Year at a Glance

“Deeply thankful for the existence of this museum. I feel so empowered as a woman.” —visitor

September 2019

Artist Judy Chicago debuts her latest body of work, The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction. In tandem with the exhibition, NMWA releases Judy Chicago: New Views, the first major monograph on the artist in nearly twenty years, and features the artist in a Fresh Talk.

November 2019

The Women, Arts, and Social Change initiative hosts three sold-out, debut performances of 19: The Musical, a retelling of the story of Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Inez Milholland, and the other suffragists who fought to get women the right to vote.

February 2020

Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico opens. The landmark exhibition, organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, presents more than 140 photographs from the artist’s prolific five-decade-long career that tell a visual story of Mexico since the late 1960s.

Iturbide (pictured above at NMWA with a blowup of her work) gives an artist’s talk at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

March 2020

The museum hosts a celebration on International Women’s Day with free admission, morning yoga, art talks, a women authors’ book swap with Brightest Young Things, live music, and more. Sew Creative Lounge leads hands-on activities (pictured left). Vendors include Georgetown Cupcake, Girl Scouts—Nation’s Capital, and Salt & Sundry.

In response to the museum’s temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NMWA @ Home launches. Online exhibitions enable the museum to continue sharing work on view by Graciela Iturbide and Delita Martin. Special audio commentary by Martin and a video tour of her Texas studio enrich her online exhibition (screen shot pictured above).

June 2020

On a day when thousands of peaceful protestors gathered in support of Black lives, NMWA commissions two Washington, D.C.-based artists to paint murals on the plywood over the museum’s façade, with the support of MaryRoss Taylor.

Trap Bob (pictured above) speaks of art’s ability to both document history and imagine new ways forward. She says, “I want to spread the message of change.”