LEGACY PROJECT | Past and Present

Janice Nesser-Chu

Honor Awards/Legacy Chair
WCA Board Treasurer
WCA Past President (2010–12)
Dean of Liberal Arts, Chair of Humanities,
and Professor at Florissant Valley College, St. Louis, MO

The Sylvia Sleigh Legacy Campaign and Initiative was founded in 2012 under the tenure of President Nesser-Chu.  It facilitates donations and raises funds to ensure that women’s art will be cataloged, collected and preserved in museums and institutions throughout the country. 

The Legacy Initiative has six goals:

• • To educate women on the importance of their legacy and cataloging and archiving their work and their papers.
  • To facilitate the placement of women’s art in museums and permanent collections.
  • To publish articles, essays and catalogs on women artists.
  • To continue to cultivate and grow current WCA’s programs that focus on legacy.
  • To partner with and support other organizations that are working towards the same goals and mission of WCA
  • To procure funding to meet these goals through development of WCA programs on fiscal receivership, sponsorship and planned giving.

This important initiative was made possible by the generous donations of the Estate of the late Sylvia S. Alloway. Sylvia Sleigh, an artist and life long advocate for women in the arts, was selected to receive the WCA Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2011, but passed away before receiving the award.

Some examples of the projects undertaken through the Initiative have included:

• • Facilitating donations of artwork to museums
  • Co-sponsoring exhibitions including the Sylvia Sleigh European Retrospect at the Tate Modern and Impact! The Legacy of the Women’s Caucus for Art, American University Museum, Washington DC
  • Serving as a fiscal receiver and co-contributor for donations made to local galleries and museums including AIR Gallery, SOHO Gallery, Master’s Lecture series at Pace University, Seneca Nation National Museum, and Mills College Art Museum.
  • Production of catalogs and publications including the WCA Lifetime Achievement catalogs, the 40th Anniversary of the WCA Lifetime Achievement Awards catalog, 50th Anniversary of the WCA catalog, Beverly Buchanan—Home Space Place exhibition catalog, and An Activist Voice—the work of Nanette Carte and Howardena Pindell exhibition catalog.
  • Panels on legacy including “Building a Legacy for Women Artists” at the College Art Association annual conference.

 In partnering with the Women’s Caucus for Art, Sylvia’s legacy will insure that the work continues, that women are exhibited and written into history.