NWMA Wins Prestigious Media and Technology Award for #5WomenArtists Campaign

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.
May 18, 2017
5/18/17

WASHINGTON—The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a 2017 MUSE Award for the entry “Can You Name #5WomenArtists? A Viral Campaign for Women’s History Month.”

NMWA was presented with the top prize, the Gold MUSE Award, in the Digital Communities category during a reception on Sunday, May 7, 2017, at the 2017 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. There to receive the award was Stacy Meteer, NMWA’s Communications and Marketing Manager, along with Emily Haight, Digital Editorial Assistant, Mara Kurlandsky, Project Coordinator for Digital Engagement and Amy Mannarino, Director of Communications and Marketing. This award recognizes NMWA’s high achievement in the application of media and technology to Gallery, Library, Archive and Museum (GLAM) programs.

The MUSE Awards competition received more than 200 applications from a wide variety of institutions in North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. This year’s entries included videos and films, interactive kiosks and installations, virtual reality experiences, applications and APIs, digital communities, websites, audio tours and more. Over 90 GLAM professionals from across the globe participated as jurors in the process of reviewing and scoring entries. Winning programs were expected to demonstrate outstanding achievement in their content, interface, design, technical merit, innovation, utility and appeal.

“It is an honor and a privilege for the Media & Technology Professional Network to host the 28th annual MUSE Awards,” said Neal Johnson, Chair, AAM Media & Technology Professional Network. “The quality of this year’s entries demonstrates an ever increasing sophistication in the way GLAM’s are leveraging both traditional and cutting edge technologies in service to their public audiences.”

“We are thrilled to receive this honor and recognition from the American Alliance of Museums for our #5WomenArtists campaign,” said NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling. “Thank you to the MUSE jurors and a special thank you to all who joined us in our #5WomenArtists initiative. By sparking conversations around the globe on gender parity in the arts, we are working together to increase awareness of and promote positive action on this important issue.”

The #5WomenArtists social media campaign began with a simple idea: If you ask someone to name five artists, they will likely name prominent male artists, but how many people can list five women artists? What started as a viral campaign turn into a self-sustainable, digital community with global reach and impact. It provides a platform for both institutions and individuals to share stories and have dialogue.

No matter what the size of a digital community is, two-way communication is essential between institution and audience. The community that was created after the launch of this campaign is still expanding and growing in international influence and taps into a wider audience. By building this community, the museum has confirmed its relevance and is an example to other institutions on an international level.

Digital Communities, oronline social spaces moderated and hosted by a GLAM, offer a virtual space for people to gather around a common experience, exhibition or interest. Entries in this category have included blogs, badging, social media campaigns/projects and micro-sites created for on-going community engagement. The 2017 MUSE Awards for this category are as follows:

  • Can You Name #5WomenArtists? A Viral Campaign for Women’s History Month, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gold
  • The Stinkiest Thing You Ever Watched,The New York Botanical Garden, Silver
  • Tattoo Stories,The Field Museum, Bronze
  • #ChihulyTO, Royal Ontario Museum, Honorable Mention

Now in its 28th year, the MUSE awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in GLAM media and technology efforts. The competition is administrated by the American Alliance of Museums Media & Technology Professional Network.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the world’s only major museum solely dedicated to celebrating the creative contributions of women. The museum champions women through the arts by collecting, exhibiting, researching and creating programs that advocate for equity and shine a light on excellence. NMWA highlights remarkable women artists of the past while also promoting the best women artists working today. The museum’s collection includes over 4,700 works by more than 1,000 women artists from the 16th century to the present, including Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, Alma Thomas, Lee Krasner, Louise Bourgeois, Chakaia Booker and Nan Goldin.

NMWA 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 nmwa.org. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for visitors 65 and over and students, and free for NMWA members and youths 18 and under. Free Community Days take place on the first Sunday of each month. For more information about NMWA, visit nmwa.org, Broad Strokes Blog, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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