About Us
ACNMWA is a nonprofit statewide volunteer organization begun in 1989 to advocate for the new National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and promote women artists and arts professionals in Arkansas. As an affiliate of NMWA, advocacy for the museum began with endowing the Arkansas Gallery in the national museum’s Elisabeth A. Kasser Wing. It continues with annual national membership dues contributions by ACNMWA board members, and recently featured a 25th anniversary gift of $25,000 to the museum that supported the museum’s exhibit of historic quilts titled Work by Hand: Hidden Labor.
ACNMWA advocates for the national museum and supports and promotes the creative work of Arkansas women artists. The Board of Directors continues the legacy of founder Helen Walton by donating time, talent and treasure to encourage awareness about and professional development for women artists.
Advocacy for Arkansas women artists is
accomplished through four ongoing programs:
1. Artist Award
The Artist Award grant provides for artist expenses related to professional development or pursuit of new creative work: workshop training, research, travel, and/or essential equipment or supplies.
3. College Internship
The College Internship provides a stipend for an Arkansas woman student attending an Arkansas university or college to complete a summer collaborative project with a mentor in an Arkansas museum, gallery or arts institution.
2. Biennial Juried Artist Registry
The Artist Registry features work by Arkansas women artists selected by an Arkansas arts professional serving as guest curator. Artists’ images, artist statements and website links are featured online for a two-year period.
4. Women to Watch Exhibits
The international Women to Watch juried exhibition in Washington DC affords an Arkansas woman artist national visibility, press and curatorial connections. An Arkansas arts professional guest curates Arkansas submission(s) to national and a state Women to Watch tour of all nominees that travels the year after the national exhibition.
Board of Directors
MaryRoss Taylor
President
Pine Bluff
Jaquita Ball
Vice President
Bentonville
Marilyn Rishkofski
Secretary
Conway
Mary Lynn Reese
Treasurer
Rogers
Jeanne Parham
Executive Committee
Fayetteville
Elizabeth Cooley Paris
Executive Committee
Fort Smith
Marjorie Williams-Smith
Executive Committee
Little Rock
Terrye Brosh
Bella Vista
Kellie Cobb
Fort Smith
Virmarie DePoyster
North Little Rock
Adrienne Hanna
Fort Smith
Garbo Hearne
Little Rock
Debra Jackson
Newport
Kate Maurras
Fort Smith
Marilyn Rishkofski
Conway
Sue Plattner Smith
Fort Smith
Mihaela Savu, M.D.
Jonesboro
Anna Landers Swaim
Little Rock
Mary Harding Talbot
Gould
Sarah Shell Teague
El Dorado
Tela Arrington Webb
El Dorado
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Founded to redefine traditional histories of art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing and literary arts. Learn more on the national site through the button below.