Arkansas Women to Watch 2026: Words Become Matter kicked off the first leg of its tour in Little Rock, at the CALS Roberts Library of Arkansas History and Art Underground Gallery. We had a wonderful turnout for our opening night, surrounded by fellow board members, arts advocates, and so many supporters who help make our work possible.

I had lofty dreams when I applied to the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts 2023 Artist Award. I was going to start my second wearable sculpture fashion line and rent a larger studio to accommodate my massive vision. Little did I know a week after being awarded the grant I would have unexpected surgery to remove my gallbladder, from which I am still recovering.

Here is an excerpt from an Arkansas Art Scene Blog interview artist Elizabeth Weber, a recipient of ACNMWA’s Artist Award and a featured artist in the ACNMWA Artist Registry.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) is accepting applications from Arkansas women who are visual artists for the organization’s annual Artist Award. The criteria and application are available here.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) is accepting applications from Arkansas women who are visual artists for the organization’s annual Artist Award. The criteria and application are available here.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts announces Lisa Krannichfeld, of Little Rock, as the Artist Award recipient for 2024.

The purpose of the award is to assist an accomplished woman artist to realize her vision and help to make her achievements more visible to the art community and the public. “Most art students today are women and 90 percent of museum purchases are art by men,” said ACNMWA President MaryRoss Taylor. “We know women earn less and have myriad obligations, so our award has no conditions attached. We aim to help an established woman artist move to the next level.”

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) announces Tram Colwin, of Siloam Springs, as the Artist Award recipient for 2025. The purpose of the award is to assist an accomplished woman artist to realize her vision and help to make her achievements more visible to the art community and the public.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) announces Laura Terry, of West Fork, as the Artist Award recipient for 2026. The purpose of the award is to assist an accomplished woman artist to realize her vision and help to make her achievements more visible to the art community and the public.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts has selected Emily Granderson to receive the organization’s 2024 Internship Award.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts announces Shelby Fleming as the Artist Award winner for 2023.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2024. Organized in Little Rock on March 21, 1989, by Helen Walton and Ed Dell Wortz, ACNMWA is a non-profit organization dedicated to highlighting the achievements of Arkansas women artists and sharing the groundbreaking work of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) with audiences across the state. The Arkansas Committee is one of the first committees established to support the Washington, D.C., museum, which now has 17 state committees and 14 international committees.

In a significant milestone for the arts in Arkansas, the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) has published a commemorative book marking its 35th anniversary. Founded in 1989 by visionary leaders Helen Walton, of Bentonville, and Ed Dell Wortz, of Fort Smith, the Committee has spent more than three decades supporting women artists from across the state and amplifying their voices on a national stage.

Over the last five months, members of the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) and the organization’s programs have been showcased in earned and paid coverage in a variety of print and online publications. Following are links to select articles and advertisements.

Each year, the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) selects an Arkansas woman student attending an Arkansas university or college to receive a $3,000 stipend to collaborate with a mentor working in an Arkansas museum, gallery or arts institution.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) is accepting applications for its annual internship program, which offers a $3,000 stipend to one outstanding Arkansas woman student. Open to students who identify as women and attend any university or college in the state, this internship provides a unique opportunity to work closely with a mentor in a museum, gallery or arts institution in Arkansas.

Welcome to our new website, your gateway to an ever-growing number of Arkansas women artists and to the internationally recognized museum in Washington, D.C. whose name we bear: the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We’re so glad you’re here, because the arts mean nothing without an audience.

The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, recently announced the 2024 Governor’s Arts Awards recipients which included two board members of the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in Arts. The recipients will be honored at a ceremony on March 8, 2024, in Little Rock.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) has selected Leianna King to receive the organization’s 2026 Internship Award. 

Arkansas Artist Heidi Carlsen-Rogers is one of four women artists featured in the Arkansas Women to Watch 2023: New Worlds traveling exhibition, on display at Baum Gallery in Conway through October 13. This curated exhibition is a program of the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The other artists in the exhibition are Anaïs Dassé, Hanna McBroom and Aimée Papazian.

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) is exhibiting the work of 48 Arkansas women artists in the online 2025-2027 Juried Artist Registry here. Juror Carey Voss, Curator of Exhibits at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, selected the artists for inclusion in this biennial registry. The call for applications ran from June to August and was open to all artists who identify as women and reside in Arkansas.