Committees

A photograph of seven light skinned women seated on stone steps eating lunch with plates and napkins in their laps. The women are looking at the camera and smiling. There is a Tudor style home in the background.
NMWA’s national and international committees advocate for women artists and the museum on a worldwide scale.

Located in regions across the U.S. and around the globe, NMWA’s affiliate groups raise the museum’s profile and champion women artists far beyond the museum’s walls in Washington, DC. Committees plan local programs that highlight our mission, collection, exhibitions, and activities. Committee members work with the museum’s staff to increase membership; donate works of art; and fund exhibitions, education programs, and object conservation.

Read on to learn about just a few committee projects that have helped empower women artists around the world.

Recent Committee Activities

A light-skinned woman with short dark hair, wearing a mask, leans forward to look at a series of sculptures made from colorful paper. There is an installation of paper feet on the wall behind her.
During a Free Community Day, two visitors view paper pulp sculptures by Dolores Furtado. Furtado represented Argentina in Paper Routes – Women to Watch 2020. Photo credit: Kevin Allen.

Women to Watch Exhibition

Women to Watch is a unique exhibition series at NMWA that features emerging and underrepresented women artists from regions where the museum has outreach committees. See the Women to Watch section below to learn more.

A group of 10 light-skinned men and women stand in front of a wall of artwork. The figures are dressed in smart casual attire and are wearing face masks.
Representatives from the Capítulo Chileno del NMWA tour Historias de un Encierro with partners and exhibiting artists María López and Marilú Ortiz de Rozas. Photo credit: Verónica Cáceres.

Capítulo Chileno del NMWA

The Capítulo Chileno (Chile Committee), in partnership with CV Galería, organized an extensive exhibition featuring over forty women photographers based in Chile. In spring of 2021, the in-person installation of Historias de un Encierro opened to the public.

A light-skinned woman with long dark brown hair sits at a wooden table drawing a large face in pencil. A light skinned man with a camera stands behind her and a light skinned woman with a camera stands in front of her. Both figures are photographing her. Behind the artist are three of her finished portraits.
Behind the scenes of the Georgia Committee of NMWA’s virtual Fresh Talk. From L to R: Film director Cory Locatelli, artist Yehimi Cambrón, and videographer Katie Hawkins. Photo credit: Sara Steinfeld.

Georgia Committee of NMWA

In May 2021, the Georgia Committee hosted a virtual Fresh Talk about the role of art in immigration politics, activism, and social justice with Atlanta-based artist Yehimi Cambrón and immigration experts Dr. Roberto Gonzales and Raymond Partolan. The program was inspired by NMWA’s Women, Arts, and Social Change initiative.

A photograph of a medium-skinned woman with a smile on her face, wearing a red dress with white and black flowers. She stands in front of a geometric wall sculpture with her hands stretched above her head.
Artist Rana Begum poses with her work at the opening of Heavy Metal—Women to Watch 2018. Begum represented the UK in the fifth iteration of Women to Watch. Photo credit: Sarah Baker.

UK Friends of NMWA

Throughout the pandemic, the UK Friends of NMWA have held free, virtual conversations with women artists, curators, and other arts professionals based in the UK. The December 2020 program featured artist Rana Begum, who represented the UK in Heavy Metal – Women to Watch 2018, in dialogue with curator Anna McNay.

A photograph of a light-skinned woman with dark brown hair wearing a face masks and a blue sweatshirt. The woman leans over a table filled with small colorful forms. On the table to her right is a small white abstract sculpture.
Still image of artist Linda Nguyen-Lopez from a short film accompanying the Arkansas State Committee of NMWA’s traveling exhibition. Photo credit: 19ninety Films.

Arkansas Committee of NMWA

The Arkansas Committee’s Arkansas Women to Watch 2021, featuring work by the four Arkansan artists who were nominated to exhibit in Paper Routes – Women to Watch 2020 at NMWA, is traveling to six venues across Arkansas. See the Committee’s short film about Arkansas Women to Watch 2021 here.

A photograph of a modern style house with a two-story window at the entrance. There are three metal sculptures along the outside wall and a large sculpture hanging from the ceiling inside made of many pieces of curved blown glass.
Home of Sante Fe art collectors Steve and Roddie Harris, which New Mexico Committee of NMWA members were able to virtually tour. Photo credit: Steve Harris.

New Mexico Committee of NMWA

In winter of 2020, Santa Fe art collectors Roddie and Steve Harris gave a virtual tour of their glass, pottery, and painting collection to members of the New Mexico Committee. Local videographer Noor-un-nisa Touchon filmed the tour, which included remarks by collected glass artist Linda Mae Tratechaud.

Committee Locations

National Committees

International Committees

Contact Us

National & International Programs

866-875-4627
committees@nmwa.org

Women to Watch

The Women to Watch exhibition series is a unique collaboration between NMWA and its national and international committees. Each exhibition, held every few years, focuses on a specific medium or theme chosen by NMWA’s curators and features underrepresented women artists from each committee’s respective region.

Paper Routes—Women to Watch 2020

The museum worked with 22 committees to present Paper Routes, the sixth installment of our Women to Watch exhibition series, which showcased the transformation of paper into complex works of art. Artists use paper not merely as a support for drawings, prints, or photographs, but as a medium itself. Ranging in size from minutely detailed, small-scale works to large, sculptural installations, this exhibition explored artists’ ability to transform paper into a surprising array of shapes and structures.

In addition to their involvement in the exhibition at NMWA, many participating committees organized local group exhibitions, receptions, and panel discussions to celebrate the artists from their regions.

Learn More about Paper Routes
Vibrantly colored strokes of watercolor in shades of magenta, orange, and yellow, flow across white paper, giving the impression of waves.
Lucha Rodríguez, Knife Drawing XX, 2018; Watercolor on paper, 30 x 22 in.; Courtesy of the artist; Photo by Paco Vergachette

Past Women to Watch Exhibitions

Paper Routes—2020

A long horizontal rectangle with small numerous figures and images collaged on the surface. Black and white figures in soldier’s uniforms stand and lay down, along with yellow and red banners, flags, and garlands.
The sixth installment of Women to Watch brought together 22 artists working in paper.
View Paper Routes Exhibition

Heavy Metal—2018

Abstract wall sculpture featuring horizontal, vertical, and diagonal intersecting lines overlaid with pieces of rounded, plated steel
The fifth installment of Women to Watch showcased 20 contemporary artists working with metal in a variety of scales and techniques.
View Heavy Metal Exhibition

Organic Matters—2015

Detail photograph of ceramic sculpture made to look like a patch of lawn. Individual squares consisting of multiple upright blades of porcelain grass, glazed green, fit together to form a lush rectangular field of grass.
The fourth installment of Women to Watch examined the relationships between women, nature, and art.
View Organic Matters Exhibition

High Fiber—2012

The third installment of Women to Watch featured artists that turn fibers or fiber-like materials into textiles, sculptures, and installations.
View High Fiber Exhibition

Body of Work—2010

The second installment of Women to Watch highlighted contemporary figure painters.
View Body of Work Exhibition

Photography—2008

The first installment of Women to Watch featured works by 11 contemporary women photographers.
View Photography Exhibition