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WASHINGTON—The National Museum of Women in Arts (NMWA), the world’s first major museum solely dedicated to championing women artists, reopens its extensively renovated building on October 21, 2023. The transformed museum will feature new exhibition spaces, re-envisioned public programming areas, improved amenities and increased accessibility for visitors at its historic home at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. In addition to an expansive reinstallation of the collection, NMWA will present an inaugural exhibition, The Sky’s the Limit, featuring powerful monumental sculpture and immersive installations by a dozen contemporary women artists, in an innovative presentation not possible prior to the renovation.
“NMWA has a distinctive role in the art world. As both a museum and a megaphone, we advocate for gender equity through excellence in the arts,” said NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling. “We have continued to do this work virtually and off-site during our closure, but we are really looking forward to reopening our building this fall. Our renewed and reimagined spaces will enhance our ability to share great works of art, engage with our visitors and reach out to new audiences.”
NMWA’s $67.5 million project, designed by Baltimore-based architectural firm Sandra Vicchio & Associates, is the museum’s first full renovation since it opened in 1987. It honors the legacy of the 1908 Classic Revival structure while improving its interior spaces, façade and infrastructure. Updates include gallery spaces enlarged by more than 20% to showcase historic and contemporary artworks and installations; a new Learning Commons, featuring an Education and Public Programs Studio for hands-on workshops as well as an improved Research Library; an updated, state-of-the-art Performance Hall; and more efficiently designed museum collections storage and conservation areas.
The grand reopening celebration will feature public programs for audiences of all ages. More details will be announced in the coming months.
The Sky’s the LimitNMWA will reopen with a special exhibition focused on women’s pioneering work in large-scale sculpture. On view October 21, 2023, through February 25, 2024, The Sky’s the Limit presents artworks by 12 artists, including Petah Coyne, Cornelia Parker, Mariah Robertson, Shinique Smith, Joana Vasconcelos and Ursula von Rydingsvard. Sculptures will be suspended from the ceiling, arc across walls and project outward from corners, inspiring close encounters with artworks.
