Spokane, Washington (June 20, 2024) — This Saturday, June 22, the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is complementing its current lineup of history-themed exhibitions with the opening of a fine art exhibition featuring work from the museum’s permanent collection created by women artists. Woman, Artist, Catalyst: Art from the Permanent Collection showcases locally, nationally, and internationally known artists in a highly varied representation of art movements in the Inland and Pacific Northwest. The exhibition runs through March 9, 2025.
The featured work includes artwork by 40 women spanning 140 years and highlighting some of the many talented women artists in the museum’s collection.
“The show is visually stunning, but we are doing more here than simply showcasing beautiful art from our collection,” said Brooke Shelman Wagner, Museum Collections Curator at the MAC and the curator of this exhibition. “It’s important to also look at this exhibition by the numbers.”
Shelman Wagner selected the 48 pieces in the exhibition from the 488 artworks created by artists identified as women in the MAC’s Visual Art Collection. Only 21% of the museum’s collection is known to be made by women. There could be more, but not every artist’s gender is identified in the records.
“Women are dramatically underrepresented in museums, galleries, and auction houses. Quantifying and sharing this information won’t solve this disparity, but even just talking about it is a positive step toward intentionally closing the gender gap. The MAC is joining in the important movement to do a better job of showcasing the work of women artists.”
Other exhibitions currently at the MAC include Driving the American Dream: 1970s Car Design, It Happened Here: Expo ’74 Fifty Years After, and 1924: Sovereignty, Leadership, and the Indian Citizenship Act.
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Contact: Andrea Williams, PR Manager, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, andrea@thewoodshopnw.com, 509-710-1636
Publishable images and captions of select artworks from this exhibition are available here.
About the MAC: The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is the living center of art, culture, and history in the Inland Northwest, dedicated to inspiring expression, forging diverse community relationships, and uncovering history's relevance. The MAC's permanent collection includes Plateau tribal art and artifacts, significant works by regional artists, and extensive archives representing the area’s past and present. The MAC also hosts traveling national and international exhibitions, connecting the people of the Inland Northwest to the world through shared experience. Founded in 1916, the MAC is the museum of the Eastern Washington State Historical Society and is a proud Smithsonian Affiliate.