Program Period: December 2018–November 2020

This grant from the Save America's Treasures program, an interagency federal initiative led by the National Park Service and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, supports processing and preservation of archival collections related to the Woman's Building, a feminist art institution in downtown Los Angeles, and digitization of materials most at risk of deterioration.

Founded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven, the nonprofit arts and education center offered an alternative to male-dominated faculty and curriculum during the late 1960s through the 1980s.

The Woman's Building records, acquired by the Research Institute in 2017, provide an overview of the institution's diverse activities through materials related to exhibitions, readings, performances, and various collaborative projects launched at the institution. Also included in this project are the archives of artists Barbara T. Smith, Nancy Buchanan, and Faith Wilding; the records of artist groups the Waitresses, Feminist Art Workers, Sisters of Survival, and Mother Art; and L.A. Artists for Survival Records Regarding Target L.A.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (CFDA 15.904).