FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2006
Media contact:
Michelle Cragle
202-783-7373
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NMWA Receives NEH Challenge Grant to Support
Library and Research Center and Humanities Programming
WASHINGTON-The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) has been
awarded a $635,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) to fund a transformative institutional initiative, From
Rediscovery to Relevance. In support of this initiative, which places
women artists in context through ground-breaking scholarship and new
interpretations of art history, the grant will provide an endowment for
NMWA's director of library and research center position, an innovative
interpretation and education outreach fund, a distinguished lecture
series, and a National Council of Scholars.
Director of NMWA, Dr. Judy L. Larson commented, "As the 21st century
unfolds, there has never been a better time to pursue a mission rooted
in humanities-based, interdisciplinary programming about women's
cultural contributions. This grant allows us to continue providing
increased depth and content to women's stories through outstanding
humanities projects and our renowned library and research center. From
Rediscovery to Relevance intends to transform the public perception
beyond thinking of women as 'exceptions,' and initiating a greater
appreciation of women as equals."
From Rediscovery to Relevance is an in-depth strategy interwoven
throughout the museum's departments. In NWMA's Library and Research
Center (LRC), the Challenge Grant will endow the LRC director position,
thereby retaining professional excellence at the leading center for
research on women's contributions to the arts.
In order to offer visitors the full benefit of NMWA's scholarship, NEH
will fund the creation of innovative and interpretive materials
including pocket exhibitions, printed materials, educational videos and
cutting-edge technology.
The Challenge Grant will also fund the collaboration of NMWA and top
scholars nationwide through a Distinguished Lecture Series and a
National Council of Scholars. Funding for a Distinguished Lecture Series
will allow NMWA to identify a distinguished humanities scholar who will
present a lecture based on her or his research on women and their roles
in culture. This lecture series will appear in a deluxe fall edition of
NMWA's Women in the Arts quarterly magazine with an accompanying DVD. A
National Council of Scholars fund will attract the top scholars in the
nation to work with NMWA's curators and educators in enhancing the
museum's future exhibitions. NMWA will encourage Council members to
share their latest research as contributors to NMWA's quarterly
magazine. Scholars will also serve as "ambassadors" nationwide to
communicate the importance of NMWA's mission.
Dr. Larson explained, "We want our visitors to come away with a full,
seamless story, told with multiple references and viewpoints. We want
them to make connections to women and their artistic productions that
are provocative and take our guests through a 'full circle' of
thinking."
To receive the full Challenge Grant award, NMWA must raise $1,905,000 in
non-federal contributions by January 2011. NMWA is one of eleven
institutions to receive this prestigious grant during the most recent
application cycle.
About The Women's Museum
The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), founded in 1981 and
opened in 1987, is the only museum dedicated solely to celebrating the
achievements of women in the visual, performing and literary arts. The
museum's permanent collection features 3,000 works from the 16th century
to the present created by more
than 800 artists; including Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo,
Lee Krasner and Louise Bourgeois, along with special collections of
18th-century silver tableware and botanical prints. The Museum also
conducts multidisciplinary programs for diverse audiences and maintains
a Library and Research Center accessible to the public by appointment.
The Museum 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 the Museum's Web site at www.nmwa.org <http://www.nmwa.org/> .
THE WOMEN'S MUSEUM(r)
About NEH
Created in 1965 and based in Washington D.C., NEH is dedicated to
providing grants for the humanities in the areas of education, research,
and public programs. NEH will provide approximately $141 million towards
humanities programs in 2007. For more information about The National
Endowment for the Humanities go to www.neh.gov <http://www.neh.gov/> .
# # #
Sharon M. Wasserman
Director of the Library and Research Center
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
tel: 202.266.2806
fax: 202.393.3234
www.nmwa.org <http://www.nmwa.org>
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