 Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business is a major national exhibition that opened in October at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. The exhibition brings to life the stories of some 40 intriguing women who helped shape the landscape of American business. One of the major contributions of this show to American life is the very fact that it reinterprets the history of American women and American business. Using artifacts, costumes, diaries and letters, business and legal documents, photographs and paper ephemera, audio recordings and interactive technology, the multi-media presentation reveals the trials and triumphs of a diverse group of inventors, innovators and trendsetters and their major contributions to life in America.
In recognition of the important new scholarship and research presented in Enterprising Women, a National Honorary Patrons Committee has been created to increase awareness of the exhibition’s extraordinary story of American businesswomen. TIAW is one of the Honorary Patrons, along with U.S. senators, representatives, governors and lieutenant governors, business leaders and other prominent women’s business organizations. In addition, two TIAW members, Marian (Mandy) Goetze in Washington, D.C. and Kay Leaumont in Atlanta GA, each sit on a Regional Honorary Patrons Committee. While Enterprising Women was in development, these members contributed information and put forth names for consideration in the exhibition.
Due to the foresight and diligence of past TIAW administrators, TIAW has regularly contributed 20 years of historical archives to The Schlesinger Library of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. The Library is the primary organizer of this national cultural exhibition. With the support and collaboration of The Radcliffe Institute and The National Heritage Museum, Library staffers have researched, documented and assembled a remarkable piece of history about women who have left an important legacy for American women today.
An interactive Web site can be found at www.enterprisingwomenexhibit.org and an illustrated book, Enterprising Women (University of North Carolina Press, 2002) accompany the exhibition, as does a full range of educational and public programming, including lectures, teacher workshops, oral history initiatives and lesson plans for middle and high school students.
“As I have traveled across the country seeking artifacts and documents for Enterprising Women,” said Edith Mayo, curator of the Exhibition, “I have been greeted with enthusiasm for the project. Over 75 museums, archives, libraries, private collectors and descendants have shown enormous generosity in lending their priceless collections. For the first time, all these materials will be brought together in one exhibition, and lenders are delighted that the Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library and the National Heritage Museum are bringing the stories of these extraordinary women to national attention. Enterprising Women will dramatically alter the public perception of women’s impact on the nation’s economy.”
Enterprising Women will tour nationally in the USA through 2004. As the tour schedule is subject to change, please visit the Web site mentioned above for schedule details and additional information about the exhibit.
National Heritage Museum, Lexington, Massachusetts
October 5, 2002 – February 23, 2003
New-York Historical Society, New York City, N.Y.
March 25 - May 31, 2003
Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia
July 4 - September 21, 2003
The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Wash., D.C.
October 24, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Los Angeles Publ
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