Artemisia and Her Mentors: Partnership and Legacy

Through a comprehensive exhibition and study project, a group of high school students and women artists worked together to document the artists’ work, explore the values and issues of women’s art, envision careers, and create an exhibition and permanent teaching resources. The project’s purpose was to test a model curriculum designed to promote gender equity and positive identification among young women in art, and to make the students’ discoveries available for other students in the community. Research confirmed needs for curriculum reform: the need to present art as an appropriate and desirable career choice, to present curriculum content that relates positively to the experiences of female students, and to raise awareness of values and assumptions about women’s art-making.