WASHINGTON—There are plenty of opportunities to support women artists with NMWA this season, even while the museum prepares for the building reopening in fall 2023. Listen to live music, learn about the work of women muralists, and, through the end of February, visit Katharina Cibulka’s “SOLANGE” installation on the building façade.
The information below is current as of November 2022. All times listed are Eastern Time. For more information, visit the museum’s online calendar. Live transcriptions are provided during most virtual programs. To request additional access services, please check the online calendar for contact information or email accessibility@nmwa.org.
Special Events
International Women’s Day 2023: Virtual Festival
Wednesday, March 8, 10:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
Online
Celebrate International Women’s Day with NMWA. Join us for a virtual festival featuring women artists in the visual arts and beyond. Enjoy a conversation with artists, a cocktail-making class, a musical performance and much more. We’ll highlight the amazing contributions that women have made to the world with their creativity. Free. Live and pre-recorded programming available. Register for each program separately. Full program information available in early January 2023.
2023 Spring Gala
Friday, April 14, 6:30 p.m.
Embassy of Italy
Join co-chairs Anita McBride and Patti White and Honorary Diplomatic Chair Ambassador of Italy Mariangela Zappia for a special night at the museum’s largest annual fundraising event. Proceeds benefit NMWA’s special exhibitions and diverse education and public programming initiatives, allowing us to champion women artists of the past, present and future. The evening will feature cocktails, a seated dinner and entertainment. Please contact gala@nmwa.org for information on tickets, sponsorship opportunities and more.
Women, Arts, and Social Change Programs
The Tea: Ammonite
Friday, February 3, 12–1 p.m.
Online
Ammonite features in this online series in which women musicians perform original work via livestream. Each session includes a short interview, conducted over a cup of tea, which explores the artist’s creative process. Ammonite is a new power trio from Washington, D.C., adding some jangle and twang to the urgent intensity of ’90s rock, in the vein of Sleater-Kinney, Veruca Salt and The Breeders. The band features Selena Benally (More AM Than FM) on lead guitar, Erin Frisby (Miss Shevaughn & Yuma Wray, Fuzzqueen) on guitar and vocals, and Alyson Cina (Ménage à Garage, Seamstresses, All Her Muses) on drums. Additionally, Benally and Frisby, founders of the nonprofit organization and record label This Could Go Boom!, will discuss their organization’s work to expand gender equity and representation in the music landscape. Free. No reservations required. Stream live at nmwa.org/livestream.
The Tea: Hayley Fahey
Friday, April 7, 12–1 p.m.
Online
Singer-songwriter Hayley Fahey features in this online series in which women musicians perform original work via livestream. Each session includes a short interview, conducted over a cup of tea, which explores the artist’s creative process. Fahey has enchanted audiences across the country with her voice’s dynamic range and bluesy tenderness. Her sound is a unique blend of pop, soul and Americana, reminiscent of her earliest influences: singer-songwriters from the 1970s and early 2000s pop. She takes the audience on a journey with heartfelt lyrics, pop-driven hooks, and vivacious energy. Free. No reservations required. Stream live at nmwa.org/livestream.
FRESH TALK: Work on the Walls—Women Muralists and Graffiti Artists
Sunday, April 30, 4:30–6 p.m.
Planet Word
Art and language each empower humans to express emotions and ideas. When combined in the form of murals and graffiti art, they have immense ability to convey complex thoughts and reach numerous people in public spaces. What is the potential impact for social change? What does it mean for women to harness this potential? How can the perspectives of women and nonbinary people illuminate this distinctive medium? Join us for a conversation with mural artist MISS CHELOVE and mixed-media artist Nekisha Durrett as they answer these questions and explore connections between art and language. Reservations required. $25 general admission, $20 for members, students and seniors. The conversation will also be livestreamed at nmwa.org/livestream.
Fifth Annual MakeHER Summit Workshops
Monday, May 1, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
1615 M Street NW, Suite 200
Join NMWA for a day of meaningful connection and in-depth workshops that will offer practical tips and resources for creative entrepreneurs aiming to start or grow a business. This year, we are partnering with COCO B. Productions to inspire individuals to dream with purpose, pen a narrative that ignites an internal fire and build attainable strategies to achieve personal and professional goals. The program includes a keynote address by entrepreneur Mariko Bennett and workshops to guide you in developing strategic plans and goals. $15 general admission, $10 for members, students and seniors. Reservations required.
