In recognition of Women’s History Month, we are delighted to celebrate the women artists in our new exhibit, “Looking for America: DC,” sharing their vision of what it means to be American through their artistic creations.

This exhibit is part of a much larger project, “Looking For America by Philippa Hughes”, which she developed to explore immigration and American identity in various communities across the United States through public art, storytelling, and dialogue.

“Looking for America: DC” is the wonderful result of a partnership between the Women’s Caucus for Art, Greater Washington DC Chapter (WCA/DC), Client Raiser, Hera Hub DC and Philippa P.B. Hughes, Juror for the exhibit. Philippa selected the pieces for the exhibit that aligned with her vision and challenged local women artists to share their stories and perspectives on what it means to be American today.

“’Looking for America: DC’ provides an opportunity for us to see where we stand as a nation at this fragile moment in our history from a woman’s point of view,” says Danielle Glosser, Principal of Client Raiser.

“The mission of the Women’s Caucus for Art is to create community through art, education, and social activism and Philippa’s larger “Looking for America” project was a perfect fit. It was important to also partner with Hera Hub DC and Client Raiser to help make this concept a reality in our local community. It also allows us to connect with an audience of women leaders and entrepreneurs, who face similar experiences that woman artists do,” said Madison Bolls, WCA/DC member and exhibition organizer.

Philippa describes her vision for this project:

“Americans have stopped talking to each other and started demonizing those who hold opposing views. We have retreated into comfortable cocoons filled with like-minded people who reinforce our worldviews at the expense of all other perspectives…..This extreme polarization is stressing the fabric of our society and slowly disintegrating our democracy.

Is art the solution to healing this divide?

“Looking for America” is a national series of exhibits and cross political dinners exploring the American identity in communities across the United States by asking, ‘What does it mean to be American in your community?’ Through these art exhibitions across the country, we have found that there are 330 million different ways to be American. How do we knit together all those ways of being?….Art has the power to provoke ideas and conversations that will lead to the solutions that benefit all of us and not only those in our own tribe. If these artworks are to fulfill their potential to transform society, they must not be viewed passively. Ponder each work deeply and share your thoughts and feelings with a fellow American you might not normally talk to. Ask yourself, what does it mean to be American? Search for our shared humanity. The solutions will be when we see one another as humans.”

“This is Hera Hub DC’s first juried show, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have all of the beautiful representations of what it means to be American becoming part of our lives for the next two months,” says Julia Westfall, CEO of Hera Hub DC.

Over 80 works were submitted, and Philippa selected 32 of them, representing 24 artists, for this exhibition. All the artists are local and members of the WCA/DC chapter.

Hera Hub DC has always been a proud supporter of women artists in our community. Since opening in May 2015, they have exhibited the works of 22 local women artists and one international woman artist.

The Virtual Opening Reception on Thursday, March 18th, from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Please register here to get the link to attend. The exhibition will be installed until May 8, 2021.

You may do a virtual tour of the show by clicking here. Although the opening reception will be virtual, the exhibit is physically installed at Hera Hub DC. If you would like to schedule an appointment to view the show in person, please email Julia.

Julia Westfall is the CEO of Hera Hub DC, a female-focused co-working space located in Friendship Heights. Hera Hub DC supports many women-owned businesses with office and coworking space as well as programming and educational resources to help them be successful. Julia is passionate about building a platform for female entrepreneurs to collaborate and support each other because of the experiences she has had in her own career. Her experience working in tech early in her career as well as with many small businesses over the years gives her the insight into what it takes to build and sustain a successful business.