Chicago Women in Architecture at 50: Seven Milestone Exhibitions that Illustrate a Rich History of Advocacy and Support

Fifty years after its founding, Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) remains one of the longest continually active organizations of its kind in the country. A nonprofit, volunteer-run organization, CWA formed during the feminist wave of the 1970s. At the time, similar groups were founded across the country, often in association with local chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), or within AIA chapters as women’s committees. CWA is unique in that it was intentionally formed—and has remained—separate from the local AIA Chicago chapter. It is possible that this is one of the contributing factors to the group’s longevity.

In addition to contributing to CWA’s mission of supporting and highlighting the significant but overlooked contributions of women architects to the profession, exhibitions organized by CWA have also been important catalysts for the longevity and growth of the organization itself.

While mentoring and networking have always been the core activities of CWA, the remnants and relics of its seven milestone exhibitions over the past five decades best tell the story of the organization. One can also chart CWA’s growth through the various venues in which the exhibitions were held, from its first show held at a member-owned gallery, to larger institutions where much wider audiences could be reached. In times of backlash or economic distress—such as the exhibition by CARY, held in parallel to the 1993 AIA National Convention in order to address inequities in the field, or the 2010 exhibition a.DOT: Architects Doing Other Things in response to the Great Recession—one sees the galleries take over again. Not surprisingly, membership always increased after an exhibition was mounted.

What follows is a chronological look at each of these seven milestone exhibitions, including DISRUPTERS: Celebrating 50 Years of Chicago Women in Architecture, currently on view at the Chicago Architecture Center until January 5, 2025.

Chicago Women in Architecture: Contemporary Directions (1978)

Artemisia Gallery (now closed), 700 North Carpenter Street, Chicago

Four years after its first meeting, CWA assembled its first group exhibition of projects designed and built by women. This exhibition was inspired by Susana Torre’s 1977 book Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary Perspective. Torre curated a national touring exhibition with the same name that coincided with the CWA exhibition. Architects featured in Chicago Women in Architecture: Contemporary Directions included Liroi S. Angara, Gunduz Dagdelen Ast, Carol Ross Barney, Kirsten Peltzer Beeby, Pao-Chi Chang, Mary Ann Crawford, Julie Fritz, Susan L. Greenwald, Marion Mahoney Griffin, Khatija Hashmy, Jane M. Jacobsen, Jeanne Kane, Gertrude Lempp Kerbis, Leslie Kichin, Elizabeth Kimball Nedved, Janet A. Null, Kathryn Quinn, Barbara Robinson Ralph, Fredericka McNess Rosengren, Abby Sadin, Po Hu Shao, Janet Shen, Cynthia Weese, Jean Wehrheim, Mary E. Welsh, Bertha Yerex Whitman, Margaret Young, and Angela Marie Zar.

To assist in funding this exhibition, CWA applied for its first grant. It was this process that led to a more traditional organizational structure. In order to apply for the grant, the group was required to have officers; Carol Ross Barney became the first president.

Chicago Women in Architecture: Progress & Evolution (1984)

The Chicago Historical Society (now Chicago History Museum), 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago

Architectural theorist and author Catherine T. Ingraham described this exhibition in the Chicago Reader as “advancing the spirit of cooperation associated with genuine progress by bringing a whole range of works by women architects together in one exhibition.”¹ A 30” x 30” plexiglass-topped shadowbox was given to 54 seasoned professionals and newly minted architects, and they were invited to do with it whatever they wished. This loose prompt and physical constraint combined to produce a dazzling array of ideas.

“The boxes are windows into…the problems of architecture, women, progress, evolution, history, and ‘exhibitionism,’” continued Ingraham in her review. “They are shadow boxes not only for the creativity of the architect, but also for the political and social tugging of ‘women’ against ‘architecture,’ difference against conformity, and the social significance of architecture against aesthetic demands. The box introduces and harbors a tension between many worlds.” This second exhibition, which coincided with CWA’s tenth year, marked the expansion of content to include both project work by women and visual demonstrations of advocacy for women in the profession.

