Finding aid for the Woman's Building Records LSC.1982

Stacy Wood; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 9 March 2021.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu


Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Woman's Building records
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1982
Physical Description: 3 Linear Feet (5 boxes and 1 oversized flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1975-1994
Abstract: The Woman's Building was a feminist community space that served as an educational facility and central icon in the feminist art and larger political movements. During its eighteen year lifespan, it housed conferences, performances, exhibitions and community events in downtown Los Angeles. This collection contains materials produced at the Woman's Building, exhibition catalogs, newsletters and calendars as well as information about different internal and external affiliated groups.
Physical Location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.

Conditions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

COLLECTION CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization for safe access. To review these audiovisual materials, you must notify the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk in advance of your visit.

Conditions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Woman's Building records (Collection 1982). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Provenance unknown. This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW), and the UCLA Library.

Processing Note

Processed by Stacy Wood, 2012. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Sabrina Ponce in 2016. Finding aid updated by Kelly Besser, 2021.
The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA is an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW), and the UCLA Library. These collections expand the pool of primary source materials available to researchers and to the community at large. This partnership was initiated by CSW and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to inventory, organize, preserve, and digitize more than eighty Mazer collections pertaining to lesbian and feminist activism and writings.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 7106064 

Biography

The Woman's Building was a non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California. It focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement. The Woman's Building began as the Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW), founded in 1973 by art critic and historian Arlene Raven, designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and artist Judy Chicago. This was one of the first schools for women artists. At the core of the FSW's mission was the centrality of art practice to the larger women's movement. A rented space in downtown Los Angeles became the home of the FSW and was eventually named the Woman's Building (the name was taken from the structure created for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893). The Woman's Building was a shared space for the FSW along with Womanspace Gallery, the Women's Liberation Union, and the National Organization of Women.
In 1975 the FSW moved to a new space and by 1977 most of the other organizations had left the Woman's Building. The FSW then voted to hire administrative staff and implement a board structure in order to solidify responsibility for the building and all other legal and financial concerns. The funding for the building would then come from membership, fundraising, grant money, tuition from workshops and courses, and the board members themselves.
The FSW officially closed in 1981 but the Woman's Building continued to provide educational resources. The main focus of the Woman's Building transitioned to solely artistic programming including visual art, performance art, readings, and video art. In 1981, the Women's Graphic Center (WGC) Typesetting and Design was created as the profit making arm of the Woman's Building. WGC provided typesetting, printing, design, and production services; the profits supported the other activities of the Woman's Building. That year, the Woman's Building also began renting artist studio space in order to generate additional revenue. WGC closed in 1988. The Woman's Building closed later in 1991.