Art Talks
Art Chats @ 5
Fridays, January 6, 20, February 3, 17, March 3, 17, 31, April 7, 21, 5–6 p.m.
Online
Jump-start your weekend with art! Join NMWA educators online for informal 45-minute art chats about selected artworks in the collection. Each week the group will consider a new sampling of artworks. You can even enjoy your favorite happy hour drink or snack during the sessions. Free. Reservations required. Registration for each month’s Art Chats opens by the 20th of the preceding month.
NMWA xChange: Lookout with Katharina Cibulka
Tuesday, January 10, 12–12:45 p.m.
Online
On the second Tuesday of every other month, join NMWA staff and special guests who consider topics relevant to our world and offer insight into collaborations that the museum is fostering while the building is closed for renovation. In this episode, artist Katharina Cibulka discusses her Lookout installation on the façade of NMWA’s building, as well as other iterations of her “SOLANGE” project. Cibulka works as an artist, filmmaker and photographer and develops concepts for artistic processes. Cibulka studied art and film at the Academy of Fine Art and School for Artistic Photography, both in Vienna, as well as the New York Film Academy. Her work has appeared in exhibitions and film festivals at venues including the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast; Glucksman Gallery, Cork; Künstlerhaus, Vienna; Kunstverein, Bonn; Lidgett Gallery, Budapest; Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade; Neue Galerie, Innsbruck; Shedhalle, Zürich; and St. Claude Gallery, New Orleans. Free. Reservations required. For more information, email education@nmwa.org.
NMWA xChange: Making Her Mark
Tuesday, March 14, 12–12:45 p.m.
Online
On the second Tuesday of every other month, join NMWA staff and special guests who consider topics relevant to our mission to champion women artists. In this episode, curators Theresa Kutasz Christensen and Alexa Greist join NMWA hosts to discuss their upcoming exhibition Making Her Mark, which aims to present a feminist revision of early modern European art history (ca. 1400–1800). This exhibition, planned for 2023–24 at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Art Gallery of Ontario, includes paintings and silver works from NMWA’s collection and will broaden viewers’ understanding of women’s diverse contributions to European visual culture. Free. Reservations required. For more information, email education@nmwa.org.
Art Talk Live: Elizabeth Catlett
Thursday, April 6, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Online
Join staff from NMWA and the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum (GACM) to explore connections between GACM’s exhibition The Art of Elizabeth Catlett: From the Collection of Samella Lewis and NMWA’s collection. This exhibition comes from the collection of Samella Lewis (1924–2022), a student of Catlett and an accomplished artist, professor and author. It features 30 works by Catlett; a few by her husband, Francisco Mora; and others by Lewis herself. The conversation will extend to artists with ties to Catlett past and present, such as Loïs Mailou Jones, one of Catlett’s teachers at Howard University. Free. Reservations required.
Slow Art Day
Saturday, April 15, 1–2:30 p.m.
Online
Join a movement! Slow Art Week, April 7 through April 15, is an international event encouraging people of all ages to visit community art spaces—virtually or in person—and look at art slowly. To participate, invest time looking closely at a limited number of artworks suggested by NMWA, then consider a series of prompts. You are encouraged to examine at least five works of art for ten minutes each. On April 15, connect with other slow art lookers to discuss your experience and learn more about the selected artworks. Free. Reservations required for the online conversation, and space is limited. Visit this page starting on March 31 for selected artworks and slow looking suggestions.
For Educators
Educator Professional Development: New Year, New Artwork
Tuesday, January 31, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Online
Join NMWA and D.C.-Project Zero educators on National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day for this educator professional development session to discuss new acquisitions in the NMWA collection. Consider these artworks using Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routines, learn about the artists who created them and brainstorm about how NMWA’s collection and resources can be incorporated into your teaching. Reservations required and available December 20. Open to educators of all grades, ages and subject areas. Professional development documentation will be provided upon request.
Installations
Lookout: Katharina Cibulka
Through February 26, 2023
Austrian artist Katharina Cibulka covers the museum’s north-facing façade with one of her monumental “SOLANGE” (German for “as long as”) nets, a project that addresses gender-based inequity and social power structures. In bright pink tulle, Cibulka stitched the message, “As long as generations change but our struggles stay the same, I will be a feminist.” Prior to developing each site-specific “SOLANGE” phrase, the artist seeks public input to understand the concerns and hopes of local residents. Lookout: Katharina Cibulka is the artist’s first installation in the United States.
Lookout: Katharina Cibulka is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The project is generously supported by Share Fund and the members of NMWA.