CARY, more than the sum of our body parts (1993)

Randolph Street Gallery (now closed), 853 West Randolph Street, Chicago

Chicago-based design collective CARY (short for CARYATIDS, or Chicks in Architecture Refuse to Yield to Atavistic Thinking in Design and Society), formed as an offshoot of CWA in the early ’90s with the primary purpose of producing an exhibition that would open during, but intentionally apart from, the 1993 American Institute of Architects National Convention. It was felt that this autonomy provided freedom in allowing the group to say what needed to be said—that equity in the profession was not even close to being achieved. In fact, AIA had denied the funds requested by its own Women in Architecture Committee to conduct what would have been its third ten-year survey in 1993. The previous survey in 1983 supplied strong evidence that women experienced discrimination in salary and advancement. The exhibition sought to address this fact head-on. In a period of great backlash for women, especially in the United States as it was on the heels of the Clarence Thomas confirmation to the Supreme Court, this exhibition is an example of how maintaining independence from the AIA has been important to both the longevity and effectiveness of CWA as an advocacy group.

Chicago Women in Architecture: A Creative Constellation: Celebrating 25 Years (1999)

The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago

CWA marked its 25th anniversary with an exhibition and yearlong program of events challenging the “star system” in architecture, a concept roundly criticized by Denise Scott Brown in her 1989 essay, “Room at the Top? Sexism and the Star System in Architecture.”² CWA’s intent was two-fold: first, to capture architecture’s collaborative process; and second, to document the significant contributions of women to the profession that remained overlooked. A Creative Constellation was also a reaction to the Pritzker Architecture Prize’s refusal to acknowledge Scott Brown’s equal partnership with husband Robert Venturi, who was awarded the prize in 1991.

The Art Institute of Chicago’s exhibition and catalogue featured over 130 projects in which women architects and designers had played a major role. The catalogue also mapped project locations in and around Chicago, including forty-seven women-led projects within the city (twenty of which were located in the Loop) and an additional forty-two projects in the greater Chicagoland area. This catalogue, which can be found today in many of the local institutional libraries, stands as an important record of the history of women’s contributions to Chicago architecture.

a.DOT: Architects Doing Other Things (2010–11)

A.J. Kane Gallery, 119 North Peoria Street, Chicago; Ross Barney Architects, 10 West Hubbard Street, Chicago

As then-CWA President Mindy Viamontes notes in DISRUPTERS: Celebrating 50 Years of Chicago Women in Architecture, “This pair of exhibits were mounted in a tough economic climate when the Great Recession was ravaging the field. These two highly personal exhibitions profiled trained architects now ‘doing other things’ inside or outside the profession. A total of eighty-two women in the process of reinventing their careers out of necessity but also driven by personal and professional fulfillment were featured. Participants traced their paths to new creative opportunities with photos and personal stories.”

Viamontes curated both shows; the first, at A.J. Kane Gallery in 2010 featured 30 architects, while the second exhibition, at Ross Barney Architects in 2011, included 52 artists and resulted in a self-published book by the same name. Participants included Kathryn Anthony, Nootan Bharani, Jessica Calek, Lalima Chemjong, Hyemin Choi, Ann Clark, Deirdre Colgan, Ann Cosgrove, Katherine Darnstadt, Lori Day, Lisa Elkins, Natalia Ferber, Casey Franklin, Valentina Gaglio, Elizabeth George, Arathi Gowda, Lina Grigaitis, Young Hee Han, Alexis Hankett, Dawn Heid, Vaishali Katyarmal, Leona Ketterl, Eunsem Jenne Kil, Tai Kojro-Badziak, Kimberly Kuhlman, Laurie Kwo, Angela Lee, Lira Luis, Meggan Lux, Melissa Mazariegos, Margaret McCurry, Elizabeth McNicholas, Elizabeth Melas, Selwa Nadhimi, Pei-San Ng, Kim Nigro, Cheryl Noel, Annie Pedret, Yumi Ross, Sharon Samuels, Allison Sanecki, Babette Scheidt, Sallie Schwartzkopf, Jane Sloss, Caroline Souza, Pamela Steiner, Jamie Stevens, Susan van der Meulen, Lindsey Warner, Amanda Williams, Betsy Williams, and Terran Wilson.

