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. Biennially-Curated Online 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
Barbara Satterfield
President
Conway
Mary Lynn Reese
Vice President
Rogers
MaryRoss Taylor
Secretary
Pine Bluff
Adrienne Hanna
Treasurer
Fort Smith
Jaquita Ball
Executive Committee
Bentonville
Elizabeth Cooley Paris
Executive Committee
Fort Smith
Anna Swaim
Executive Committee
Little Rock
Ann Ballard Bryan
Little Rock
Kellie Cobb
Fort Smith
Virmarie DePoyster
North Little Rock
Debra Jackson
Newport
Katie Maurras
Fort Smith
Jeanne Parham
Fayetteville
Sue Plattner-Smith
Fort Smith
Marilyn Rishkofski
Conway
Mihaela Savu
Jonesboro
Esther Silver-Parker
Rogers
Mary Harding Talbot
Gould
Sarah Shell Teague
El Dorado
Tela Arrington Webb
Bentonville
Marjorie Williams-Smith
Little Rock
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.