National Museum of Women in the Arts Launches New Website

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.
June 18, 2020
6/18/20
Bold redesign includes enhanced content about women artists, artworks, and advocacy in an accessible, mobile-responsive format

WASHINGTON—The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) has launched a redesigned website at nmwa.org. The culmination of an 11-month project developed in collaboration with the creative agency Purple Rock Scissors and in consultation with accessibility experts at Prime Access Consulting, the site features simplified, intuitive navigation and contemporary design that provides a strong digital platform for the museum’s art, artists and advocacy.

NMWA’s advocacy for women in the arts is woven throughout the new site. Statistics that lay bare the art world’s gender disparities appear in engaging infographics. Pages on NMWA’s advocacy initiatives, including the international #5WomenArtists campaign; Women to Watch exhibition series; and Women, Arts, and Social Change public programs, are enhanced by embedded social media feeds that gather participant content. 

The website spotlights exhibitions, enhanced with related content such as artist profiles, blog posts, events, online exhibitions and audio guides into one engaging format. A filterable calendar presents the museum’s schedule of gallery talks, tours and public programs. A new “In Your Region” page lists current exhibitions by women artists at cultural institutions around the world. Resources for educators and information from the museum’s Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center are presented in easily searchable and downloadable formats.

“As the museum’s profile has expanded over the past few years with groundbreaking contemporary exhibitions, award-winning digital campaigns and a thorough rebrand, so too has our website traffic and engagement,” said NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling. “The new site offers a welcoming introduction to the museum and is now capable of growing with us into the future.”

The site was developed and built according to the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This allows digital visitors, regardless of ability or assistive technology, to access and enjoy the museum’s resources. Additional work to ensure all images and documents on the site are accessible is ongoing and will become part of the web team’s permanent workflow. Other enhancements include:

  • Reimagined, intuitive navigation that enhances the way visitors use the site;
  • Native mobile responsive design that adapts to any device or browser size;
  • Large text on light backgrounds, making the site easier to read;
  • New building and collection photography, helping visitors feel closer to the experience of visiting and viewing the artworks in person;
  • Bold color palette, expanding on the museum’s contemporary branding and design;
  • Redesigned artist profiles that simultaneously highlight artworks and the artists who created them;
  • Expanded “Get the Facts” and advocacy pages, giving visitors more avenues to explore issues related to gender equity in the arts;
  • Fully integrated Broad Strokes blog content, making it easier to discover expanded information about artists, artworks and exhibitions;
  • Filterable events calendar, allowing visitors to see relevant programs at a glance;
  • Embedded social media feeds highlighting posts related to the #5WomenArtists campaign; #FreshTalk4Change events; and visitor photography;
  • Enhanced content discovery throughout the site, encouraging deeper engagement and learning; and a
  • New WordPress platform, making the site user-friendly and easier to maintain and update.

In addition to the main website updates, the online Museum Shop is switching to a Shopify platform, offering simple navigation and a smooth purchasing experience. Shoppers near and far can browse a consistently updated selection of books, jewelry, apparel, housewares and other goods created by women artists or produced by women-owned businesses.

Future enhancements will include additional accessibility in the design of a custom online exhibition template and transformation of the popular “See For Yourself” learning cards into an interactive format.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. With its collections, exhibitions, programs and online content, the museum inspires dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today. The collections highlight painting, sculpture, photography and video by artists including Louise Bourgeois, Mary Cassatt, Judy Chicago, Frida Kahlo, Shirin Neshat, Faith Ringgold, Pipilotti Rist, Amy Sherald and Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun.

During the current closure, the museum welcomes members of the public to explore its social media accounts and online resources. NMWA is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. For information, call 202-783-5000, visit nmwa.org, Broad Strokes blog, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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