ABOUT WOMEN UNITED ART MOVEMENT

2020

Women United ART MOVEMENT was born out of the need to support and unite women artists globally.

It all started in 2020 amid the world pandemic when visual artist Mona Lerch dreamed of finding a like-minded community of women artists who were also mothers or caregivers as she felt isolated in her new role and journey.

With the help of her coach, Ekaterina Popova (the founder of Create! Magazine), Mona launched her first global platform, Art Mums United, dedicated to elevating the voices of artist mothers through an artist directory and online exhibits.

2021

Her desire to support women artists even further resulted in launching Women United ART PRIZE, a leading international art prize championing women in the arts, in the Summer of 2021.

Having found herself drawn towards wider audiences, it was around that time she started considering rebranding her concept to make Art Mums United a more inclusive network of artists. In the end, she made the decision to establish a sister platform - Women United ART MOVEMENT - that could provide opportunities to all women-identifying artists around the world.

Women United ART MOVEMENT quickly became a go-to network providing women artists with a variety of opportunities, including solo and group online exhibits. Not long after its launch, Mona added a new creative endeavour, Women United ART PODCAST, inviting inspiring artists and industry professionals to share their stories and empower others through raw conversations about their wins, challenges and experiences in the art world.

2022

The second year of Women United ART PRIZE introduced four categories, giving the contest a new and permanent form. In October 2022, Mona pushed her skills and abilities even further, launching her first digital and print publication Women United ART MAGAZINE, with the aim to highlight extraordinary women creatives, inspiring industry leaders and remarkable art organisations.

This new creative outlet required fresh blood, and so Mona onboarded two new team members - Rachel Le Roux, a British-Filipina visual artist and interior architect, and Kristy Okkonen, a Finnish-Australian visual artist and intuitive soul coach. Rachel became the primary writer for Women In The Arts and Art Unlimited sections of the magazine while also introducing her creative platform, Your Creative Diaries, through artist features focusing on sketchbook practices. Kristy, on the other hand, has two regular articles - The Travelling Artist and Tools For Artists, in which she shares her two passions - nomadic lifestyle and spiritual practices.

2023

2023 brought new exciting changes for Women United ART MOVEMENT.

We welcomed a new phenomenal team member, Texas-based visual artist Heather Sportsman, who is now working as the Creative Assistant and Design Consultant. Her passion for supporting women artists and cheerful personality brought a new flavour to the platform's back-office operations, and we couldn't be more grateful!

The second (and surprising) change is that after many sleepless nights, Mona finally decided to merge the two spaces, bringing Art Mums United and Women United ART MOVEMENT together, and hence, creating an even more powerful space, unified in its mission and opportunities.

AS OF 2024, WOMEN UNITED ART MOVEMENT IS A GLOBAL SPACE THAT OFFERS WOMEN-IDENTIFYING ARTISTS

opportunities to showcase their work through

SOLO & GROUP ONLINE EXHIBITS

sharing their inspiring stories through

ARTIST DIRECTORY, BLOG INTERVIEWS & PODCAST

promoting their work in print through

quarterly editions of Women United ART MAGAZINE,

and an annual publication ARTIST, MOTHER, PROUD & SERIOUS

being recognised through

an annual Women United ART PRIZE

learning through

live and self-paced COURSES,