ATTENTION!
NEW PHONE NUMBER!
As you may have seen this past week, WomanKraft has been experiencing technical difficulties in the course of switching to a new and improved telephone and Internet services provider. Although we had planned to keep the phone number that we’ve had for many decades, our old number fell through the cracks in spite of our plans. So, we now have a new number! Please make a note of it:
WomanKraft: 520-256-7455
This transition has been far from painless, but we all know that some changes hurt. As of July 1st, 2023, the original WomanKraft phone number is OBSOLETE. Out of service. Gone. Please update your address books and/or Contacts accordingly. Further to this significant change, the new voicemailbox does not provide or require different extensions. Simply wait for the beep, and then leave a message. Whomever picks up your message will pass it along in the right direction. The short-term, temporary, solution that we’d provided in the earlier announcement is no longer in place. Please do NOT use our email address. Once we have sufficient staffing and/or volunteers (which will take some time) to manage that aspect of modern communication, we’ll publish a new announcement about using email.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation while we handled this challenging issue.
WomanKraft is a recognized 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Arts Organization.
Address: 388 S. Stone AvenueTucson, AZ 85701
Phone:520.256.7455
The Gallery is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 1-5pm. We welcome your visit.
The Gallery is closed during January and August. For more information, please call 520-256-7455, during business hours, and/or leave a brief message. Thank you.
WomanKraft’s Officers, Board Members, Directors and Coordinators are listed below:
Officers:
President – Lydia Phillips
Vice President – Ingrid Aspromatis
Treasurer – Gayle Swanbeck
Secretary – Nancy Martin
Board Members:
Ana Maria Yañez
Darlene Kirk
Debra Jacobson, PhD.
Gerrie Young
Gwen Moore
Joanne Pritzen
Jordana Silvestri
Mary Lou Griggs
Nicole Young
Terri McGuire
Directors and Coordinators:
Director of Exhibits, School of the Arts, and WomanKraft Business – Gayle Swanbeck
Director of Membership Services – Barbara Achord
Coordinators of WomanKraft Mailing List, Database, Website, Social Media, and The Castle Voice newsletter – Geno Davis, Jonathan DuHamel, and Mary Lou Griggs
Herstory
“WomanKraft is where dreams you didn’t even know you had, come true.”
—- Lois Stuart
About WomanKraft, former Senator, Paula Aboud said, “They have built a community-friendly cultural enterprise that is a model of both creativity and stability, consistently empowering and inspiring women artists for well over 30 years, a remarkable feat in such a transient society.
“I truly appreciate all of the opportunities being a part of WomanKraft has provided for me.”
Traci Kelly (pictured above)
Kraft (with a K) means power in German. In 1974, the founders of WomanKraft chose this name to claim, validate, and empower the cultural contributions of women and incorporate tis non-profit Arts Organization.
In 1979, WomanKraft started the Community Artist Project, and received federal funds through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) during which we sent artists out into the community to work with special populations, such as prisons, mental health units, special schools, senior citizen centers, and other social service places.
In 1986, WomanKraft was one of the first three Arts District Pioneers in downtown Tucson, AZ, and is the only one remaining in the downtown area. At the original leased space, we created a gallery and events center. The area developed, and we lost the lease in 1992. We wanted to stay in the Arts District, and decided equity was the only practical answer for artists. On December 1, 1992, we bought – with little money and big dreams – a condemned 1918 Queen Anne Victorian charmer that is now our WomanKraft Castle Art Center for Art, Education and Culture. Today the 7,840 square feet houses a gallery, studios, classrooms, and beautiful grounds.
Our organization is membership-based, grass roots, service-oriented, and friendly. All artists and art-lovers who think they can give and receive value from being a member is welcome to join at $30 a year. Skill-sharing, communication about the arts, and promoting the value of the creative process, are important aspects of the organization’s mission. All artists, whether members or not, may apply for inclusion in most shows, depending on show themes. Artists may also propose show themes. The gallery is open to the general public three days a week and has an evening reception for each of the five shows we offer in a year. All are welcome to attend.
The primary funding sources are individual contributions and earned income. However, crucial and prestigious grants over the years have included the City of Tucson Back to Basics, The Richard Grand Foundation, CETA, NEA, Community Services Block Grant, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Tucson Pima Arts Council, The Southern Arizona Women’s Foundation, The American Association of University Women, The Every Voice in Action Foundation, The Arizona Women’s Fund, IBM, The Tucson Community Foundation, Tucson Cable Corporation, Gannett Foundation, and more…
