Women's Studio Workshop

Women's Studio Workshop (WSW) is a nonprofit artists' workspace and educational organization based in the foothills of the Hudson Valley's Shawangunk Mountains in New York State. Founded in 1974, it was established with the vision of a society where women's visual art is integral to the cultural mainstream and permanently recorded in history. Today its mission is to operate and maintain an artists' workspace that encourages the voice and vision of women, trans, intersex, nonbinary, and genderfluid artists. WSW provides professional opportunities for artists at various stages of their careers and promotes programs designed to stimulate public involvement, awareness, and support for the visual arts. Its facilities support etching, letterpress, papermaking, book arts, silkscreen, 3D work, ceramics, and photography. The studios are housed in a historic building and are extensively equipped and well-maintained. Artists can take workshops, rent the studios, or schedule private instruction. The organization runs artist residency, internship, and education programs across printmaking, papermaking, ceramics, letterpress, photography, and book arts. It also produces and sells artists' books, hosts public events such as the annual Chili Bowl Fest fundraiser, and maintains an artist opportunity calendar. Its work has been recognized in outlets including Hyperallergic, The Washington Post, PRINT Magazine, and The Art Newspaper, and in 2025 the National Museum of Women in the Arts honored 50 years of the Women's Studio Workshop. WSW is led by an acting director and a staff team that includes a studio manager and an operations manager. It operates as a private nonprofit rather than a publicly traded company, and its programs are supported by donations, grants, and fundraising events.

Women's Studio Workshop was founded in 1974 with the vision of a society where women's visual art is integral to the cultural mainstream and permanently recorded in history. From its base in a historic building in the foothills of the Hudson Valley's Shawangunk Mountains, the organization grew into a fully equipped artists' workspace supporting etching, letterpress, papermaking, book arts, silkscreen, 3D work, ceramics, and photography. Over the decades WSW developed a model combining residencies, internships, education programs, studio rentals, and the production and sale of artists' books. Its mission evolved to explicitly encourage the voice and vision of women, trans, intersex, nonbinary, and genderfluid artists, providing professional opportunities at various career stages and promoting public involvement in the visual arts. By the 2020s WSW was a recognized fixture of the regional and national arts landscape, with coverage in outlets such as Hyperallergic, The Washington Post, PRINT Magazine, and The Art Newspaper. In 2025 the National Museum of Women in the Arts honored 50 years of the Women's Studio Workshop. The organization also runs the annual Chili Bowl Fest fundraiser, which by 2026 reached its 29th edition, and has faced public discussion of federal funding risks affecting cultural institutions in Ulster County.

• 2026

  WSW presents the 29th Annual Chili Bowl Fest Fundraiser.

• 2025

  The National Museum of Women in the Arts honors 50 years of the Women's Studio Workshop.

• 2017

  Natalie Renganeschi joins the staff; she later serves as Acting Director.

• 2004

  Chris Petrone joins WSW as a studio intern and later becomes Studio Manager.

• 1974

  Women's Studio Workshop is founded with the vision of a society where women's visual art is integral to the cultural mainstream.

A nonprofit, artist-centered workspace and residency program dedicated to supporting women and gender-marginalized artists in printmaking, papermaking, book arts, ceramics, and related media.

• Artist residencies

  Residency opportunities for artists at various career stages, supported by extensively equipped studios.

• Workshops and education programs

  Workshops in printmaking, papermaking, ceramics, letterpress, photography, and book arts.

• Studio rentals and private instruction

  Artists can rent the studios or schedule private instruction.

• Artists' books

  Production and sale of artists' books as part of WSW's programming.

• Internships

  Internship programs that have brought staff into the organization, such as studio internships.

1. 1Home - Women's Studio Workshopwsworkshop.org
2. 2About Women's Studio Workshopwsworkshop.org
3. 3Women's Studio Workshop Staffwsworkshop.org
4. 4Press Releases and Newsletterswsworkshop.org