Women's Art Museum still working hard for long held dream

It's been a long, hard road for the Women's Art Museum Society of Canada, and there's no end in sight but an upcoming fundraiser in Calgary will at least make some strides towards fruition of a long-held dream.

For nearly six years, the society has been working to improve the state of equality in respect to preserving the visual art heritage of women across the country, everything from paintings and drawings to sculptures, photographs, prints and the broad spectrum of multimedia art too.

The society is focused on an actual museum to house and exhibit so much of that art. For now, it has settled on keeping the dream alive, hosting a series of fundraisers and having a smart website (at www.wamsoc.ca). In the absence of that museum, that site serves as a very fine replacement.

President Danielle LaBrie said that there is no shortage of challenges in pursuing this dream, but the fact that it's a tough objective, one borne out of her studies to get her master's of arts degree in integrated studies.

"I was looking at women and how they fit in the visual arts sector," the ebullient booster began. "Along the way I realized that women themselves didn't think that their stories were very important. I've heard that a lot."

She emphasized that women have a lot to offer with regards to history, culture and stories.

"A museum is about that."

There is also a discrepancy in the world of museums themselves, she continued.

"They are heavily male dominated, in particular in the visual arts. You only have to read Guerrilla Girls' research which they redid just recently," she said, referring to the anonymous group of protesting female visual artists in New York.

That group began in response to a contemporary art show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1985. Approximately 10 per cent of the artists featured in the exhibit were women.

"[The research] showed that there was little to no change in 20 years."

In the United States, there has been one significant change: the creation of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, an organization that has several similar international affiliates. The Canadian counterpart to that organization so far only has a website presence, just like the Women's Art Museum Society does.

Nothing great comes easy

LaBrie might have a hard fight on her hands but the good news is that she has a growing number of supporters in the artistic community, and an annual fundraiser called Diamond in the Rough.

Past contributors have included local painters Nataliya Bukhanova and Doris Charest, while St. Albert-based visual artists and graphic designers Bella Totino and Verne Busby have also helped along the way, most notably with the society's logo and design of its website.

LaBrie mused about the groundswell of grassroots support.

"In the last six years we've come across so many others who have said, 'This is such a great idea! Why didn't anyone think of it before?'"

Busby continued with high praise for LaBrie.

"She has a mandate that she thinks is a good way to get women's art in Alberta out into the virtual world so everybody can see it. Like any other arts organization in the last year, funding has been all cut so she's had to be creative in how she can develop and support this through memberships and whatever."

Totino concurred, adding it's tough to predict how much work will still have to go into the project before it evolves from a website to a physical museum.

"It's new. I think they're at the beginnings of their effort to make women's art recognized in Alberta. They're making an effort though, which is great."

"It is a big thing to undertake," LaBrie ended, with a laugh. "Museums in Canada – I've been told – have been built by women. They were many of the instigators of the museums that exist, so it's OK for us to build one for ourselves."

Contributors to Diamond in the Rough III include Adeline Rockett whose works can be seen at the Art Gallery of St. Albert's art rental gallery, and Sophia Podryhula-Shaw who is represented locally by Art Beat Gallery.

Artists who are interested in submitting works to the show have until Friday to do so. Proceeds are split 50/50. Contact the organization at [email protected] for details.