A select few of the accomplished Women who are often featured in The Agenda News
Latitude: The Washington Women's Arts Center 1975-1987 at The American University Museum
The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center (WWAC) will exhibit Latitude: The Washington Women's Arts Center 1975-1987, June 16-August 12.The WWAC was created in 1975 as a non-profit organization that provided professional support and opportunities for women in the arts. Throughout its history, the WWAC also sponsored speakers, produced literary and visual arts journals, and collaborated with other organizations to raise the profile of women artists in the Washington D.C. area and around the country. The exhibition will feature the art of former WWAC members and exhibitors & showcase 90+ works produced between the years 1975-1987, some of which are iconic of that time. Recent works by member artists will be featured in a slide show - accompanied by interviews. The exhibition was curated by Francoise Yohalem & is sponsored by the Alper Initiative for Washington Art.
"Heavy Metal - Women to Watch in 2018" at The National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts will exhibit Heavy Metal—Women to Watch 2018, June 28-September 16.The exhibition will feature artists who “enthusiastically investigate the physical properties and expressive possibilities of metalwork through a wide variety of objects, including sculpture, jewelry, and conceptual forms. The series titled Women to Watch is presented every three years and is “a dynamic collaboration between the museum and its national and international outreach committees.”
WETA’s PBS NewsHour named Judy Woodruff solo anchor in March. NewsHour “illuminates issues and events in the news, reporting the facts, offering critical context, and presenting thoughtful, civil discussion and insightful news analysis.” In 2011, Woodruff became one of the program’s rotating anchors. In 2013, she and the late Gwen Ifill were named co-anchors and managing editors of the program, marking the first time in history two women were the co-anchor team for a national nightly news broadcast. Woodruff served as sole anchor and managing editor of NewsHour after Gwen Ifill’s passing in November 2016. With more than four decades of experience reporting at PBS, NBC and CNN, Woodruff has covered 12 presidential elections; interviewed seven U.S. presidents; and has received many journalism awards. WETA's PBS NewsHour airs at 7 p.m. each weeknight on WETA TV 26 & WETA HD. Image below: Judy Woodruff
To see the current WETA schedule, visit www.weta.org
Henrietta Lacks - Portrait at The National Portrait Gallery The Mother of Modern Medicine
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is exhibiting a posthumous portrait made in 2017 of Henrietta Lacksby Kadir Nelson, thru November 4. The portrait was jointly acquired by the Gallery and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) as a gift from Nelson and the JKBN Group LLC, and will be shared by the two museums. Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951), “whose great-great-grandmother was an enslaved person, lost her life to cervical cancer at age 31. During her treatment, doctors took cells from her body - without permission - and discovered they lived long lives and reproduced indefinitely in test tubes. These "immortal" HeLa cells have since contributed to over 10,000 medical patents, aiding research and benefiting patients with polio, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease and other conditions.” Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, has commented that “Lacks’ story presents moral and philosophical questions around issues of consent, racial inequalities, the role of women, medical research and privacy laws, providing rich platforms for historical understanding and public dialogue.” NMAAHC Director Lonnie Bunch has commented that “The National Museum of African American History and Culture has always felt that the story of Henrietta Lacks is a significant and important moment that deserved greater recognition.”
Image below: “Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine” by Kadir Nelson, oil on linen, 2017. Note that the wallpaper pictured behind her features the “Flower of Life,” a symbol of immortality; the flowers on her dress recall images of cell structures; and two missing buttons allude to the cells taken from her body without permission.
Rita Shapiro - Interim Executive Director The Washington Chorus
The Washington Chorus announced in late April, 2018 that Rita Shapiro, former Executive Director of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), will serve as Interim Executive Director of the Chorus upon the departure of Chase Maggiano.TWC - now in its 57th season - is one of the foremost symphonic choruses in the nation. Rita Shapiro’s career at several renowned arts institutions has included fundraising, event planning, touring, operations, and more than 15 years of executive leadership. At the NSO, “she managed a $35+ million operating budget and stewarded the 60-member Board of Directors. She guided staff and board teams through strategic and creative planning processes as well as collective bargaining efforts. "Shapiro served as Operations Manager of The Cleveland Orchestra for 12 years and held fundraising positions with the Boston Symphony and the Cleveland Play House. "Her consulting work included fundraising for the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s new opera festival in Vicenza, Italy, and executive search research for Spencer Stuart. She is also a past president of the DC chapter of the International Women’s Forum, a networking organization of women executives from diverse professional backgrounds.”
Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin - Executive Director U.S. Botanic Garden
Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin was named Executive Directorof the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) in February, 2018. Before joining the USBG, Dr. Chapotin worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she has served since 2006. She was the Deputy Assistant to the Administrator at USAID’s Bureau for Food Security. Dr. Chapotin holds a bachelor of science in biology from Stanford University and a doctorate in plant physiology from Harvard University. Before her work with USAID, she completed fellowships at Iowa State University and the National Academies working on issues of biosafety policy, scientific communication and national security.
Maria Manuela Goyanes - Incoming Artistic Director Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Maria Manuela Goyanes has been named to succeed Howard Shalwitz in September, 2018 as Artistic Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre.She comes fromThe Public Theaterin New York, where she serves as the Director of Producing and Artistic Planning. She oversees the day-to-day execution of plays and musicals at the five-theater venue at Astor Place, as well as the Delacorte Theater for Shakespeare in the Park. She also spearheads the season-planning process & the planning and integration of The Public’s artistic programs.She is a member of the faculties of both Juilliard and NYU, a board member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the former Executive Producer of the 13P playwrights collective, and the former Co-Chair of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab. She is known as “a champion for adventurous playwrights and an inspiration for great actors, directors, and designers, and she’s poised to play a leadership role in our city and in our field. She’s one of the most highly regarded artistic producers in the field, and she’s had a huge influence on so many artists making work today. Most importantly, her values are deeply aligned with Woolly’s."
Dr. Ellen Stofan - Director The National Air & Space Museum
Dr. Ellen Stofan has been named the first woman to lead the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian Institution announced in April, 2018. The former chief scientist at NASA, she will succeed General J.R. “Jack” Dailey, who retired early this year. Dr. Stofan, who has a background in geology, helped to lead in the development of a long-term plan to get humans to Mars.Her father was a NASA rocket scientist, and she attended her first rocket launch at Cape Canaveral at the age of 4. Dr. Stofan has commented that “Space and aviation inspire our next generation of explorers, and there is no better place to experience this than at our museums on the Mall and at the Udvar-Hazy Center.” She will be overseeing an institution with more than 300 full-time employees and a budget of $48 million.
