Urgent Museum Notice

CHAMPION WOMEN THROUGH THE ARTS

Exterior color photo of the museum building with a blue sky and clouds. Exterior color photo of the museum building with a blue sky and clouds.

Space to Soar: Building Renovation and Capital Campaign

Now is the time to renovate our landmark building that stands as a beacon and a flagship for women artists and advocates worldwide. Help us restore, revitalize, and reimagine our iconic home in Washington, D.C. Support our ambitious $66 million campaign.

Learn more about the building project
  • Smartphone filming of a darker skinned woman artist talking in front of her pink and yellow artwork in the museum gallery.
  • A dark-skinned adult woman stands at a podium at the National Museum of Women in the Arts to speak. She has short dreadlocks, jewelry, and a jacket with a large purple and black plaid print on it. Behind her is a screen with the words 'Women, Arts, & Social Change.'
  • Woman taking a photograph of a colorful striped painting using a camera mounted on a tripod.

Stay Connected

During the building closure, we will continue exhibitions and programming off-site and online—our work for women in the arts will never pause.

Explore Our Virtual Resources
Close-up of hands holding a smartphone recording an artist talk in front of a yellow artwork in the museum.

Related Quote

Great art should be viewed, valued, and supported especially work by women.”
NMWA Member

Support Women in the Arts

NMWA members help us lead the way as catalysts for change for women in the arts. Join today as a special NMWAnext member and save with limited-time discounts.

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Photo credit: Kevin Allen

Photo credit: Kevin Allen

Related Quote

“People in the art world want to think we are achieving parity more quickly than we are.”
Susan Fisher Sterling, The Alice West Director

Advocate for Women

Women artists have been marginalized for centuries. Gender bias is less overt today, but contemporary women artists still face many obstacles and disparities, as well as persistent underrepresentation in museum collections and exhibitions worldwide. Their historical precursors still deserve to have their stories told.

Take Action
Close-up photograph of a painted quilt shows a medium-dark skinned woman dancing exuberantly. There is a white flower in her hair, and she wears dangling gold earrings and gold loops around her neck.
Faith Ringgold, American Collection #4: Jo Baker’s Bananas (detail), 1997; Photo credit: Emily Haight, NMWA

Faith Ringgold, American Collection #4: Jo Baker’s Bananas (detail), 1997; Photo credit: Emily Haight, NMWA

Online Resources

NMWA @ Home

Close-up detail of a larger artwork features a view of two felt houses. On the viewer's right is an orange house that is out-of-focus while on the left is a blue house that is in-focus and has visible stitches, coarse texture, and rectangular windows.
View special online exhibitions, educational resources, and activities to learn about women artists.
Take a Virtual Visit

Exhibitions

A black and white photograph of a young girl wearing a dress and coat jumping over a brick wall. Three other figures lean over the wall in the upper right corner of the composition. The jumping girl is the only figure who is in focus.
Explore our online exhibitions, including images, audio, and virtual tours.
View Online Exhibitions

Collection

Close-up detail of an abstract painting that features dense and chaotic brushstrokes of pale gray, lavender, and cobalt.
Examine highlights from the museum’s collection, spanning more than 5,500 works from the Renaissance through today.
Explore the Collection

Explore Things to Do @ NMWA

Members-Only: Virtual Tour with Curator Sarah Leahy of Inside Out: Artists in the Studio

Date: Oct, 26
Time: 1 to 2 pm

Close Encounters: Lavinia Fontana and Hung Liu

Date: Oct, 27
Time: 5:30 to 6:45 pm

Women Artists: Four Centuries of Creativity—Art Talk Live!

Date: Oct, 28
Time: 5:30 to 6:30 pm

Art Chat @ Five: Trick or Treat?

Date: Oct, 29
Time: 5 to 5:45 pm

Curative Collective Conversation: Shana Klein

Date: Nov, 01
Time: 12 to 1 pm

Close Encounters: Angelica Kauffman and Sonya Clark

Date: Nov, 03
Time: 5:30 to 6:45 pm

Art Chat @ Five: Tempted to Touch

Date: Nov, 05
Time: 5 to 5:45 pm

The Tea: Julie Dexter

Date: Nov, 05
Time: 12 to 1 pm

Collection Highlights Talk

Date: Nov, 07
Time: 2 to 3 pm

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View Calendar

Featured Blog Post

5 Fast Facts: Lynda Benglis

Happy birthday to Lynda Benglis, who was born on this day in 1941! Impress your friends with five fast facts about the American sculptor and visual artist, whose works are part of NMWA’s collection.
View of the museum from outside showing the Neoclassical building from one corner. The building is a tan-colored stone with an arched doorway, long vertical windows, and detailed molding around the roof.
Lynda Benglis, Eridanus (detail), 1984; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of AT&T Inc.; Photo by Cameron Robinson
@WomenInTheArts