Chronology

Missing Title

1970 Feminist Art Program founded by Judy Chicago at Fresno State College
1970 Founding of Los Angeles Council of Women Artists
1971 Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro found Feminist Art Program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
1971 Womanhouse, a collaborative installation, is created by students in the CalArts Feminist Art Program
1972 Womanhouse exhibited to the public
1973 Womanspace Gallery opens. Major exhibits included "Mothers and Daughters," "Taboo," and "Exposure." Educational programs included "Lesbian Consciousness in Art with Ruth Iskin and Arlene Raven," "Art Heritage Lecture: Georgia O'Keefe and Female Sexuality," and "Pioneer Women: Nancy Reeves, lawyer, feminist scholar, educator."
1973 Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW) founded by Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville and Arlene Raven
1973 The Woman's Building opens is doors at 743 S. Grandview. Key staff upon opening include FSW Faculty: Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Edie Folbe, Ruth Iskin, Suzanne Lacy, Deena Metzger, Arlene Raven, Helen Alm Roth; Board of Directors: Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Arlene Raven.
1974 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "The Indian Show," "Beth Avary," "Temporary Environment and Performances," "Mary Maughelli," "Susan Hermann."
1975 Grand opening of 1727 North Spring Street location
1975 Key conferences at The Woman's Building: "Women in Design: The Next Decade," "Personal and Public Ritual: Women in Performance Art," "The Feminist Eye: Women Filmmakers and video Creators."
1975 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Self-Portrait Show," "Metamorphosis (with Judy Chicago and the catalog by Arlene Raven," "Photos by Wendy Davis," "Eileen Gray Retrospective," "Marsha Bailey," "Imogene Cunningham."
1975 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Isadora Duncan: A Unique Recital," "Miss Alice Stone Ladies society Orchestra."
1976 L.A. Women's Video Center founded.
1976 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Grandma Prisbrey: Installation," "Forms of Aspiration: New Drawings with Faith Wilding."
1976 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Feminist Art Workers performance group founded by Nancy Angelo, Candace Compton, Cheri Gaulke, Vanalyne Green, and Laurel Klick," "Flying Klock and Clauson concert," "Ulrike Rosenbach performance, slide show, video screening, and discussion."
1976 Key educational programs at The Woman's Building: "Feminist STudio Workshop," "Feminist Education: Methods and Techniques, Summer Workshop for Educators, taught by Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Euth Iskin, Arlene Raven."
1977 Lesbian Art Project (LAP) founded by the Natalie Barney Collective: Arlene Raven, Terry Wolverton, Nancy Fried, Kathleen Berg.
1977 Ariadne: A Social Art Network founded by Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz
1977 Chrysalis : A Magazine of Women's culture begins publication
1977 Women in the Printing Arts catalog published by The Woman's Building.
1977 Conferences: "Women's Caucus for Art National Conference," "Building: How and Why."
1977 Key exhibits: "Rita Yokoi, Rachel Youdelman," "Women in the Printing Arts," "Judith Golden," "Social Commentary with Rabyn Blake, Jill Climent, Phyllis Davidson, Ilene Segalove, Barbara Thomason."
1977 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Virginia Woolf : An Uncommon Evening by Sara DeWitt," "The Rise of the Fates written an directed by Z. Budapest."
1978 Spinning Off begins publication.
1978 The Video Project launches to create fifteen public service announcements about issues vital to Los Angeles women.
1978 The Woman's Building celebrates fifth anniversary, raising Kate Millett's Naked Lady sculpture to the roof of the building.
1978 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Tapestries by Chilean artists," "Inside the Dream: Aline LaPierre," "Women in Art Meets Life in Las Vegas," "A Woman's Image of Mass Media," "Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary Perspective."
1978 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Mischief Mime Troupe," "Barbara Hammer," "FEMINA: An IntraSpace Voyage, collaborative performance conceived by Terry Wolverton," "Women Bound and Unbound, multimedia performance by Alida Walsh."
1979 Incest Awareness Project, a collaboration between Ariadne: A Social art Network and the Women's Resource Program of the Los Angeles Gay and LEsbian Community Services Center, begins.
1979 Judy Chicago's collaborative project, The Dinner Party, opens at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
1979 Conferences at The Woman's Building: "Women and Science Fiction: Feminist Future Visions Conference, Kate Wilhelm, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Suzy McKee Charnas, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro," "Women Being Successful at Being Women in Their Workplace: Arlene Raven, Sheila de Bretteville, Sheila Bob, Jane Rosenzweig."
1979 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Sorcerer's Dialectic," "Bedtime Stories: Women Spak Out About Incest," "Documentary Photographs of The Dinner Party," "Wiccan Voices: Paula Lumbard," "Waiting at Columbia, Susan Mogul."
1979 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism, collaborative performance by Terry Wolverton," "In Silence Secrets Turn to Lies, performance by Terry Wolverton for Bedtime Stories."
1980 The Great American Lesbian Art Show (GALAS), a collaboration between The Woman's Building and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, opens in Los Angeles and throughout the U.S.
1980 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "The Artist as Magus: Leonora Carrington, Fay Jones, Cheryl Swannack, Tyaga, Faith Wilding," Kay Whitney, Lynn Higbee," "LA/9: Diane Destiny, Jean Edelstein, Shirley Kalish, Fran Raboff, Ruth Snyder, Carol TOlin, Harriet Zetilin, Renata Zerner."
