October - December 2003        

"Our 4th Anniversary as an online outreach"

Jean Ferro, President

Dear Members,

We are proud to announce Annie Leibovitz as our Distinguished Photographer Award winner. Annie is bar far one of the most talented photographers of our day and WIPI is very happy to add her name to the list of luminaries that have received the award in the past. We will be making the presentation at the upcoming International Photography Awards Gala Awards banquet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on December 7th. WIPI is honored to have been asked to participate in this ground breaking event elevating photography awards to a new level of professional and public recognition. We hope that our members will join us in the gala presentation and recognition of photographers from around the world.

We originated as a non-profit in 1981 in Los Angeles. A courageous group of women came together to share ideas, exhibit and create an outreach to the photo community (see WIPI History). Here we are, 22 years later and going strong with an even greater outreach through the world wide web. We get approx. 40,000 hits a month and growing. The last four years of building the website and creating a new ground to stand on has been an invigorating experience. In 1999, past director, Nancy Clendaniel, enlisted the help of then an aspiring webmaster, Fraggle of England to help set up the first website. Soon after, Amie Vanderford Pfaff devoted another year and a half before her departure to Apple computers, next support from Stuart Vail from TheScreamOnline and Ludivine from France stepped in and finally Carrie Villines, each one bringing something special and working with me to accomplish the new vision of WIPI. We are now up to 650 pages...consistantly producing the quarterlies since our first issue...WOW..what a lot of work!

Take a moment to visit our galleries and cruise through the archives for articles about a variety of well know and member photographers incredible and interesting work. See our member PhotoProfiles and visit the Historical bibliography of the Women In Photography International Archive founded by the late Peter E. Palmquist in our Reference Library. We've accomplished many wonderful projects over the past 4 years, including our 20th Anniversary Tea Time exhibition and presence at photo l.a. 2002 and 2003. We appreciate all who have volunteered or sponsored us in our goals to bring visibility to women working in the photographic arts.

Thank you,

Jean Ferro
PhotoArtist/President

2003 Distinguished Photographers Award nominees included:
Uta Barth, Lillian Bassman, Jodi Cobb, Annie Leibovitz, Helen Levitt, Sally Mann, Annette Messager, Catherine Opie, Cindy Sherman, Carrie Mae Weems, Mariana Yampolsky
International Photo Awards Gala Award Banquet

WIPI Is looking for an umbrella for the organization!

Re: Women In Photography International - Changes & Expansion Women In Photography International is currently seeking to expand its professional network by merging with a university or foundation that has an established history of commitment to the photographic arts.

Founded in 1981, WIPI, a nonprofit, 501.c3 organization, (headquartered in Los Angeles) has successfully fulfilled it's raison d'être: To promote the visibility of women photographers and their work. This has been achieved by providing:

1. worldwide professional networks
2. online educational resources & member galleries
3. historical database of women photographers
4. on-going exhibitions & gallery affiliations
5. workshops & lecture programs
6. competitions, including the WIPI 20th Anniversary Exhibition Tea Time, Images of Women, Images of Tea and renown, collectors exhibition Photo L.A.
7. quarterly publications, which is the foundation of our current website and online gallery: www.wipi.org, reaching over 50,000 viewers a month

With Women In Photography Intl's steady growth, we feel it is the ideal time to seek out an "umbrella" organization that will allow us to continue fulfilling the needs of the growing numbers of women entering the field of photography. With such a liaison, WIPI could expand it's administrative staff, physical offices and increase services to it's membership in the international photographic community.

We trust that our recent sponsors - Kodak Foundation, Epson America, The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Dept., The Stephen Cohen Gallery, Pierce College Foundation, Maryann Charis House of Photographic Art, The Lomographic Society and Allworth Book Publishers - along with the many talented women working in the field of photography - will support this quest.

In addition to serving an international network of photographers, Women in Photography International has been devoted to preserving and perpetuating a west coast presence for women working in the photographic arts with it's extend outreach throughout the USA and Internationally. It's with this in mind that we "fling down the gauntlet" to west coast universities, museums and educational agencies (with accredited histories of commitment to the work of women photographers) ~ challenging them to "pick up" the 20 year legacy of Women in Photography International, the nonprofit organization, and move forward!

There are so many doors to be opened, opportunities to grasp and artists to encourage. WIPI has long met community needs for lecture programs, educational workshops, exhibitions and regional conferences that focus specifically on women working in the photographic arts. Just think how much more can be accomplished once a liaison with a university or museum is firmly in place?

For over ten years, we worked hand-in-hand with our beloved silent partner, historian & curator Peter Palmquist, (1937-2003) who encouraged us to "never give up" the quest to serve and preserve the work of women photographers. Peter contributed historical profiles from his Women in Photography International Archive to our online publication: F2. Together we strove to reach out to women photographers - those established and those yet unknown - to let them know they mattered and that their work would not be lost because WIPI would be their record.

It's with this raision d'être in mind that we are now approaching the most esteemed curators, directors and overseers of women's role in the history of photography on the west coast. Our goal is to link up and soar! Please contact us to discuss the possibilities!

We invite you to learn more about Women in Photography International by taking a tour of our website: www.womeninphotography.org or www.wipi.org

President's letters, Starting July 2000 WIPI News archive