What does your business do?

In addition to art sales and consulting services, I conduct Feminist Museum Tours. I have received several grants from WomenArts, and founder Martha Richards, to conduct the tours at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, The de Young Museum in San Francisco, and in 2017 at The Huntington Library - Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art in San Marino.

How would you use the grant money?

I want to create materials to give to museums to encourage them to set up a program whereby art created by women, in their collections, receive more attention. For example, when I conducted my Feminist Tour of The de Young Museum, they had nothing available - not even a list - of art in their collection created by women. When I conducted the tour of the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art at the Huntington earlier this year, there was not only no list - nothing highlighting the work by women artists, but none of the staff, with the exception of the Mary Cassatt painting, could name any of the works by women in the collection.

What would the grant enable you to do that you can't now?

It would enable me to create both materials and a dialog with museums about the work by women artists in their collections. I would start this effort by contacting The Huntington first. the money would raise my profile and draw attention to this issue. Women make up half of humanity, but only 2% of the art you see in museums, on average, is art created by women. This must change.

If Idea Cafe's Grant helps your biz reach greater success, how will you "pay it forward" to help others in some way?

I am working on a larger grant - a $50,000 grant - to train two women, art history grads, in how to conduct t he Feminist Museum Tours using my method which incorporates information about art methods and materials, art history, feminist studies, and art marketing.