On August 26, 1920, women were given the right to vote in the United States with the certification of the 19th Amendment. The launch of the Women Soaring Project (WSP) this fall 2020 fortuitously coincides with the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. It is with great honor that the WSP is able to celebrate this incredible achievement in women's history highlighting exceptional artworks with its inaugural exhibit, Women Suffragists.
The panel of jurors for this show was comprised of the WSP co-founders and advisory board members including Jane Le Skaife, Jackie Lo, Megan Seely, Leah Cluff, Jennifer Lugris, Grace Gray-Adams, Jenifer Vernon and Lesley Doig. While we received 48 submissions from artists all around the world, we voted on the top three pieces that displayed the strongest content and execution in addressing the theme of women's suffrage. We are pleased to announce these winning works are:
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First place - Artist Summer Herrera, Dorothy, A Young Activist, 2020
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Second place - Artist Ildiko Nova, Fair Representation, 2020
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Third place - Artist Angela (Azadeh) Raz, Healing, 2020
Please join us in congratulating these artists, and thank you to all those who participated. To see these works and more, please enter our virtual gallery below.
WOMEN
SOARING
An interactive arts and culture project seeking to see, know, and appreciate women in history
Photo of Jeannette Rankin, January 1, 1917, Photo by Library of Congress.
Who is Jeannette Rankin?
Jeannette Rankin grew up on a ranch in Montana working alongside men while operating heavy machinery. She would later argue that women and men labor as equals in the Western frontier, but were not equal in their political voices. Rankin’s convictions led her to help fight for women’s right to vote in both Washington and Montana. She would later become the first woman in the U.S. to ever be elected to Congress via the House of Representatives back in her home state of Montana in 1916. During her two terms, she formed the Committee on Woman Suffrage in 1917 and eventually helped to pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote across the nation. Rankin was also a well-known pacifist and the only Congressperson to vote against both WWI and WWII during her tenure.