Exhibitions:October 2018 - May 2021: betsabee romero: signals of a long road togetheroctober 8, 2020 - January 18, 2021: paper routes: women to watch 2020march 3, 2021 - June 28, 2021: sonya clark: tatter, bristle, and mendmay 1, 2020 - August 16, 2020: mary ellen mark: girlhoodjune 8 - June 12, 2021: her flag institutional attendance:fy21 total attendance: 30,912 (July 28, 2020 to December 24, 2020; March 3, 2021 to July 31, 2021)virtual program attendance: 12,748 (not factored into the above total)added together + a tiny rental number = 43,676fy20 total attendance: 95,487 (July 1, 2019 to March 13, 2020)average daily visitor attendance: 114*fy20: 299**adjusted for the actual number of days museum was openexhibition attendanceexhibition dates total attendance average daily visitorsgraciela iturbide's mexico* 2/28/2020-3/12/2020; 8/1/2020-8/23/2020 8,202,200paper routes--women to watch 2020 10/8/20-12/23/20 4,375 58sonya clark: tatter, bristle, and mend 3/3/21-6/27/21 21,791,186mary ellen mark: girlhood** 3/3/21-8/9/21 22,401,186*exhibition spans across fiscal years; stats are for the entire run of the show**exhibition spans across fiscal years; stats are for fy21 onlymary ellen mark: girlhoodmedia quotes- "but the national museum of women in the arts May be the only art institution in washington to grant photography near-equality with painting and sculpture. In the galleries on the upper floors, you can find ruth orkin in a room with helen frankenthaler. Mary ellen mark looks right at home." - Wall street journal- "what mark's work gets at is not simply the way the adult is latent in the child but how the beginnings of womanhood surface - sometimes bubbling up with that ubiquitous, inexplicable wish that children have to be seen as grown up; at other times, yanked into the light by circumstances." - Washington post- "a celebrated american photographer best known for her in-depth documentary work, mary ellen mark produced some of the most delicately shaded studies of vulnerability ever set on film. For over four decades, she traveled extensively to make compelling photographs that reflect a high degree of humanism." - Widewalls- "mark's close relationship with tiny is emblematic of her approach to capturing the joys and struggles of her subjects. The intimate access she gained to their lives was premised on trust and longevity. In an interview with american photo in 1998, she explained, "your subjects will trust you only if you're confident about what you're doing. They can sense that immediately." - 1854/british journal of photography - "these are images of hardship and despair, but also levity." - Aestheticavisitor comments- i was a feminist artist in the 70s where such a gallery could not be imagined. Thrilled to be here. Work is exceptional. Recent photo exhibit mary mark blew ME away. Wish gift shop was open. Will go online. Docent at info was passionate too. Thank you!Sonya clark: tatter, bristle, and mendmedia quotes- "sonya clark continually challenges us, ensconced as we might be in our smug niches of "art and "craft." The acrobatics and virtuosity she displays with mundane materials - hair, hair combs, beads, utilitarian cloth, and the occasional digital venture - belie our usual expectations of their possibilities and gnaw at the edges of conceptualism, sculpture, and performance." - Hyperallergic - "renowned for her explorations of the cultural and political aspects of hair - specifically black hair - clark does not disappoint in this dizzying survey of 100 works executed over the last 25 years." - Hyperallergic- "the national museum of women in the arts is bringing her necessary work to a wider audience." - Washingtonian magazine- "clark's ability to transform such everyday things into pungent critiques is central to the national museum of women in the arts exhibition "tatter, bristle and mend," the artist's first major career survey." - Washington post- "even when pondering the things closest to her own life, clark is always exquisitely attuned to the ways they can be used as metaphors for the larger black experience." - Washington post- "clark's work enforces the connections between african diasporic people through their hair and shared circumstance. Hair, as a symbol of blackness in these artworks, bonds the people to her work and speaks of their potency and permanence. She manipulates fibers to contextualize the heinous experiences of black people based on something as natural but disquieting as hair. Tatter, bristle, and mend reestablishes black hair as beautiful after centuries of black people being told their natural hair is inappropriate." - Washington city paper- "her pieces position and contrast artifacts and symbols of the black experience in America through her chosen materials of human hair, glass beads, combs, cotton, sugar, currency, cloth, and thread, among others, to channel her ideas about unrecognized black makers throughout history who utilized the same sorts of craft practices that she herself employs." - Bmoreart- "often read through a political lens, the work is timely, important, and as clark herself summed up for ME, "also authentic, also formal, also historical, also cultural, also beautiful, also ugly." - Bmoreart- "taking over an entire floor of the museum, the show is a massive undertaking that showcases 100 works in a survey spanning clark's career, divided into rooms roughly by different bodies of work. The exhibition makes the viewer feel as if they are in conversation with clark" - bmoreart- "tatter, bristle, and mend is a beautifully designed and thought-provoking show...As i moved through the show, what surprised ME was the lessening of my anxiety and a growing feeling of comfort and nostalgia for home." - American craft council- "during my visits to the museum, i met various generations of black women for whom the show resonated deeply. Many were from the DC area and came specifically and proudly to celebrate their local sister-artist." - American craft councilvisitor commentsin addition to the quotes below, sonya clark received a score of 85 on our net promoter score surveys. This is the highest score we've ever had since starting with the nps survey.- The entire experience was excellent, but the sonya clark exhibit was powerful and phenomenal!- Amazing sonya clark exhibition. An incredible talent and force i just realized thanks to the museum.- Clark's exhibit was spectacularly influential and conveyed strong, impactful messages for youth and aspiring artists.- The sonya clark exhibit was amazing. It was very relevant and vulnerable. Beautiful and socially aware art.- Sonya clark's work is so incredibly moving. Women's voices are loud and strong.- The sonya clark exhibit was beautiful. Opened my mind & eyes to black history in a different way.- Clark's installation moved ME to tears- the sonya clark exhibit is the single best gallery exhibit i have seen in recent memory- the sonya clark show was the best exhibit i've seen in years, and we do art all the time. Love the curatorial choices in the main collection. Love this museum.- Sonya clark's descriptions of her art was amazing and should be required study in schools- curation of sonya clark exhibit is outstanding. The art unraveled deep threads of my own. Beautiful and transformational- sonya clark's show was the highlight of my visit, yet nothing in here left ME disappointed.Paper routes-women to watch 2020media quotes- "while little about paper itself, fibrous and malleable, has changed over time, its form has never ceased to inspire new processes and experimentation. On view at the national museum of women in the arts (nmwa) in washington, d.C., Through January 18, 2021, paper routes-women to watch 2020 examines artists' current fascinations with paper, highlighting works born of radical and often unpredictable metamorphosis. The results have been cut, sculpted, painted, sewn, and even singed; they challenge expectations and definitions of mediums." - Fine books magazinevisitor comments- "loved the paper exhibition and mix of art over time next to each other."- "The paper route floor was really great. Also i am a female art student and this place is very inspiring."- "Paper routes and julie chen exhibit were fabulous and demonstrate the crucial role of nmwa in showing women's artistic works."

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