1980 Key performances at The Woman's Building: An Intimate Dinner for 150, collaborative performance by Terry Wolverton, Bia Lowe, The Waitresses, Cisuf, Nancy Fried, Silvia and Anne Mavor at Jett's Cafe and Art Haus," "Beautiful Senoritas, musical play by Dolores Prida at Inner City Cultural Center," "What Do You Think ABout Knives, collaborative performance by Betsy Damon," "City of Angels Perofmrance Project, Cheri Gaulke."
1981 Feminist Studio Workshop closes
1981 Spinning Off ceases publication.
1981 WGC Typesetting and Design opens as a profit-making arm of The Woman's Building.
1981 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Found Images with Cooper Neville and Alexi Mornell," "Miniature Tableaux with Barbara Margolies," "Living Here installation with Suzanne Lacy."
1981 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "A month of Women's Perofmrance Art co-sponsored by Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art with Rachel Rosenthal, Disband, Nancy Angelo and Cheri Gaulke, Martha Wilson, Vanalyne Green, The Waitresses, Helen Harrison, Kathy Arnold, Marcella Bienvenue," "Julie James, Jean Goodlow in concert."
1982 Vesta Awards honoring women's contributon to the arts are founded by The Woman's Building public relations committee.
1982 The Woman's Building adopts Affirmantive Action policy for Board, staff and exhibiting artists.
1982 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Women Writing Poetry in America, broadsides by women printers," "Madre Tierra," "A Broadside is not a Sideshow Attraction."
1983 The Woman's Building celebrates 10th anniversary and publishes The First Decade.
1983 Women's Graphic Center commission Project, "Private Conversations, Public Announcements," posters exhibited at Los Angeles City Hall.
1983 Arlene Raven curates "At Home" at the Long Beach Museum of Art.
1983 Cheri Gaulke curates performance art series," At Home at the Woman's Building."
1983 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "A Book Show, A Drawing Show with Jill Littlewood," "Life in Los Angeles, broadsides designed by Sheila de Bretteville and printed by Susan E. King," "Art and Life, work from the Postcard Project," "Private Conversations, PUblic Announcements."
1983 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Sisters of Survival," "At Home at the Woman's Building curated by Cheri Gaulke and Rachel Rosenthal," "Anna Homier, Terry Wolverton, Laurel Klick, Kathy Arnold, the Love Machien and Aviva Rahmani."
1984 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "1984: Big Brother is Watching," "Public Exposures/Private Disclosures: Rebecca Hendrick," "Scavenger Xerox: A Radical Debut: Robin Price," "Paintings by Lois Swirnoff."
1984 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Funk Lessons by Adrian Piper," "Tall Wheat by Susan Banyas," "Voices, by Marion Hassinger, Running Dog/Paper Tiger by May Sun," "Danceworks, by Gilberte Meunier."
1984 Eileen Myles and Anmy Gerstler read poetry.
1985 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: The Whale Concerts by Liee Gray," "Artist as Shaman, Patricia Bulitt," "Priveleged Information, Barbara Kruger," "The Current Wave, Louise Kollenbayum,' "The Spirit of Black Women: Beverly Robinson, Iris Ambrose, Delores Nehemiah," "The At of the Altar: Resources for Understanding Women's Tradition with Kay Turner."
1986 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: Cross Pollination," "Textiles as Text: Hmong Exhibit," "Elizabeth Catlett and Nike Olanigi," "Family Album."
1986 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Family Album: Evening of Poetry and Performance," "Performance Mania."
1987 Betty Ann Brown hosts an "Art Tour of Santa Fe" for donors of The Woman's Building.
1987 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Maureen Murdock: Photo Exhibition in Service of the Goddess," "Women and Their work at Los Angeles City Hall," "Reflections on Survival: Rose Marie Prins, Nancy Baytos-Fenton, Alice Dubiel, Betsy Richardson, Nancy Buchanan," "Apsara: the Feminine in Cambodian Art," "Earth Vision/Human Scale curated by Dinah Berland."
1987 Key performances at The Woman's Building: "Comedy Night, Leslie Belt, Pat Akers, The Love Machine," "Natural History according to Liebe Gray."
1988 WGC Typesetting and Design closes.
1988 The Woman's Building celebrates 15th anniversary, publishes Fifteen Years and Growing and produces Sweet 15 video; Eighteen artists create original art "birthday cakes" to be exhibited and auctioned at The Woman's Building.
1988 Woman's Building organizes conference, " The Way We Look, The Way We See: Art Criticism for Women in the 90s," co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Women at UCLA, Astro Artz/High Performance and the Wigh Art Gallery.
1988 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Postcard Extravaganza," "Holiday Tea, curated by Betty Asher," "The Sapelo Island Series, Aminah Robinson," "Ways with Wood with Barbara Berk, Angie Bray, Pat Warner," "Image and TExt with Nancy Barton, Laurel Beckman, Kaucyila Brooke, Connie Hatch, Debora Small, Erika Suderburg, May Sun,video by Jerri allyn, Cecilia Condit, Barbara Hammer, Christine Tamblyn."
1988 Key literary events at The Woman's Building: woman's Building publishes literary anthology, Women for All Seasons edited by Wanda Coleman and Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Eros, Surrealism, Survival Readings by Michelle T. Clinton.
1989 Mary Jane Jacob hosts an "Art Tour of Chicago" for Woman's Building donors.
1989 Conferences at The Woman's Building: "Three Gnereations of Black Women Writers, Paule Marshall, Sonia Sanches, J. California Cooper, Michelle Clinton, Wanda Coleman, Sherley Anne Williams," "In Whose Voice, In Whose Vision: Culture and Representation," "Art and the Power to Define: Categorization, Representation and Appropriation."
1989 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "Sounding Patterns: Suvan Geer, Mineko Grimmer and Nobuho Nagasawa," "Reading the Personal: Womens Studio Workshop of NY," Bonnie Thompson Norman," "Deborah Lawrence."
1990 Key exhibitions at The Woman's Building: "The Power of Past Centures: Kerr and Malley," "Incantations: Portland McCormick," "Metaphysical Landscapes, Hilary Baker."
1991 The Woman's Building closes.

