Back to All Events

Women's History Month: 10 Women Artists You Should Know

  • Polk Museum of Art 800 E Palmetto St Lakeland, FL 33801 US (map)
WomensHistoryVirtual.png

Throughout the history of art, women have been represented most frequently as painted and sculpted subjects — often beautiful, elegant, or even submissive objects — seen through the eyes of male artists. However, women's roles in art history extend far beyond the male perception of them. Less frequently do you hear about the women who make art.

In celebration of Women's History Month this March, we'll explore 10 of the most influential and most interesting female artists — ones every art lover should know — with a thoughtful and interactive discussion about their work and impact on the history of art!

Join Dr. Alex Rich, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Thursday, March 4 at 6 pm on Facebook Live and Zoom as he chats with our panel for the evening, including Dr. Kristen Carter, Assistant Professor of Art History at FSC, Kelly Sturhahn, Associate Professor of Art at Florida Southern College, and Diane Baires, Assistant to the Executive Director at the Polk Museum of Art, as they discuss the underrecognized influence women artists have had throughout art history!

Gather your questions and curiosities for our panel and be ready to celebrate Women's History Month with us!

Please click the Zoom link to join at 5:55 pm. If you have trouble joining the webinar, please exit and try to join again.

About Our Guests

Dr. Kristen Carter earned her Ph.D in Art History and Theory from the University of British Columbia. Before joining Florida Southern as an Assistant Professor, she taught modern and contemporary art history at UBC and Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary art history, with a particular focus on American art in the 1960s and 1970s. Her research interests include modes of viewership, participation, subject formation, and institutional critique with an emphasis on post-1968 artistic praxis and pedagogy. 

Kelly Sturhahn is an Associate Professor of Art and the Director of the Foundations Program at Florida Southern College. Sturhahn holds a BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design and an MFA from Hunter College. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions including Ann Street Gallery (NY), Times Square Gallery (NY), Skylight Gallery (NY), 6th Street Container (FL), Cheryl Hazan Contemporary (NY), Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art (NY), and Boca Raton Museum of Art (FL).

Diane Baires received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a Minor in Art History from Florida Southern College. She received the John R. Reuter Award for her senior thesis exhibition and later had her first solo exhibition, Approximations, at Polk State College in 2019. Her work has been featured in a number of exhibitions, most recently in the Osceola Arts’ 12th Annual Celebrating Hispanic Artists and Culture: Juried Art Show and and the Alliance for the Arts’ 35th Annual All Florida Exhibition.

Later Event: March 6
In-Person: Docent-Led Tour