Women, Arts, and Social Change

Photo credit: Kea Taylor
Women, Arts, and Social Change is a dynamic public programs initiative that highlights the power of women and the arts as catalysts for change.

Fresh Talk

Fresh Talk, the initiative’s signature program, features cause-driven conversations with artists, designers, activists, social innovators, and others. These programs empower women, spark community involvement, and engage new audiences. Each includes a social gathering to foster connections among attendees: Sunday Supper, served family-style, or Catalyst, a cocktail hour with a topic and a twist.

Watch Past Fresh Talk Events
Four women sit in armchairs on a stage. They are engaged in a lively conversation. Behind them a projection reads “MakeHer Summit: Virginia Arrisueño, Grace Bonney, Dionna Dorsey, Rakia Reynolds.” There is a Fresh Talk logo in the top corner of the screen and a National Museum of Women in the Arts logo in the bottom corner.
Photo credit: Kevin Allen

Cultural Capital

Cultural Capital programs are collaborative partnerships with leading D.C.-area organizations that build community and foster new audiences.

Photo credit: Sancha McBurnie

MakeHER Summit

The annual MakeHER Summit celebrates and supports creative women entrepreneurs. The event features a Fresh Talk and workshops that foster connections and help women makers grow their businesses and thrive.

Photo credit: Sancha McBurnie

Related Quote

Fresh Talk programs ask difficult questions, show hard truths, and bring together an incredible array of people for conversations that give back to the audience.”
Fresh Talk attendee
Photo credit: Sancha McBurnie

Related Events

  • NMWA Nights

    Date: Sep, 18
    Time: 5:30 to 8 pm
    Twenty-one women of various ages and ethnicities stand on a white marble staircase, posting for a photo.

  • NMWA Nights

    Date: Oct, 16
    Time: 5:30 to 8 pm
    Groups of people enter a large white, marble room.

  • NMWA Nights

    Date: Nov, 20
    Time: 5:30 to 8 pm
    Two women stand in front of a white marble railing and tap their drinks together, smiling at the camera.
See More Related Events

Watch Past Fresh Talk Events

Check out dynamic Fresh Talk videos from previous programs.

View Fresh Talk Videos
Photo credit: Kevin Allen
Alexandra Bell at Fresh Talk: Art, Power, and the Vote: 100 Years After Suffrage
Attendees at Fresh Talk: Art, Power, and the Vote: 100 Years After Suffrage
Fresh Talk: Accessory to Action: Adorning Wakanda
Judy Chicago and Martha Nussbaum at Fresh Talk: Judy Chicago: New Views
Fresh Talk: Sarah Lewis: Vision & Justice
Fresh Talk: Sarah Lewis: Vision & Justice
Fresh Talk: Writing the Balance
Fresh Talk: Accessory to Action: Adorning Wakanda
Fresh Talk: Judy Chicago: New Views
Fresh Talk: Rooms of Her Own: Women, Art, and Ownership in the Hotel Industry
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#FreshTalk4Change

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Stay current with Women, Arts, and Social Change with our newsletter! Get advance notice of upcoming programs and events, see where our past speakers are now, and stay in touch with local partners.

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Photo credit: Sancha McBurnie

Program Sponsors

The Women, Arts, and Social Change public programs initiative is made possible through leadership gifts from Denise Littlefield Sobel and the Davis/Dauray Family Fund with additional support provided by Anne N. Edwards, the Revada Foundation of the Logan Family, and the Susan and Jim Swartz Public Programs Fund.