Scope and Content

This varied collection shows the myriad functions of the Woman's Building and its central place in the feminist movement as a hub of the creation and display of feminist art. It was also a community educational facility throughout its eighteen year history.
The Woman's Building collective produced and distributed newsletters to their supporters and members on a monthly basis that included announcements, developments, solicitations for donations, and event calendars. In the collection are newsletters spanning from 1984-1990, giving a glimpse into the operations and public activities of the Woman's Building during that time.
The Women's Graphic Center was founded as a profit-making arm of the Woman's Building in 1981. Included in this collection are newsletters documenting the activities, publications and outreach efforts of the Women's Graphic Center from 1984-1990. In addition, there are several publications from the Women's Graphic Center including products of a letterpress workshop as well as one of their artist publications.
Produced in the Women's Graphic Center but not as a part of the for-profit operation was the collaborative Postcard Project led by artist in residence Cheri Gaulke. The project lasted from 1985-1988 and generated hundreds of limited edition postcards, many of which are included here.
Also included are descriptive press materials from the LA Women's Video Center (LAWVC) that was founded in 1976 and provided classes, equipment and support to women interested in using video to produce documentation, public service announcements, center productions, and art tapes.
The Women's Press Collective was founded in 1969 by artists Wendy Cadden and Judy Grahan. Dedicated to publishing the "work of women that we thought no one else would do," the selections in this collection display particular activist works surrounding individual women including Joan Little and Inez Garcia.
A large element of the collection are the exhibition catalogs with many containing essays or other writings by Arlene Raven. The collection also includes press releases from the Woman's Building about performances, community events, lectures and workshops as well as articles and clippings from outside news sources concerning activities at the Woman's Building.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials arranged according to original order. This collection does not contain a Box 5.

