History of Women of Visions, Inc.

In 1981, Emma Slaughter and the late Juanita Miller, artists living and working in Pittsburgh, recognized a need for a visual arts organization for African American women. There were few venues in Pittsburgh for African American women artists to exhibit professionally. With the objective of creating a group to provide professional and emotional support to such artists, Miller and Slaughter, along with a core group of other women artists, founded Visions. In 1990, Visions was incorporated under the name Women of Visions, and attained non-profit status in 1995.

1983 WOV members:
Front row l-r:  Murrel Wynn-Jones, Renée Stout, Second row l-r:  Juanita Miller, Pat Powers, Ruth Roebuck, Ruth Richardson;
Third row l-r: Tenanche Golden, Meredith Watson-Young, LaVerne Kemp, Nicola Cherry, Joanne Bates, Jacqueline Poindexter-Jordan, Delores "Dee" Currin.
Members not present in photo: Barbara Hammond, Anne Sawyer-Berkely, Ida Herbert, Shona Sharif.

Mission

The mission of Women of Visions, Inc. is to promote the art of African American women through self-promotion and education. To that end, the organization mounts collaborative exhibits with other arts groups and individual artists, and builds relationships in the arts and lay communities both within and outside of Pittsburgh, to offer its members resources and opportunities that allow them to grow personally and professionally.

Members

The members of Women of Visions, Inc. represent a diverse sampling of artistic styles and mediums. Through painting, printmaking, to works in ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, photography, fiber arts, installation art, digital imaging, and mixed media, a rich and varied expression of the personal, social, and political experience of African American women is voiced.

Today, with an ever increasing membership, Women of Visions, Inc. continues to nurture and support professional and emerging women artists of color, and to bring to the African American community and the general public the richness of our culture and heritage.

We honor our past Presidents and founding members who expressed a great voice, vision, and vivaciousness for African American culture.

 
     
 
©2005 Women of Visions, Inc.
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