The International Museum of Women, which began as the Women’s Heritage Museum in 1985 with the mission of making women’s history known, has received funding from the state of California and enthusiastic support from the city of San Francisco in its plans to develop at a waterfront-site on the city’s Pier 26. As a grassroots organization with the emphasis on local public programming, the Women’s Heritage Museum provided the foundation upon which the International Museum of Women will be built.
In 1997, the board of directors began strategic planning process to transform the Women’s Heritage Museum into a world-class public facility to be built in San Francisco. The name was changed to the International Museum of Women to more appropriately reflect the newly defined mission, goals and objectives, and scope of the project.
After enlisting 250 founding members, the museum will launch a major capital campaign to raise $50 million with ground breaking anticipated in 2004.
The museum plans to have a permanent exhibition entitled Global Views, which will set the stage for the rest of the museum, with exhibits that chronicle women’s lives and experiences in diverse cultures, examining the ongoing process to achieve equality as well as situations where the parity has been lost. Exploration of women’s legal, economic and social status through time will highlight the influence and achievements of women leaders as well as the life of ordinary women. The exhibitions will include historical objects such as written documents, photographs, newspaper stories and recorded speeches as well as interactive technologies, displays, and environments that can be expected to bring subjects and individuals to life. In addition, the museum proposes to have separate, changing exhibits, focusing on different dimensions of women’s lives, with such themes as “Living,” “Working,” and “Creating.”
In pursuit of its goals, the museum has already been collaborating with other organizations to mount exhibitions. In fall 2001 the museum joined the University of New England to co-host Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art. For this exhibition, curator Claudia DeMonte asked 177 women from 177 different countries to submit a work of art that portrayed their visual interpretation of womanhood. This exhibition is now online on the museum’s web site. The web site also provides information about the museum’s goals, plans, and current activities.
Compiled from press releases and the museum web site.
