The Committee in Israel
for “Women to Watch” 

A local chapter of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D. C. (NMWA)

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For the first time, Israel will be participating in the important forum for women artists that takes place at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Organized by a volunteer committee, this private initiative will work to enhance the international standing of women artists in Israel through participating in the Washington museum’s “Women to Watch” exhibition and programming. While Israel boasts a diverse population of outstanding and innovative women artists creating in a variety of media, this vibrant art scene is too little known abroad.

The Israel Committee for “Women to Watch,” will secure the participation of Israeli women in the Washington platform. Through this significant collaboration, accompanied by additional programs in Israel and abroad, the committee will provide opportunities to advance the visibility and careers of Women artists in Israel.

About NMWA:

NMWA is the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital centre for research, exhibition, community engagement, and social change. The museum addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting talented women artists working today. It opened in 1987 with a collection donated by its founding private collector; the facility is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and is due to reopen in 2024. 

To enhance its outreach, NMWA created a unique network of national and international committees, auxiliary volunteer organizations that support the goals of the museum in their respective cities, states, regions, or countries. The program currently includes 18 committees: 10 in the United States and 8 abroad. NMWA’s collection includes more than 5,500 works from the 16th century to the present created by over 1000 women artists. There is currently only one work by an Israeli artist featured in the NMWA collection –
Yael Bratani's What if Women Ruled the World (2016) – purchased in celebration of the museum’s 30th birthday. 

Women to Watch 2024:

“Women to Watch” is a flagship National Museum of Women in the Arts program held every two to three years and designed to feature artists who have enjoyed museum exposure in their respective region/country, and even internationally to some degree, yet are little-known in the United States.  The museum works with its US and international committees to select artists from each region for this thematic exhibition. Each participating committee works with a local curator who will collaborate with the staff in Washington, DC. The Israel committee has secured the participation of noted curator and former museum director Galia Bar Or to serve as the Israeli curator. While one artist from each region will be included in the Washington exhibition, all the nominated artists
will enjoy enhanced visibility. Their work will be introduced to new audiences
as part of the programs organized by the local committee and the museum
in connection with the exhibition. 

Theme for Women to Watch 2024: 

“When women artists envision a different world, how does that look? Whether optimistic or discordant, fantastical, or believable, artists have always had a hand in visualizing what could be and, in times of difficulty, have often provided hope – or warning.”

The committee in Israel for “Women to Watch” will benefit Women artists in Israel in several ways.

 It will provide a much-needed opportunity for international exposure, helping Women artists in Israel to reach wider audiences and attain professional visibility. Women artists in Israel will benefit from the network of NMWA local committees, which will offer collaboration, and provide advice and support to women artists working internationally. The committee will advocate for women artists in Israel and share local research internationally to advance knowledge about the unique characteristics and challenges facing women artists in Israel.

As part of the lead-up to “Women to Watch” in Washington, the local committee will organize programs and exhibitions across Israel and abroad to maximize the project’s impact. These activities, both local and international, will enhance the standing and visibility of women artists in Israel, and work to achieve greater gender equality in the artworld. 

We look forward to working together with partners and supporters who wish to join us in this important undertaking.

Initiators The Committee in Israel:

by Dr Nina Pearlman, Head of UCL Art Collections – University College London 

Galia Bar Or, Curator, Former director/curator of the Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein Harod

Ifat Zamir, Strategic Cultural- Economic Consultant, Co-chair of the committee 

Yeala Hazut Yanuka, Practitioner, researcher and lecturer in arts management, cultural policy and art curatorship, Co-chair of the committee

Prof. Yael Guilat Ph. D, Former Head of the Multidisciplinary Program in Humanities and Arts- Graduate Studies, Oranim Academic College of Education, Head of Women Art and Gender research Association in Israel.

Aida Nasralla, Ph.D., poet, playwright and novelist, art history and theatre critic. the Research Centre of the Arabic Language, Society and Culture, The Arab Institute.

Emily D. Bilski, independent scholar and curator; former curator The Jewish Museum, New York

Zivi Berman, Curator and Art Researcher, Ph.D. candidate at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris. 

Ettie Perek, Ph.D. Chemistry (University of Louvain la Neuve, Belgium) and Ph.D Philosophy (TeL Aviv University) as a member of the International Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science.