Read my article in the Washington City Paper.

The 1908 masonic lodge on New York Avenue NW has always been a complicated home for the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which opened in 1987. The grand limestone building lends gravity and seriousness, and the location, three blocks from the White House, demands attention. Responding to the fact that women were not allowed inside the original masonic temple, NMWA director Susan Fisher Sterling says “we took a space that forbade women and made it a place of honor for women artists.”

Because the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, turning it into a contemporary museum presented challenges. Century-old architecture means awkward closed-off spaces and inadequate access for those with mobility restrictions.

The museum, the first ever with the singular mission of championing women and nonbinary artists, reopens to the public on Saturday, Oct. 21, after a comprehensive two-year renovation. Some changes will be obvious to returning visitors and others won’t be, but the latter are just as important to allow visitors to see, appreciate, and engage with the art.Reopening to the public in October, the newly renovated space continues to celebrate women and nonbinary artists through a remixed process and more space to do so.

Published 9/20/23

Read my article in the Washington City Paper.