Related Material

Otis College of Art and Design holds both the slide and ephemera archives for The Woman's Building. The Getty Research Institute Library houses The Woman's Building Video Archive.
Institutional records can be found in The Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. These records cover the period before The Woman's Building was founded through its closing.
Over 250 video tapes of feminist performances, video art, documentation of the feminist movement, interviews, and readings are contained in The Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive, located at the Getty Research Institute Special Collections.
Various materials related to individual performances or event documentation can be found in: Wolverton (Terry) Papers 1970-2005 in UCLA Special Collections, Sarah Stifler Papers at the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Whitlock (Mary) Photographs 1974-2008 at the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) 1964-1994 in UCLA Special Collections, Yamada (Mitsuye)Papers 1940-2005 in UC Irvine Special Collections, Getty Research Institute public event recordings 2001-2011 in the Getty Research Institute Institutional Archives, Guide to the Centro Cultural de La Raza Archives 1970-1999 in University of Santa Barbara Special Collections, Craft and Folk Art Museum Records circa 1965-1997, and Geological Survey of California Papers 1844-1873 in the University of California Berkeley Bancroft Library.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)

box 1, folder 1

Articles and Clippings circa 1975-1979

General Physical Description note: photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Articles about The Woman's Building and their various activities.

General note

Includes articles about exhibits put on by Ariadne: A Social Art Network which enlisted women to participate in large scale collaborative performance works. Ariadne was founded by Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz. Also included are articles about various other exhibits including "Beyond the Femininity of Eileen Gray" and "The Still Taboo Subject."
box 1, folder 2, box 7, folder 4

Postcard Project circa 1985-1988

General Physical Description note: letterpress postcards

Scope and Contents note

Records documenting the three-year-long Postcard Project. Box 1, Folder 2 contains the postcards created for the project while Box 7, Folder 4 contains photographs and negatives of the opening of the exhibition.

General note

The Postcard Project was a collaborative project led by artist in residence Cheri Gaulke. Gaukle, a visual artist, first came to The Woman's Building in 1975 and became involved with the Feminist Studio Workshop. Throughout the 1970s she focused predominantly on performance art and has now expanded into a variety of media. The Postcard Project was conceived as a way to celebrate important women in artists' lives, creating an artifact from a personal connection with a historical figure. The project lasted from 1985-1988 and generated hundreds of limited edition postcards.
box 1, folder 3

NAIAD Press circa 1987

General Physical Description note: cardstock mockup book covers, printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Contains various promotional materials, mailers and mockup book covers.

General note

Founded by Barbara Grier and Donna McBride in January 1973, Naiad Press was devoted exclusively to lesbian literature. At its closing in 2003 it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.
box 1, folder 4

Womanhouse circa 1972

General Physical Description note: photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Two copies of the catalog of the Womanhouse exhibition along with the accompanying essay, "The Education of Women as Artists: Project-Womanhouse" by Miriam Shapiro.

General note

Organized by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, Womanhouse was a feminist art installation and performance space located in an abandoned house in Hollywood, CA. Women artists and the students of both Chicago and Schapiro participated, each woman inhabiting a room or space of her own. Using community collaboration and consciousness raising techniques to generate content, the exhibit focused on the shifting and critical relationship between biology and social roles within the symbolic realm of the home. The exhibition drew approximately 10,000 visitors. Johanna Demetrakas made a documentary film about Womanhouse in 1974.
box 1, folder 5

Printed Ephemera circa 1977-1991

General Physical Description note: photocopies, flyers, folders, calendars

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

COLLECTION CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization for safe access. To review these audiovisual materials, you must notify the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk in advance of your visit.

Scope and Contents note

Includes assorted materials pertaining to Ariadne: A Social Art Network, Women Against Violence Against Women, West End Press, Helaine Victoria Press, Karen Golden (an artist-in-residence at the Woman's Building), and other organizations and performers who collaborated with the Woman's Building between 1977 and 1991. Contains one audio cassette recording labeled " 'Amelia and Poncho Together Again' - Museum of flying Karen Golden."
box 1, folder 6

An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism circa 1980-1982

General Physical Description note: printed paper, handwritten notes

Scope and Contents note

Program from the performance, "An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism" along with an inventory of photos and a list of the artists involved.

