Kentucky Women Remembered: 2024 Call for Artwork Proposals

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The Kentucky Commission on Women Foundation, Inc. announces a call to artists in Kentucky to submit proposals for artwork for the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit, housed in the Kentucky State Capitol.

Kentucky Women Remembered Exhibit Backgroun​​d​

The Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit began in 1978, when the Kentucky Commission on Women (KCW) launched a campaign to bring attention to outstanding women who made significant contributions to Kentucky’s history. Tens of thousands of Kentuckians viewed watercolor portraits of six women from various backgrounds who worked in non-traditional ways during the eras in which they lived. After its introduction, when funds permitted, the collection of portraits was a traveling exhibit. Later, the Kentucky Commission on Women, in an effort to establish women’s rightful place in Kentucky’s history, lobbied to have the portraits hung in the Kentucky State Capitol, creating a more accurate representation. In 1996, the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit found a permanent home in the northwest hall of the Capitol and now includes more than 75 inductees.

The Kentucky Commission on Women Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) is a nonprofit organization established for the sole purpose of sponsoring, seeking funding for and supporting the activities of the Kentucky Commission on Women. Inc. In November 1968, Governor Louie Nunn signed an executive order establishing the Kentucky Commission on Women in response to a report published in 1964 from The Commission on the Status of Women that found a pronounced need for a permanent agency to promote the improvement of women's status in the state. In 1970, the Kentucky Commission on Women became an official state agency through legislative action, and then, in 1980, became part of the Cabinet for General Government as an administrative body attached to the Governor's Office. The Foundation supports the work of the Kentucky Commission on Women and is the primary financial supporter of the exhibit.

The Foundation is seeking to commission four individual watercolor portraits for the 2024 inductees to the exhibit. The new inductees are as follows:

• Alberta O. Jones (deceased), lawyer and civil rights advocate
• Ada Limón, United States Poet Laureate
• Amanda Matthews, sculptor and designer of public art
• Kim Michele Richardson, author and advocate

More information about this year’s inductees can be found here.

Photos from the 2023 Kentucky Women Remembered portrait unveiling can be viewed here.

More information about the exhibit overall and portraits of inductees (prior to 2020) can be found at this externally managed website: kywomenshistoryproject.com/kentuckywomenrememberedexhibit/.

Call for Artwork Proposals​​​

This request for artwork proposals is open to emerging and professional visual artists age 18 or older who reside or spend a significant portion of their time residing in Kentucky.

Artists interested in submitting a proposal should send an email to kcw@ky.gov with the following subject line: Kentucky Women Remembered. This email should only include the artist’s name and contact information, and not a complete proposal. In response, interested artists will be provided a link to an online portal where a proposal for original artwork honoring an inductee can be submitted. Each proposal submitted may be for one individual inductee only, but artists may submit more than one proposal. Artists may also indicate being open to painting any inductee’s portrait.

The proposed artwork must be a watercolor portrait on watercolor paper with the following dimensions: 15 inches wide by 15 inches tall. Portraits will be based on a photograph(s) of the inductee that will be provided by the Kentucky Commission on Women at the time of commission. Upon completion, portraits will be matted and framed by the Foundation.

Samples of previously commissioned Kentucky Women Remembered artwork can be viewed during regular business hours in the Kentucky State Capitol, or can be viewed anytime online at the following third-party website: kywomenshistoryproject.com/kentuckywomenrememberedexhibit/.

Additional Information​​

Kentucky Arts Council. Other m​​embers may be identified at a later date. There is no submission fee for a proposal. The Kentucky Commission on Women Foundation, Inc. reserves the right to view, in person, the artwork prior to final payment.

Anticipat​​ed Project Schedule​​​ (subject to change)