Women Building Change: Celebrating 40 Years of Chicago Women in Architecture (2014)

Chicago Architecture Foundation (now Chicago Architecture Center), 224 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago

At 40, CWA mounted an exhibition that focused on teamwork as a theme. Highlighting work primarily by women architects, the exhibit aimed to educate the public on all aspects of architecture and the built environment, from planning our communities to project management. While defining Minority and Women Business Enterprises for general audiences, this was the first CWA exhibit that did not directly address the persistent inequities in the profession. It was also the first to include the listing of male participation in the chosen projects to demonstrate the collaborative process.

The gallery featured the work of eight women, each represented by a project. The list included Roula Alakiotou, Deborah Burkhart, Catherine Baker, Cindy Muller, Patricia Saldaña Natke, Elissa Scrafano, Linda Searl, and Susan van der Meulen. In addition, Lynne Sorkin, a CWA member leading the BKL team for Gem Academy, was included with their team members (women in bold): Thomas Kerwin, Michael Karlovitz, Carl Moskus, Lynne Sorkin, Kathy Schaack, Jayshree Kacholiya, Brad McBride, Srdjan Avram, Angela Spadoni, Lalima Chemjong McMillan, Ting Wang, Audry Grill, Danielle Tillman, Laura Crane, Christopher Smith, Andres Lopez Franco, Juan Robles, Sia Khorrami, Phil Tu, Christopher Woodfin, Katelin Nelson, Eileen Guevara, and Anne Karlovitz.

Reflecting the evolution of technology, and given the constraints of the gallery space, a computerized slideshow ran continuously on a monitor in the gallery. This allowed the work of twenty-eight women to be added to those presenting at the gallery. The list included Sara Ajster, Charlene Andreas, Ameera Ashraf-O'Neil, Nootan Bharani, Sue Boeman, Melissa Bogusch, Sheila Cahnman, Lisa Elkins, Valentina Gaglio, Marta Gazda-Auskalnis, Lina Grigaitis, Kim Haig, Chauncey Hoffmann, Sally Riessen Hunt, Deborah Moore Kent, Susan King, Pamela Lamaster-Millett, Maria Pellot, Kathryn Quinn, Caren Redish, Bonnie Rosenberg, Carol Ross Barney, Alexandra Shinewald, Chris-Annmarie Spencer, Marsha Spencer, Melissa Venoy, Monica Willemsen, and Kay Wulf.

One outcome of the exhibition was the establishment of an online archive on the CWA website. While this archive has been minimally maintained in the past decade due to lack of funding and time, the data currently being gathered on the CWA membership as part of its 50th anniversary will double, if not triple, the archive’s size.

DISRUPTERS: Celebrating 50 Years of Chicago Women in Architecture (2024)

Chicago Architecture Center, 111 East Wacker Drive, Chicago

There is no doubt that capturing five decades of an organization is a challenge, and even more so when the goal is to celebrate longevity in the face of adversity. The DISRUPTERS exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Center achieves this in broad strokes.

The exhibition begins with the origin story of the group’s founding in 1974, honoring the twenty-three women working in architecture and related professions who responded to Gertrude Kerbis’s invite, and thus became the founders of CWA. The six exhibitions are then summarized across a timeline.

The exhibition is also cleverly interactive, with three potential points for participation. The first opportunity is what the CWA organizers affectionately refer to as the “Yarn Wall.” Viewers are asked “Where are You Going? Where have you been?” To answer, the viewer can weave together their storyline in response to several prompts with, yes, yarn.

The second interaction might be your ability to find yourself on the “Wall of Women.” Through an open call for headshots of women currently working in architecture and related professions in Chicago, 1,000 headshots were gathered to create this part of the exhibition.

The third opportunity for interaction is at the “Conversation Circle,” where the audience is encouraged to share “an instance where you have hit or broken a glass ceiling” or “an idea that advocates for equity in your community” with cards and pencils on the table provided and a place above to hang the card.