General note

"An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism" was a performance piece consisting of over twenty vignettes and sketches about lesbians' experiences and was performed at The Woman's Building in 1979. Additional images from the performance are at OTIS college of art and design.
box 1, folder 7

Press Releases circa 1978-1990

Scope and Content

Includes press releases about local political events and Woman's Building exhibitions, lectures and performances.
box 1, folder 8

L.A. Women's Video Center circa 1979-1981

General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Contains a flyer about the organization as well as a folder containing historical background. Also included are pamphlets about programming.

General note

Founded in 1976, the LA Women's Video Center (LAWVC) provided classes, equipment and support to women interested in using video to produce documentation, public service announcements, center productions and art tapes.
box 1, folder 9

Kathleen Clark - Artistic Director circa 1990-1991

General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies, handwritten notes

Scope and Contents note

Assorted documents from Kathleen Clark's tenure as artistic director of The Woman's Building including flyers, sign-in sheets, letters to the board of directors, executive committee notes, mission statement drafts and notes, values and histories, and fundraising materials.

General note

Kathleen Clark was the Photo Editor of Los Angeles Magazine and LA Weekly, an adjunct faculty member at USC and The Art Center College of Design, and Artistic Director at the Woman's Building from 1990-1991.
box 1, folder 10

Membership (The Woman's Building) circa 1975-1991

General Physical Description note: printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Contains member communications, newsletters, letters, solicitations, and members-only invitations.
box 1, folder 11

The Women's Graphic Center Newsletters 1982-1984

General Physical Description note: bound, printed newsletters

Scope and Contents note

Quarterly newsletters listing recent projects, upcoming classes, information on scholarships.

General note

Founded in 1981, The Women's Graphic Center, also known as The Women's Graphic Center Typesetting and Design, was a for-profit business designed to both support projects and artistic endeavors at The Woman's Building in addition to strengthening the finances of the organization. Phototypesetting, graphic design, production and printing services were all provided by The Women's Graphic Center.
box 1, folder 12

Postcards from The Women's Graphic Center circa 1982-1985

General Physical Description note: letterpress, photo typeset postcards

Scope and Contents note

Postcards produced to promote exhibitions or events at The Woman's Building as well as postcards produced as unique art objects.
box 2, folder 1

The Woman's Building Newsletters 1984-1987

General Physical Description note: bound, printed newsletters

Scope and Contents note

Quarterly newsletters including updates on programming, membership information, and lists of donors.
box 2, folder 2

The Woman's Building Calendars 1987-1990

General Physical Description note: printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Bimonthly calendars of events at The Woman's Building.
box 2, folder 3

Judy Chicago Word and Image Network Materials circa 1981-1982

General Physical Description note: bound, printed catalogs and essays

Scope and Contents note

Includes the first Judy Chicago Word and Image Network (JC/WIN) catalog and Arlene Raven's "Picture This or Why is Art Important?"

General note

The Judy Chicago Word and Image Network (JC/WIN), a small retail outlet that disseminates and publishes feminist literature and artwork both by catalog and on the spot. JC/WIN was a joint project between Judy Chicago and Mary Ross Taylor.
box 2, folder 4

Women's Press Collective Negatives No Date

Scope and Contents note

Contains negatives from the books "Save Joan Little" and "The Inez Garcia Book" as well as a negative from the "Disarm Rapists" and negatives from the band High Risk.

General note

The Women's Press Collective was founded in 1969 by artist Wendy Cadden and Judy Grahan. Dedicated to publishing "work of women that we thought no one else would do," the selections in this collection display particular activist works surrounding individual women.
box 2, folder 5

Woman Carved of Sun by Anne Gordon (Women's Press Collective) circa 1974

General Physical Description note: negatives, hand drawings, mockups, printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Includes drawings, negatives, plates, and paste ups of the poetry collection "Woman Carved of Sun" by Anne Gordon.

General note

Originally published in 1974.
box 2, folder 6

Women's Press Collective circa 1970

General Physical Description note: handwritten notes, paste ups, printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Paste ups and notes for various publications by the Women's Press Collective, mostly poetry.
box 2, folder 7

High Risk circa 1976

General Physical Description note: negatives, photographs, printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Includes promotional photographs, the corresponding negatives, and press releases for the band High Risk.

