FARGO, N.D. — The Plains Art Museum is launching a major exhibition, “Women Artists: Four Centuries of Creativity,” after an internal assessment revealed that works by women artists make up only 10.5% of its 6,000-object permanent collection.
The exhibition, which runs from November 1, 2025, to March 1, 2026, will feature 77 works. This includes 40 pieces from the museum’s own collection—20 of which will be on public display for the first time—alongside 37 works on loan from the Reading Public Museum in Pennsylvania.
To kick off the exhibit, a costume party opening reception will be held on November 1 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Visitors are encouraged to attend dressed as a woman artist or a work of art created by one.
The exhibition will also feature the first-ever North Dakota appearance by the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous collective of feminist artist-activists known for exposing inequality in the art world. The museum stated its internal collection assessment was inspired by the group’s activism.
The Guerrilla Girls are scheduled to give a presentation on January 22, 2026, at 6:30 PM. They will also lead two hands-on art activism workshops on January 23 at 11:00 AM.
Additionally, the exhibition is complemented by texts authored by students in the “Women and Art” course at Minnesota State University Moorhead, taught by Dr. Noni Brynjolson. The museum noted these contributions provide one of the only art historical overviews focused on women artists from the region.