As with the exhibitions before it, there is always a struggle, due to space constraints, to find the right way to show the actual architecture produced by its membership. This exhibition’s solution was to create a “Composite Skyline” of architecture in which a woman has played a significant role. The skyline consists of thirty-three buildings by twenty-eight woman architects. With the permission of the CAC, we are pleased to provide a key to the skyline.

1. Veselka Ivanovic, Associate Architect, Built Form, CWA Past President, 2019–2020
2. Carrie Jeffers, Lead Designer, Owner, Meyers Jeffers and Gillespie, CWA Past President, 1981–1983
3. Pu Hu Shao, Lead Designer, CWA Founder, Principal, Loebl Schossman & Hackl
4. Bridget Lesniak, Project Manager, Principal, Perkins&Will
5. Gertrude Lempp Kerbis, Lead Designer, Ohare Rotunda, CF Murphy, CWA Founder
6. Carol Ross Barney, Lead Designer, Principal, Ross Barney Jankowski, CWA Founder and Past President 1975–1977
7. Cynthia Weese, Lead Designer, Principal, Weese Langley Weese, CWA Founder
8. Margaret Zirkel Young, Project Architect, Ezra Gordon & Jack M Levin & Associates, CWA Founder
9. Amy Tiberi, Senior Project Manager, Wight & Co.
10. Deborah Fox, Project Architect, Lucian LaGrange Architects, CWA Past President, 2011–2012
11. Carol Crandall, Lead Designer, Principal Founder, Crandall Ritzou Architects, CWA Past President, 1987–1988
12. Natalie de Blois, Lead Designer, SOM, CWA Founder
13. Charlene Andreas, Project Architect, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, CWA Past President, 2013–2014
14. Jackie Koo, Lead Designer, Principal, Koo Associates
15. Ania Szulc, Associate Principal, Wight & Co.
16. Nancy Abshire, Programming, Senior Project Manager, Associate, SOM, CWA Founder
17. Jeannie Gang, Lead Designer, Founder, Studio Gang
18. Xuan Fu, Managing Partner, SOM
19. Gunduz Dagdalen, Design Architect, Partner, Ast + Dagdelen, CWA Founder and Past President 1977–1979
20. Lena Kitson, Interior Design Lead, Principal, Gensler
21. Anh Pham, Technical Designer, Associate, Gensler…CWA President, 2024–2025
22. Susan F. King, Architectural Design Lead, Principal, HED, Past CWA President 1998–1999
23. Adana Johns, Managing Principal, Perkins&Will
24. Jane Jacobsen, Lead Architect, Federal Aviation Administration, CWA Founder
25. Danielle Tilman, Documentation, Now Managing Principal, BKL
26. Lori Mukoyama, Interior Design, Principal, Gensler
27. Sheila Fogel Cahnman, Lead Medical Planner (HOK) , Now President, JumpGarden Consulting, Past CWA President, 1985-87
28. Elizabeth Purdy, Lead Architect, Founder EC Purdy & Associates, CWA Past President 2000–2001

The exhibit ends with “When Women Lead,” acknowledging, for the first time, the thirty-eight women who have led the 100% volunteer organization since 1978, all serving first as vice president and then as president. Today, these women are recognized as leaders in the Chicago architecture community in their own right. Many, when asked, will attribute the success of their careers to their involvement with CWA, the leadership skills they gained, and the deep friendships that they formed through the group.

As we reflect upon these milestone exhibitions over the past 50 years, we see that conditions for women in architecture have changed, in no small part due to the advocacy of organizations like CWA. Women entering the field today can easily find support and lasting friendships within their immediate workplace. This new reality has allowed CWA and its foundation to focus on providing financial support to students through its scholarship programs, on recognition of women leaders and their still overlooked bodies of work through its awards program, and perhaps, most importantly, on advancing women to leadership positions through the newly established Ladders for Leaders program. All of this is, indeed, worth celebrating.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

MAS Context would like to thank Brenda Bergen, creative director and designer at Wink Design, and Eve Fineman, director of exhibitions at the Chicago Architecture Center, for their help sourcing the images related to DISRUPTERS: Celebrating 50 Years of Chicago Women in Architecture.