Anonymous Was A Woman (AWAW), the long-standing grant program supporting women-identifying artists over the age of 40, has announced its 2024 recipients. The program, founded by artist Susan Unterberg in 1996, has significantly increased its impact this year, doubling the grant amount to $50,000 and expanding the number of awardees to 15.

This year’s recipients include trailblazing artists such as Liliana Porter, 83, an Argentine artist whose work disrupts concepts of time and illusion; Erica Baum, 63, known for her innovative blend of photography and poetry; Takako Yamaguchi, 72, a Japanese-born painter gaining recent market prominence in Los Angeles; and Mary Lee Bendolph, 62, a celebrated quilter from Gee’s Bend.

Since its inception, AWAW has distributed over $5 million in grants, supporting women artists at critical junctures in their careers. The award takes its name from Virginia Woolf’s seminal feminist essay, A Room of One’s Own (1929), which emphasizes the importance of financial independence for creative achievement. Past recipients have included luminaries like Betye Saar, Carolee Schneemann, Carrie Mae Weems, and Nicole Eisenman, elevating the program’s prestige within the art world.

Beyond its traditional grants, AWAW has announced the inaugural Anonymous Was A Woman Survey, an ambitious initiative designed to capture the experiences, challenges, and aspirations of women visual artists across generations. Conducted in collaboration with SMU Data Arts, journalists Charlotte Burns and Julia Halperin, and curator Loring Randolph, the survey aims to provide actionable insights to stakeholders in the art world.

The findings will culminate in a field-wide report, set to be unveiled at the Artists Speak: The Anonymous Was A Woman Symposium on April 9, 2025, at New York University. The symposium, organized by Burns, Halperin, Randolph, and AWAW, will gather artists, scholars, and art world leaders to discuss strategies for advancing gender equity in the arts. The event will coincide with an exhibition at NYU’s Grey Art Museum, showcasing works by AWAW grant recipients from the past 25 years, curated by Nancy Princenthal and Vesela Stretenović.

Unterberg, who revealed herself as AWAW’s founder in 2018, expressed pride in the program’s evolving role. “At a time when both women and the arts require more robust support, I am thrilled to celebrate this year’s awardees and to expand our advocacy with initiatives like the survey and symposium,” she said. “Our mission has always been to empower women artists, and now we are entering a new chapter of public engagement to inspire meaningful change.”

The program’s expansion comes at a critical moment for women in the arts. By offering financial support and fostering dialogue through its grants and new initiatives, AWAW continues to serve as a vital force in addressing the systemic barriers faced by women artists.

Sayart / Nao Yim, yimnao@naver.com