About Nmwa

Founded in 1987, NMWA is the first major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. The Museum is located in the heart of Washington, D.C.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. By bringing to light remarkable women artists of the past while also promoting contemporary women artists, NMWA directly addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art in the U.S. and abroad, thus assuring great women artists a place of honor now and into the future.

As a not-for-profit organization, NMWA seeks equity through excellence in the arts. The collection includes more than 5,500 works of art. In addition to its growing permanent collection, the museum presents ten world-class exhibitions per year, including exhibitions organized in partnership with important international museums.

Education is at the core of NMWA’s mission, with curricula and programs that benefit people of all ages. The Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts is a special collection of research material on women artists and it houses over 17,500 volumes on women artists.

As part of its public outreach, NMWA runs an acclaimed public programs initiative called “Women, Arts and Social Change” highlighting the power of women and the arts as catalysts for change. FRESH TALK, the signature program of the initiative, expands the dialogue on what it means to champion women through the arts.