ArtTable’s Impact Initiatives
Since 1980, ArtTable has been working to advance the professional leadership of women in the visual arts. Through a variety of programs, we educate and inform members and the public about significant developments and issues in the visual arts, as well as support dialogue and promote the evolving leadership role of women in the arts.
Fellowship Program
ArtTable’s fellowship program began in 2000 to address the marked lack of diversity in arts employment. Providing vetted opportunities across a variety of fields, the program provides paid, quality experiences and mentorship opportunities to female-identifying graduate students and emerging professionals from backgrounds generally underrepresented in the field to aid their transition from academic to professional careers. Since its inception, the fellowship program has placed over 110 fellows with top organizations nationwide such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Public Art Fund, and American Indian Artists Inc.
Career Development RoundTable
Career Development Roundtable, one of our longest-standing and most impactful career mentoring programs, influences the career paths of more than 1,700 students and emerging professionals. The program, currently hosted virtually, is designed to give emerging leaders in arts administration, art business, museum studies, art history, curatorial studies, and arts internships an experience to meet with professional women in the visual arts to discuss career opportunities.
DEIA Efforts
ArtTable recognizes the imperative to center diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in our work. As an organization that has been around for over 40 years, there is a certain amount of structural reorganization that needs to occur to align ourselves with these ideals. In order to ensure tangible change, the organization has outlined an action plan that includes professional consultation, educational seminars, and the development of programs that reach a more diverse audience. Part of that commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity is compensating our employees fairly and setting an example for pay equity in our industry. In the coming year, ArtTable will be expanding its research and advocacy for pay equity. With your help, we hope to grow ArtTable’s leadership, programming, and membership to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within the organization and in the art world as a whole.
Affiliate Level Membership
Inclusive of these efforts, we strive to grow our membership base to include greater socio-economic and age diversity. In 2021, ArtTable introduced a subsidized membership level, the affiliate level, which allows female art professionals with 2-5 years of experience to participate as members for only $85 per year.
To support this program, click here.
Pay Equity
ArtTable is interested in collecting new data about the changing contours of the artistic labor market in order to better understand trends and advocate for arts professionals, artists, and arts workers of all types. As such, we have developed a survey instrument to capture information about arts professionals’ working conditions, career histories, and understandings of their work–now and in the past.
Data about arts professionals is woefully inaccessible and incomplete; we are seeking to remedy some of these problems and contribute valuable knowledge to our community. As such, we ask that you and any arts professionals you know, please generously offer some of your time and complete our survey, which asks you to reflect on your own career journey.
We estimate the survey will take about 20-30 minutes to complete. Please know that your confidential participation is entirely voluntary; you can choose to answer or not answer any question.
ArtTable will share data and research over the course of the next year (into 2023) through panel discussions and papers. Please check back for more information.