About the Exhibition

Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) is one of the few remaining arts organizations that originated at the height of second-wave feminism, the era that sparked Linda Nochlin’s foundational essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” (1971). WSW is a model for radical change. Founded in 1974 by artists Ann Kalmbach (b. 1950), Tatana Kellner (b. 1950), Anita Wetzel (1949 to 2021), and Barbara Leoff Burge (b. 1933), it has grown from a grassroots organization to an institution that serves women and trans, intersex, nonbinary, and gender-fluid artists. Its longevity is due to the original vision of its founders, who developed a series of programs that support artists while also contributing to the sustainability of the organization itself. One of these programs is the Artist’s Book Grant, which has been a focus of WSW’s Artist-in-Residence program since 1981. To date, the workshop has published more than 240 artists’ books by residents.

This exhibition looks at the organization’s rich history as a proponent of book arts for marginalized communities in the US, through artists’ books, zines, printed materials, ephemera, and archival materials. It highlights the evolution of the organization as it successfully created the conditions under which art-making and institutional support serve a sustainable and more equitable art ecosystem.

About the Curator

Maymanah Farhat is an award-winning curator, writer, and university lecturer specializing in underrepresented artists and forgotten art scenes. She has curated exhibitions for museums, nonprofits, and university galleries throughout the US and abroad, including the Tacoma Art Museum (Washington), Bainbridge Island Museum (Washington), Minnesota Museum of American Art, San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco Center for Book Arts, The Gallery at VCUarts Qatar, and the Beirut Exhibition Center (Lebanon). Her publications include a chapter in the Routledge Companion to Art and Activism in the Twenty-First Century (2023). Farhat is currently a lecturer at California State University, Fresno.

About Women’s Studio Workshop

WSW is a visual arts organization based in Kingston, New York. Since 1974, WSW has brought more than 5,000 artists from around the globe to work in printmaking, hand papermaking, letterpress printing, photography, book arts, and ceramics. More than 6,500 Ulster County youth have participated in the workshop’s Art-in-Education program. WSW’s Artist’s Book Grant program has published more than 240 artists’ books, collected by major libraries and museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern, and the Library of Congress, among others.