WASHINGTON—The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) has been awarded a $635,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to fund a transformative institutional initiative, From Rediscovery to Relevance. In support of this initiative, which places women artists in context through ground-breaking scholarship and new interpretations of art history, the grant will provide an endowment for NMWA’s director of library and research center position, an innovative interpretation and education outreach fund, a distinguished lecture series, and a National Council of Scholars.
Director of NMWA, Dr. Judy L. Larson commented, “As the 21st century unfolds, there has never been a better time to pursue a mission rooted in humanities-based, interdisciplinary programming about women’s cultural contributions. This grant allows us to continue providing increased depth and content to women’s stories through outstanding humanities projects and our renowned library and research center. From Rediscovery to Relevance intends to transform the public perception beyond thinking of women as ‘exceptions,’ and initiating a greater appreciation of women as equals.”
From Rediscovery to Relevance is an in-depth strategy interwoven throughout the museum’s departments. In NWMA’s Library and Research Center (LRC), the Challenge Grant will endow the LRC director position, thereby retaining professional excellence at the leading center for research on women’s contributions to the arts. In order to offer visitors the full benefit of NMWA’s scholarship, NEH will fund the creation of innovative and interpretive materials including pocket exhibitions, printed materials, educational videos and cutting-edge technology.
The Challenge Grant will also fund the collaboration of NMWA and top scholars nationwide through a Distinguished Lecture Series and a National Council of Scholars. Funding for a Distinguished Lecture Series will allow NMWA to identify a distinguished humanities scholar who will present a lecture based on her or his research on women and their roles in culture. This lecture series will appear in a deluxe fall edition of NMWA’s Women in the Arts quarterly magazine with an accompanying DVD. A National Council of Scholars fund will attract the top scholars in the nation to work with NMWA’s curators and educators in enhancing the museum’s future exhibitions. NMWA will encourage Council members to share their latest research as contributors to NMWA’s quarterly magazine. Scholars will also serve as “ambassadors” nationwide to communicate the importance of NMWA’s mission.
Dr. Larson explained, “We want our visitors to come away with a full, seamless story, told with multiple references and viewpoints. We want them to make connections to women and their artistic productions that are provocative and take our guests through a ‘full circle’ of thinking.”
To receive the full Challenge Grant award, NMWA must raise $1,905,000 in non-federal contributions by January 2011. NMWA is one of eleven institutions to receive this prestigious grant during the most recent application cycle.
About The Women’s Museum
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), founded in 1981 and opened in 1987, is the only museum dedicated solely to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing and literary arts. The museum’s permanent collection features 3,000 works from the 16th century to the present created by more
than 800 artists; including Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner and Louise Bourgeois, along with special collections of 18th-century silver tableware and botanical prints. The Museum also conducts multidisciplinary programs for diverse audiences and maintains a Library and Research Center accessible to the public by appointment. The Museum is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., in a landmark building near the White House. It is open Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, noon–5 p.m. For information, call 202.783.5000 or visit the Museum’s Web site at www.nmwa.org. THE WOMEN’S MUSEUM®
About NEH
Created in 1965 and based in Washington D.C., NEH is dedicated to providing grants for the humanities in the areas of education, research, and public programs. NEH will provide approximately $141 million towards humanities programs in 2007. For more information about The National Endowment for the Humanities go to www.neh.gov.
