Ongoing Programs

• Oral History Project
• Study on Women in the Visual Arts Professions

ArtTable’s Oral History Project

Initially founded by the Northern California Chapter in 1999, ArtTable’s Oral History Project is now a national program created to document the significant impact and on-going contributions of professional women in the visual arts. Recognizing that the stories of these women throughout the country have not commonly been recorded, the goal of ArtTable’s Oral History Project is to create interviews that provide researchers, writers, documentary directors, students, teachers, ArtTable members and others with authentic, useful and reliable source material. In order to achieve this goal, ArtTable is forming partnerships to deposit these interviews into prestigious, public archives so that these women’s stories can be preserved as part of the national cultural record and become a rich and vital resource. ;

A “grass roots” endeavor, all interviews have been conducted and produced by ArtTable members under guidelines set forth in ArtTable’s Oral History Handbook, created with initial guidance from the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art. Each woman's oral history is conducted using an established and consistent process that produces digital video files with audio transcripts. To date, ArtTable Chapters have produced 22 oral histories that capture the achievements and efforts of extraordinary female leaders in the visual arts from California, Washington D.C. and New York, including three ArtTable founders.

ArtTable members will continue to add to this invaluable archive with oversight provided by the National Oral History Committee and with selection criteria that primarily considers professional qualifications and significant contributions to the visual arts.

Oral Histories Completed from 1999 – 2008

To support this project, click here: http://www.memberize.com/clubportal/Fundraising.cfm?clubID=158&campaignID=70

Study on Women in the Visual Arts Professions

ArtTable is developing a study on women in the visual arts professions in response to the lack of research exploring issues specific to women in the field. In collaboration with a social policy research group and other partnering arts and culture organizations, the study will collect information on a range of topics, including: education and mentoring; entry into the field; career paths; retention, compensation, and job satisfaction; and advancement and leadership. Findings from the study will address gender differences in the visual arts professions, key challenges in the workplace, the mechanisms that perpetuate gender bias, and ultimately will articulate a vision for change in the field. The published report of the study will serve to inform ArtTable’s membership, its future programs, and the art world at-large.

To support this project, click here:
http://www.memberize.com/clubportal/Fundraising.cfm?clubID=158&campaignID=71