General note

High Risk was a band that formed in order to create, perform and record a soundtrack to be used in a film by Donna Deitch named Woman to Woman. Side A "The Common Woman (Nadine)" with the words taken from a poem by Judy Grahan is read by Sandi Ajida and the music is composed and arranged by Virginia Rubino. Sandi Ajida also plays the congas and percussion, Cyndy Mason play the saxophone and flute while Bobi Jackson plays the bass. Side B "Degradation" was composed and arranged by Bobi while the background vocals and instruments are the same as those on "The Common Woman."
box 2, folder 8-9

Women's Press Collective: Lesbians Speak Out 1974

General Physical Description note: printed paper, cardstock

Scope and Contents note

Contains the paste up of the manuscript Lesbians Speak Out.
box 3, folder 1

Women's Press Collective: Inez Garcia Book circa 1974

General Physical Description note: handwritten notes, onion skin, paste ups

Scope and Contents note

Paste ups for the book on Inez Garcia.

General note

Inez Garcia was convicted of murder and eventually exonerated. Garcia murdered one of the two men involved in her own brutal rape. Her case became a flashpoint for activists in both the women's rights and Chicano movements. This book was published with proceeds going to the Inez Garcia Defense Committee and discusses the history and causes of rape as well as the political realities of rape as a tool of war.
box 3, folder 2

Women's Press Collective: Save Joan Little circa 1975

General Physical Description note: handwritten notes, paste ups, printed paper

Scope and Contents note

Includes paste ups and drafts. Included in the book is an essay by Angela Davis.

General note

Joan Little, an African American, an inmate of the Beaufort County jail in North Carolina was put on trial for the murder of jailer Clarence Alligood. The case became a cultural rallying cry for the feminist movement, civil rights movement and anti death penalty movements. Little was acquitted using the defense that she used deadly force to resist sexual assault, this is the first instance of this successful defense.
box 3, folder 3

Women's Press Collective: Assorted Graphics No Date

General Physical Description note: hand drawn pictures

Scope and Contents note

Assorted hand drawn pictures and proofs.
box 3, folder 4

Women's Press Collective: Poetry Advertisements No Date

General Physical Description note: printed paper, cardstock

Scope and Contents note

Copy of advertisements of various publications.
box 3, folder 5

Women's Press Collective: Elephant Poem Coloring Book circa 1972

General Physical Description note: hand drawn pictures, printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Includes out of order drafts of the Elephant Poem by Judy Grahn along with paste ups for publication.
box 3, folder 6

Women's Press Collective: The Common Woman circa 1970-1973

General Physical Description note: hand drawings, photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Includes sketches, photocopies, paste ups and drafts for publication of The Common Woman. Also includes photocopies of an envelope referring to Donna Deitch's film Woman to Woman
box 3, folder 7-8, box 4, folder 1-4

Programming at the Woman's Building circa 1974-1991

General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Contains flyers and brochures about exhibitions, performances, workshops, classes, and other programs at The Woman's Building. Some of these promotional materials were created in celebration of the tenth and fifteenth anniversaries of the Woman's Building. Folder 5 also contains press releases, membership information, an inventory of periodicals, award honorees, and newspaper articles.
box 4, folder 5

Women's Graphic Center Programming 1983-1984

General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Newsletters, correspondence and publicity materials related to the Women's Graphic Center.
box 7, folder 1-2

Woman's Building Class Publications circa 1974-1988

General Physical Description note: bound printed and hand bound books

Scope and Contents note

Contains materials written, illustrated, printed, and bound by different groups and individuals that took classes at the Women's Graphic Center at the Woman's Building.
box 7, folder 3

Newsletters: Spinning Off, Calendars, W.B. circa 1978-1991

General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Contents note

Contains calendars, newsletters and issues of Spinning Off.
box 6

Posters, Flyers, Over sized Documents No Date

General Physical Description note: printed paper, posters

Scope and Contents note

Contains posters, flyers, and newspaper articles related to exhibitions and events that occurred at The Woman's Building. Also includes a poster for an event at the Long Beach Museum of Art.