Presented alongside the 2021 WOPHA Congress, this publication works as a registry and collective manifesto of international women and non-binary photographers, collectives, and organizations doing extraordinary work to reframe the dominant narratives of photography history.
Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to research, promote, support, and educate on the role of women in photography. Our activities include digitizing historical archives, creating and hosting a center of information and specialized library of books on women photographers, publishing art historic catalogs and books, presenting lectures and workshops, establishing artist residencies and fellowships, and developing online and physical exhibitions.
Our mission is to highlight the contributions of women photographers to modern and contemporary art in order to rewrite the artistic canon and provoke social change. Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) began as a database showcasing women-identified Cuban photographers. WOPHA has since expanded its geographic scope while retaining a core commitment to promote and research, in tandem with other organizations, the plurality of cis, trans, queer, and non-binary voices in photography.
To support WOPHA, consider making your tax-deductible donation today.
Our team recovers primary source material, extends reference services to both institutions and individuals, and organizes symposiums to discuss innovative scholarship on women and photography.
WOPHA highlights themes and portfolios of work held in the archive by producing catalogs, curating exhibitions, and inviting emerging photographers to present their projects on our social media pages.
WOPHA challenges institutions and collectors to amass catalogs composed of at least 50% women creators. We grant art prizes, artist residency programs, and opportunities through partner organizations.
We develop community projects exploring opportunities to provoke social change and provide electronic resources to schools and the public through catalogs and video-documented conferences.
WOPHA Congress is the first global congress of organizations of women photographers, scholars, and artists.
An ongoing resource for the community, our archive hosts images, history, and background info on women photographers.
FAST FORWARD MANIFESTO
We are inspired by women in photography and we are passionate about asserting their place in our art history narratives.
Catalog of Cuban Women Photographers is a pioneering historic and critical survey spanning the 19th century to today.
Follow and share this first-hand experience with women-identified photographers telling their stories in their own words.