciting. Women artists came from all across the U.S. to attend the Induction Ceremony at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rubin Museum. It was an honor for them to see their work on a large-scale screen. They were thrilled to be a part of the NAWA sisterhood, and I enjoyed welcoming them. The second part of my work that I enjoyed was the yearly NAWA Business Luncheon. It was so nice seeing so many NAWA members in a relaxed luncheon environment that included the presentation of a high-profile artist. Every attendee enjoyed this event. I also enjoyed various speaking engagements with organizations, schools, the Elder Hostel (formerly Road Scholar group), Parsons and speeches at various NAWA events. I always enjoyed promoting NAWA, its mission and its history, using facts, information and humor.

Some of the highlights of my career with NAWA:

• Initiated and established the first symposium at the National Women’s Museum in Washington, D.C., where 15 past presidents spoke about their reign as President; and, Jeffrey Wechsler did a power point about NAWA’s history.
• Created the Honorary Lifetime Members category.
• Remained Membership Chair and handled all membership issues through my Presidency and Executive Director positions.
• Created the Associate Membership category and, working with Sandra Bertrand, created the Free Year Membership category for graduating BFA/MFA students.
• Founded the free exhibition for members who did 16+ hours of volunteer service for NAWA during the year, which later became Art Angels.
• With President Mary Alice Orito, created the Operating Board, which divided the Executive Board into two Boards. One was for the Chairs of each NAWA committee and the Executive Board was for non-artists, with the exception of former NAWA Presidents.
• Was the liaison for the three NAWA Chapters, attending all board meetings and keeping them abreast of headquarters issues and concerns.
• Achieved 4 grants for NAWA which helped with a traveling library show and panel discussions in 6 New York City libraries, and, also helped digitize the NAWA Archives at the Alexander Library at Rutgers University.
• Was instrumental in two NAWA moves from 14th Street to 39th Street, and to the National Arts Club.

How can NAWA encourage and foster involvement of our new and younger members to make NAWA the best it can be?

NAWA will always need younger members to keep the organization moving forward. I think more PR should be done with faculty and teachers in art schools to make sure younger women artists are aware of NAWA and its history and Archives. Most artists think about their legacy and one way of accomplishing that is by becoming a NAWA member. NAWA’s collection of art is at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers University, and catalogs and correspondence are archived at the Alexander Library at Rutgers University. Our catalogs are also archived at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Smithsonian AA/PG Library, Ryerson U Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago, Frick Art Reference Library, the New York Public Library, Fil, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University and the Library of Congress, Dep. A. NAWA also has the one-year FREE Membership for graduating students who have been recommended by their art teachers. Hopefully, after the first year, they will be joining as a regular NAWA Member. Some NAWA shows are ”open,” so you don’t have to be a member, as many times people apply for membership after they have been selected for one of these shows.

Although we all realize there needs to be more promotion of women artists, and this is one of the missions of NAWA as well, in the time span you have been involved in the visual arts, have you seen any progress/improvement for women in the arts?

Statistics were done in 2014 by Judith Brodsky (a NAWA Honorary VP and Honoree) and Catherine Morris, the Senior Curator of the Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum and 2016 NAWA Honoree:

Women’s solo exhibitions in 1970: 11.5% and in 2000, 24%

Commercial Publications devoted to women artists in the 1970’s: 0.5% and in 2000, 2.7%
50% of all MFAs are women

44% of gallery representation are women artists

Things have gotten a little better for women, but it has been a slow process. NAWA will remain viable and available to professional women artists until there is parity in the art world, in art books and in galleries and museums for women artists.

Can you tell our members about your creative endeavors. What inspires you? What are you working on next?

People inspire me, animals inspire me, nature inspires me, children inspire me, and humor inspires me and even sadness inspires me, too. During the pandemic, my camera remained in its case, as I did not have the desire or motivation to capture images. However, during the past year, I have slowly started to capture images that jump out at me during my daily life. Besides art and exhibiting my photographs, I have been doing volunteer work and fundraising for homeless veterans, autistic children, the Division of Aging and Disabled in Warren County, NJ, and retired Federal Employees. I have a volunteer spirit and I am called to help where necessary. I have a bucket list of goals to accomplish in the future, and that is what keeps me focused and energized.

How did you develop your legendary sense of humor?

I always felt that laughter was the best medicine. I was always the family clown and, also the class clown. Under my picture in my H.S. yearbook it says, “Personality Plus.” I always used humor, jokes, and even sarcasm to untangle stressful meetings and moments, and also to cheer people up. I can laugh at myself and often do, and I like to see people happy. I was a candy striper in my teen years and always tried to make people smile when I did volunteer work in a local hospital. We certainly need more smiles, humor, kindness, fun and love in our world today.

Going Fishing, color print