About Us

Our Mission
American Women Artists is dedicated to the inspiration, celebration, and encouragement of Women in the Arts.

Who We Are and What We Do
Our membership is open to women artists from the United States, Canada and Mexico, supporting representational artists who work in the fields of drawing, painting and sculpture. As American Art Collector Magazine recently observed, AWA members are, "women of distinction," representing some of the very best painters and sculptors working today.  

Our goal as an organization is to broaden recognition for women artists through yearly juried competitions, member shows, museum exhibits and educational opportunities. We raise awareness about our mission and profile our member artists with a year-round social media and marketing campaign. All of the activities planned and presented by American Women Artists are the mission in action: the inspiration, celebration, and encouragement of women in the visual fine arts.

Master Signature Member and AWA President Carol Swinney at work with her palette knife

A Brief History
AWA's inaugural exhibit was in 1990 at the Tucson Museum of Art, and continues through today with annual shows held in prestigious galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad. The annual exhibition schedule is punctuated with keynote events like the Women's Festival of the Arts held for two consecutive years in Santa Fe and the cultural-exchange exhibition in Italy in the year 2000.   

The Italian exhibition, AWA's first international show of works by twenty-two artists, was held in Sorrento where it gained critical, and political acclaim. "I strongly endorse the organization of American Women Artists and express gratitude to the people of Italy, especially Sorrento, for supporting this cultural exchange," said John Warner, the senior Senator from Virginia.  "Just as women struggle to compete in most professional challenges and goals, they do so in art.  In America, we refer to those often indefinable barriers as "glass ceilings" that prevent their attaining equal, deserved recognition as professionals. This exchange and recognition will help remove those barriers."

Board of Directors
AWA is governed by an all-volunteer executive board consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer and board members. The group convenes in person at least once a year, while conducting additional meetings via Skype. The 2011-2012 board members hail from New York to California and include:

Ann Larsen, Edinburg, New York, President
Kathrine Lemke Waste, Sacramento, California, Vice President
Paula Holtzclaw, Waxhaw, North Carolina, Secretary
Judeth Davis, Glendale, California, Treasurer
Nancy Boren, The Colony, Texas, Past President
Bethanne Kinsella Cople, Alexandria, Virginia, Past President
Carol Swinney, Casper, Wyoming, Immediate Past President

Exhibition History
1990-1994 Tucson, AZ - Tucson Museum of Art
1996 Jackson, WY - National Museum of Wildlife Art
1996 Bennington, VT - Bennington Center for the Arts
1997-1998 Scottsdale, AZ - Trailside Gallery (first juried competition)
1999 Taos, NM - Total Arts Gallery
2000 Santa Fe, NM - Nedra Matteucci Fine Art Gallery & Contemporary Southwest Gallery
2000 Sorrento, Italy, The Cloisters
2001 Santa Fe, NM Festival of Women in the Arts (over 40 participating galleries)
2003 Santa Fe, NM - McLarry Fine Art
2004 Santa Fe, NM - McLarry Fine Art & Meyer Gallery
2005 Dallas, TX - Texas Art Gallery
2007 Scottsdale, AZ -  LeKAE Gallery
2008 Pasadena, CA  - Galerie Gabrie
2009 Easton, MD - South Street Art Gallery
2010 Dallas, TX - Southwest Art Gallery
2011 Atlanta, GA - Huff Harrington Fine Arts
2012 Tucson, AZ - K. Newby Gallery and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum