As we all know, March is Women’s History Month! Here we present, in chronological order, an illustrated list of events in honor of women’s contributions to the history of art. Some of the events are free to attend; others are fee-based. If you are aware of any events not listed here, do email details to us at erika@artherstory.net.

March 3: Sounding Her Fame: Dutch Women Artists of the 17th Century

• Host: The Netherland-America Foundation
• Time and place: 12 p.m. EST; online
• Cost: Free
• Event webpage

In anticipation of a major exhibition on Dutch and Flemish women artists (!) scheduled to be held in 2025 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, this webinar will look at the many fascinating issues surrounding the topic. Speakers include Virginia (Ginny) Treanor, Associate Curator, National Museum of Women in the Arts; Katie Altizer, Ph.D. candidate in 17th century Dutch and Flemish art at the University of Maryland; Frima Fox Hofrichter, Professor of Art History at the Pratt Institute; and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Senior Advisor to The Leiden Collection (formerly curator of Northern Baroque painting at the National Gallery of Art, and Professor of Art History at the University of Maryland). 

Beginning March 4: Online course, Women in Art and Design

• Host: The National Gallery of Victoria (Australia)
• Time and place: 12 p.m. Australian EDT; online
• Cost: Basic Course Enrollment, M$44 / A$49; Premium, M$134 / A$149
• Event webpage

Women have always made art, but for centuries formal recognition of their work has been hampered by patriarchal social, cultural and economic structures. Enrollees will learn about the unique contributions of women to the art world through a study of historical and contemporary art and design from Europe, Asia and Australia in the NGV Collection.The syllabus includes segments on these topics: “What Does it Mean to Study Women Artists?”; “Departure From Tradition”; “Feminisms”; “The Body”; and “Craftswomen and Designers.”

Beginning March 5: A Studio of Her Own: 1500–1900 

• Host: The National Gallery of Victoria (Australia)
• Time and place: 10 a.m. Australian EDT; online
• Cost: General admission per seminar, A$30–35; series price, A$85
• Event webpage

A Studio of Her Own explores the period 1500–1900 and the women artists and designers who, despite the many obstacles to their independence, set up professional studios and made successful careers. The important contribution of Renaissance artist Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614) will form the foundation of the first seminar, covering topics such as professional women artists and representation. Later seminars cover Mary Beale, and women silversmiths; and the importance of studio space to women artists from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Read the full program, and the list of speakers, here.

March 7 & 8: Key women in the creation of the Prado’s collections. From Isabella I of Castile to Isabel Clara Eugenia

• Host: The Museo National del Prado
• Time and place: beginning at 9:30 a.m. CET; in-person (Auditorium, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid) and online
• Cost: Free
• Event webpage

To mark International Women’s Day, the Museo del Prado is bringing together leading international specialists for a symposium which will aim to draw attention to the women who promoted, collected and inspired some of the Museum’s most iconic works: women whose activities, dating between 1451 and 1633, coincide with the period between the birth of Isabella the Catholic and the death of Isabel Clara Eugenia. These queens, princesses, regents and governors played a key role not just with regard to the promotion of works of art, but also in the principal settings of power and were largely responsible for the internationalization of the Spanish monarchy. To view the full program, click the link above and scroll down the page.

March 8: Women in the Museum: Best Practices Symposium

• Host: The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• Time and place: beginning at 9:30 CET; in-person (the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) and online
• Cost: online, €15; in person, €50
• Event webpage

How are women’s stories reflected in the museums? Do we present women artists together with their male colleagues, or show them separately for more visibility? On International Women’s Day, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, supported by the “Women of the Rijksmuseum” Fund, organizes the first annual international best practices symposium “Women in the Museum.” At this event, experts in women’s art and history will address the following themes: women’s role as artists and models; collectors and mediators; a female perspective on museum objects; and the blind spots of feminist art history. The Rijksmuseum means to organize a similar conference for the next five years. View the program here.

March 8: Women and the Arts Forum 2022 – Women Artists and the National Gallery

• Host: The National Gallery, London
• Time and place: beginning at 1:30 p.m. GMT; online
• Cost: Standard, £10; Students, £5
• Event webpage

The annual Women and the Arts Forum, supported by The Diane Apostolos Trust in honour of Stacia Apostolos, takes place on International Women’s Day and presents the latest cutting-edge research related to the myriad ways in which women have engaged with the arts, both past and present. Exploring the theme “Women Artists and the National Gallery,” this year’s forum presents an exciting mix of research from leading scholars in the field, live Q&As with contemporary artists, and the premiere of two new films produced especially for the event—including an exclusive film about former Artist in Residence, Rosalind Nashashibi. View the program here.

March 8: Why did so many female artists in pre-modern times focus on still-lifes?

• Host: London Art Week
• Time and place: 5 p.m. GMT; online
• Cost: Free
• Registration webpage

Chloe Stead (Senior Global Director, Colnaghi) discusses with Calvine Harvey (Vice President, Old Master Paintings Specialist, Sotheby’s New York) the importance of female artists as still-life painters. Under the spotlight, Fede Galizia’s work—that contributed in a decisive way to the development of still-life in Lombardy and beyond—but also works by female artists from the 16th to the 18th century, including Dutch painter Rachel Ruysch. The panel will feature other key female voices from the museum world.

March 8: International Women’s Day 2022: Virtual Festival

• Host: The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA)
• Time and place: beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST; online
• Cost: Free
• Event webpage

Spend your International Women’s Day with the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Join conversations with artists from around the world, participate in a family-friendly workshop, enjoy a (virtual) cocktail and music with a special broadcast of The Tea, and much more! There is live and pre-recorded programming available. Register separately for each event. View the full program here.

March 10: Women and the Arts Forum 2022 – The Anna Jameson Lecture

• Speaker: Hilary Fraser
• Host: The National Gallery, London
• Time and place: 5:30 p.m. GMT; online
• Cost: £8
• Event webpage

The National Gallery’s Anna Jameson Lecture series, supported by The Diane Apostolos-Cappadona Trust, takes place annually and invites a guest speaker to give a lecture focused on women in the arts, past and present. This year’s lecture—”Madonnas for the Million: Anna Jameson, Raphael, and the Democratisation of Art,” by Hilary Fraser—addresses the part played by Anna Jameson in the reception of Raphael’s works. After the lecture, Professor Fraser will answer questions in a live Q&A.

March 11: Curator Talk, Collecting Joan Eardley

• Speaker: Alice Strang
• Host: The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
• Time and place: 1 p.m. GMT / 8 a.m. EST; online
• Cost: Free
• Registration webpage

Alice Strang, Curator and Art Historian, will discuss the life-time and posthumous collecting of work by Joan Eardley for public collections, including by the Hunterian Art Gallery. Eardley’s paintings are now held in 36 such collections throughout the UK, from Inverness Museum & Art Gallery in the Highlands, to the National Trust property Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire. Alice will discuss the various ways in which the works have reached the public realm, where they can be enjoyed today.

March 12: The Legacy of Alma Thomas: Cultivating Mindfulness, Perspective-taking, and Problem-solving 

• Host: DC-Project Zero with The National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Phillips Collection
• Time and place: 10 a.m. EST; online
• Cost: Free
• Event webpage

This program is open to educators, rather than to the general public. DC-based and world-renowned artist and teacher Alma Thomas (1891–1978) used her life and her art to make the world a better, brighter, more beautiful place. This virtual teacher professional development program will explore the ways in which Thomas’ life and art can help us cultivate mindfulness, perspective-taking, and problem-solving in ourselves and in our learners.

March 12: On Faith: Matrilineal Art Histories

• Host: New Museum
• Time and place: 1 p.m. EST; New Museum auditorium, NYC
• Cost: General admission, $15
• Event webpage

In celebration of Women’s History Month and in conjunction with Faith Ringgold: American People, this panel discussion will explore Faith Ringgold’s enduring impact and the feminist values that ground her practice. Moderated by Susan Cahan, this panel features noted writers and scholars Joan Kee, Michele Wallace, and Julia Bryan-Wilson, who will consider how Ringgold’s art and activism sustains and extends matrilineal art histories within the United States and beyond.

March 16: STARS: The Gwillim Project

• Host: McGill University Libraries
• Time and place: 12 p.m. EST; online
• Cost: Free
• Event webpage

This event includes some discussion of The Gwillim Project, which centers around the life and world of two English sisters in early nineteenth-century Madras (now Chennai), Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds. Elizabeth and Mary’s letters home and their detailed drawings, provide an immersive portrayal of India under the “Company Raj.” Their correspondence and artwork also provide insight into the landscape, climate, and ecology of the Coromandel coast, documenting birds, animals, fish, insects, flowers, and trees. No registration is required; just click the “Join” button on this page.

March 16: NMWA Virtual Happy Hour: Celebrating Black Women Printmakers

• Host: National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA)
• Time and place: 5:30 p.m. EST; online
• Cost: Free (though feel free to make a donation!)
• Event webpage

Join staff of the National Museum of Women in the Arts for a virtual happy hour to celebrate Black women printmakers! AJ Johnson, partner and bar director of Serenata, demonstrates how to make a specialty cocktail (or mocktail) in the artists’ honor as NMWA staff share artworks and stories and explore the museum’s collection and archives. Register here.

March 23: Righting The Balance—Photographic Power

• Host: The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA)
• Time and place: live 2:30–4 p.m. EST; online (recording available to watch from 5:30 p.m.)
• Cost: Free (though feel free to make a donation!)
• Event webpage

For nearly two centuries, women have been leaders, inventors and innovators within the field of photography. Inspired by NMWA’s recent acquisition of vintage photographs by U.K.-based artists, this Fresh Talk presents a new view of photography through the lens of some of the U.K.’s most exciting photo scholars and curators. Each guest works passionately to recover and underscore the creative power of women and nonbinary artists working in this vital medium.

There are so many ways, this Women’s History Month, to celebrate women in art!

More Art Herstory posts:

Celebrations of Women in Art during Women’s History Month, 2024

New Books about Women Artists | Oct–Dec 2023

New Books about Women Artists | Jul–Sept 2023

Ten Intriguing Books About Remarkable Women Artists, a guest post by Carol M. Cram