EXHIBIT AT THE CARNEGIE CENTER
In June 2008, the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame (AWHOF) received
a $3265 grant from the Arizona Humanities Council to update its exhibit
housed at the Carnegie Center and its website. This project is funded as
part of the We the People initiative of the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
The Arizona Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1979 to pay tribute posthumously, and honor in perpetuity, the remarkable women whose contributions have played a significant role in the history of Arizona. Every two years the AWHOF committee holds a ceremony to induct new women into this prestigious group. Seventy-five women have currently been inducted.
An exhibit was also created and is housed at the Carnegie Center and includes photographs and bios of each inductee. The centerpieces of the exhibit are a series of custom made quilts featuring the inductees and created by the Arizona Quilter’s Guild over the past twenty-five years. This year, two new quilts were added to feature the 2002, 2004, and 20060 inductees. These quilts were created and donated by women the Phoenix Quilter’s Association: Patricia Bliss, Sara Friesen, and Nelly Lopes.
The Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame website, a companion piece to the exhibit, has undergone an extensive update to include biographical summaries and photographs of all the inductees. Dr. Mary Melcher, museum consultant and historian, conducted the research and biographical updates.
The updated exhibit and website will launch on November 13, 2008, the
date of the next Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony,
where four new women will be included in the prestigious group: Betty Accomazzo,
Katharine Bartlett, C. Louise Boehringer, and Sister Kathleen Clark. These
four women will join their fellow inductees on a new quilt to be added
in the future. The update of the exhibit and website will increase
awareness about the AWHOF and provide a source of historical information
about notable women in Arizona.
The exhibit was curated by Dr. Mary Melcher. David Tatum and Jeffrey Hotchkiss from the Arizona Historical Society donated their time to create and design exhibit labels and mount the quilts. Sarah Weber from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records provided project management and staff support. Peggy Zeller, also from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, provided web design. Original artwork was created by Rachel Morot.
The exhibit will be open to the public who visit the Carnegie Center and also to all state agencies and nonprofit organizations that can use the building as a meeting and training space at no charge.
The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records serves as the primary
sponsor for the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame. In addition, a coalition
of representatives from other state agencies serves as the Executive Committee
for the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame, including the Arizona Historical
Society, the Sharlot Hall Museum, the Governor’s Office for Women,
and the Arizona Humanities Council.
For questions about the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame exhibit and website, contact Sarah Weber, (602) 926-3368, sweber@lib.az.us.
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