Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 6

A

& the NEA in the early 1980s

Womens Cultural Organizations

Ariel Dougherty, 19791986, served as Development Director of Womens Studio Workshop. She built the annual budget from just under $100K to almost $300K in addition to a capital campaign that facilitated the organizations move from rented quarters into its own permanent home. She curated Womens Work in Film & Video and occasionally made her own art.

In the autumn of 1980, at the height of Ronald Reagans bid for the presidency, The Heritage Foundation issued a scathing attack---out of the blue---against both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The report condemned any form of culture that had a social context (forget the fact that it all does!). For Dougherty alarm bells went off. The NEA budget continued to rise in the early 1980s, but the numbers of womens cultural organizations supported by the federal agency began to decline. A chilling effect had begun. Dougherty did five things. In TWO DOCS, A & B, three are chronicled. 1. Surveyed the field of Womens Cultural Organizations ...... A pages 2 5 2. Analyzed four years of NEA support for womens cultural organizations: that showed # of organizations received support; how much; & proportion of NEA budget.. SEE ACCOMPANYING DOC B 3. Sought support from colleagues in artists space community. You all are next! 4. Designed TARTS/ Teaching Artists To Reach Technological Savvy, a network among four womens arts organizations to encouraged alliances for a more sustainable common future; won an Apple Computer grant in their G Cycle. (see image below, far right) 5. Submitted Testimony in 1985 for NEA & NEHs reauthorization. Women included as a special constituency for the first time. SEE ACCOMPANYING DOC B

A Womens Cultural / NEA 1980s

by Ariel Dougherty

page 1

A Womens Cultural / NEA 1980s

by Ariel Dougherty

page 2

A Womens Cultural / NEA 1980s

by Ariel Dougherty

page 3

A Womens Cultural / NEA 1980s

by Ariel Dougherty

page 4

A Womens Cultural / NEA 1980s

by Ariel Dougherty

page 5

A Womens Cultural / NEA 1980s

by Ariel Dougherty

page 6

You might also like