WOMEN’S CAUCUS FOR ART
A Florida- Herstory 1972-present (2021)
WCA, was founded in 1972 as part of the College Art Association. A national organization, it has a multicultural and multidisciplinary membership which includes artists, historians, students, educators, gallerists and museum professionals. It has numerous Chapters under regional umbrellas. A successful storied history in Florida started with the Miami Chapter (1973-1998), Sarasota (1987-1997) and Central Florida (1994 to present). Central Florida became the Florida Chapter in 1998. St. Petersburg became Florida Chapter headquarters in 2019. WCA Florida continues to operate under the Central Florida bylaws and 501C3 designation. It continues to pride itself with an inclusive membership.
It was 1972. Barbara Bauer Farrell said they were a small group of women—Maggie Davis, Debbie Goldsworth, Lisa Parker-Hyatt, and herself. Students at the University of Miami, they were tired of being excluded from exhibits and decided they needed an organization. They called themselves WAIT, “Women Artists It’s Time.” Shortly after, they learned of a national organization (WCA) and joined immediately, changing WAIT to WCA Florida in 1974. Meetings were held at the weaving studio at the University of Miami and membership grew quickly. At their height, there were 150 members. Phyllis Satz was the first president and Anne Kinggard was the second. Their focus was exhibitions and getting exposure, so they had open shows rather than juried so no one would be excluded. Before the WCA, artists felt isolated in the arts community and the Caucus helped bring them together.
WCA Miami chapter quickly gained national recognition. It produced a local TV series "The Way of the Woman Artist" featuring 24 members and sold the tapes to local and national institutions. Their work was juried by museum and gallery women including Jennifer Bartlett, Dorothea Rockburne and Miriam Shapiro, they sponsored workshops and had lectures by Alice Neel and co-sponsored the Guerrilla Girls appearances locally.
The “Women of Color Slide Project” (WOCA) project, organized and developed by WCA was born out of the growing demand for an expanded selection of slides of art made by artists of color. It featured 89 prominent contemporary women artists of color with a total of 265 slide images and support materials with artist biographies and statements. The series was curated by nationally recognized curators from the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Smithsonian Institute, the Japanese American National Museum, the Asian/American Cultural Center, the Mexican Museum and the Carl Nelson Gorman Museum. A film about the project was produced by Iman Arroyo and was presented at the 4th UN Worlds Conference of Women held in China. (Beijing) in 1995. Eleanor Merritt, Sarasota Chapter President, National board member and WOCA project director, alongside of Flo Oy Wong, organized a juried exhibition, juried by Anita Valencia, of women artists of color in San Antonio, Texas, during the 1995 WCA National Conference. A second WOCA exhibition, featuring the works of artists selected by the national curators of color, took place in 1996 in Boston during the WCA National Conference. Merritt funded and published an exhibition catalogue, donating the proceeds from the catalogue sales to the WCA.
The Central Florida chapter was started when Miami member Judith Segall relocated from South to Central Florida; the new chapter was advised by Anjal Soler, VP of National Chapter Development, stating: “The ladies in Miami are all old and tired. We need to keep Florida alive.” In May 1994, a dozen women were sitting in Judith’s living room discussing their aspirations and goals. Judith noted “The fact that some women didn’t wish to be labeled Feminists told me my work was cut out for me.” The Central Fl WCA was formed.” In 1998, Miami decided to close its doors and the Sarasota chapter, under the direction of its founder, Eleanor Merritt made the decision to separate from national affiliation, kept the acronym WCA, but changed itself to Women of Contemporary Art.
The Central Florida Chapter became the WCA Florida Chapter. Since 1994, The Florida Chapter organized multiple member exhibitions yearly since 1994 in libraries, public spaces, galleries, and art centers in addition to artist events, literary events, panels and art tours. It has had its members attend the annual Conferences serve on the National Board, and it has hosted the National Summer Board Meeting. Segall became the Southeastern National Vice President after passing the President role and reminisces, “Above all, we represent an amazing sisterhood.”
St. Petersburg became headquarters of WCA Florida in 2019. St Petersburg is home to numerous world class museums. The Florida Chapter is growing in membership and exposure , due to the enthusiasm and hard work of the new Florida president, Suzanne Benton, ( she was a former WCA-NY and WCA-CT member). Benton says “Aside from enjoying shared friendships with many accomplished Florida women artists, I saw a need to foster a community of women artists who’d come together as a significant presence. Having been a long time WCA member, I knew the importance of allying with WCA-National, the definitive women’s art organization that began in the Second Wave Women’s Movement. Benton formed a steering committee of eight members who created the “Portrait Project” in honor of the 100th Centennial of Women’s Suffrage. This project caught on and increased membership and continues to be exhibited at ever-wider Florida venues. The chapter is now working on a “Healing Devices Project” to shift and to heal the wounds of the pandemic and political strife. Benton says, “Three years after we came together, I can proudly say we’ve become a thriving community of women artists.” The recent shows at the Casselberry Art house and Oldsmar City Hall and future planned exhibits are proof.”