Ferris Olin (June 27, 1948, Trenton, New Jersey) is an American feminist, scholar, art historian, curator, educator and librarian, who founded and directed The Margery Somers Foster Center, part of the Rutgers University Libraries located at the Mabel Smith Douglass Library (MSDL).[1] She is best known for co-founding the Institute for Women and Art,[2] the Miriam Schapiro Archives on Women Artists,[3] The Feminist Art Project, and the Women Artists Archive National Directory[4] with Judith K. Brodsky. [5]

Ferris Olin
Born (1948-06-27) June 27, 1948 (age 76)
Trenton, New Jersey
MovementFeminist Art, Librarian, Art Historian
AwardsWomen's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award 2012

Overview

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After earning her undergraduate degree at Douglass College, a women's college, witnessing the beginnings of the Feminist Art movement on campus, and participating in expanding the scope of women’s and gender studies research and activities on campus, Olin wrote her dissertation "Consuming Passions: Women Art Collectors and Cultural Politics in the United States, 1945-1995," at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.[6][7] Supervised by Joan Marter, Olin addresses the contributions “of women art collectors in United States at the end of the 20th century,”[7] specifically how mature women in the post war era, like Samella Sanders Lewis (1923-2022) of Los Angeles, CA and Louise Rosenfield Noun (1908-2002) of Des Moines, IA, were inspired by the social changes of their own era in developing the scope of their collecting of artworks and social justice activism.[8][7]

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (1976-2012)

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From the start of her career, Ferris Olin focused on women's issues in her service as a graduate student and member of the faculty and leader of women focused programs at Rutgers University from 1976-2012 that placed Rutgers at the center of research and scholarship on women’s leadership in the visual arts.[9][10]

Olin participated in developing government sponsored programs focused on equity for women, including as the librarian (1975–76) for the Training Institute for the Sex Desegregation of the Public Schools, later known as Consortium for Education and Equity.[11] Located at Douglass College, on the Rutgers, New Brunswick campus, the Institute was a federally funded sex-equity assistance center serving public school educators and administrators in New Jersey, New York, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.[12][13] The Institute "developed training programs to assist schools in implementing gender equity in accordance with Title IX and New Jersey statutes."[14]

A decade later, Olin's efforts to centralize the study of women on the Rutgers campus, led to her appointment as the Executive Officer (1985-1994) for The Institute for Research on Women (IRW)[15] and the Blanch, Edith and Irving Laurie New Jersey Chair in Women’s Studies, which encourages research on women and gender within and across the disciplines through weekly interdisciplinary seminars, lecture series, and the Global Scholars program.[16][6] In this role, Olin was an administrator for another government funded project called the New Jersey Project: Integrating the Scholarship on Gender, the first statewide, state-funded faculty development and curriculum transformation project in the United States.[17] For this work, Olin received the 1987 Rhoda Freeman Recognition Award from the New Jersey College and University Coalition on Women’s Education.[18] She also worked to increase the presence of women's scholarly and artistic work on campus by establishing the IRW’s Visiting Scholars Program,[18] acquiring the records of the Women’s Caucus for Art;[19] and negotiating the donation of artworks by members of the National Association of Women Artists to Douglass College and the Zimmerli Art Museum, on Rutgers College Avenue campus.[20]

As Associate Professor, Olin founded The Margery Somers Foster Center: A Resource Center and Digital Archive on Women, Scholarship and Leadership, at the Mabel Smith Douglass Library (MSDL). The Foster Center created a technology-rich learning environment and "community center" for student/faculty collaboration with new media and primary resources on gender and women across all disciplines.[21] To further position Rutgers as the center for research and scholarship on women’s leadership in the visual arts, Olin established the Miriam Schapiro Archives on Women Artists as "part of the Foster Center portfolio," which initially housed acquired collections focused on women artists and visual arts organizations.[10] This collection is now part of the wider Rutgers University Libraries collection.

In 1994, Olin was named curator of the Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series (DWAS), “the oldest continuous running exhibition space in the United States dedicated to making visible the work of emerging and established contemporary women artists.” Founded in 1971, by Douglass College graduate, artist, MacArthur Fellow Joan Snyder, and established in the Mabel Smith Douglass Library, DWAS is today a program of Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities “in partnership with Rutgers University Libraries.” DWAS showcases works by international women artists, performers, and is a nationally recognized and award-winning exhibition series, that has hosted more than 500 solo and group shows.[22][23] As curator of DWAS, Olin oversaw the establishment of the Estelle Lebowitz Visiting Artist-in-Residence Lectureship program, a residency that furthered the work of bringing internationally recognized artists to Rutgers' Douglass campus.[24]

Professional Advocacy for Women in the Arts

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On the national stage, in addition to her work with the College Art Association, Women’s Caucus for Art, and Art Libraries Society of North America, Olin served on the advisory council of the exhibition, Making Their Mark: Women; Move into the Mainstream (1970-1985);[25] advocated and was consultant for women collectors in her work with Women Patrons and Collectors: Past and Present International Conference (1998-1999);[26] including consulting on Cynthia Lawrence’s book Women and Art in Early Modern Europe: Patrons, Collectors and Connoisseurs (1997, Penn State).[27] She has served as an Honorary Vice-President for the National Association of Women Artists since 1995,[28] and is now on the advisory boards of the Brodsky Center at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the woman-centric galleries SOHO20 and A.I.R. Gallery.

In 2023, the Arts Council of Princeton established the Ferris Olin Cultural Collaborative in honor of the inclusive nature of Olin’s life’s work. The Collaborative is underwritten to support an annual summit designed to bring together Princeton and Trenton-area arts and educational organizations, youth service agencies, organizations to connect and share information; and hosts three visiting artist each year, starting in 2024.[29]

Collaborations with Judith K. Brodsky (1986-present)

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In 1986, Olin and Judith K. Brodsky first collaborated on a course for Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts Visual Arts Department. They co-conceived and co-taught “Models of Persistence,” a class focused on 20th century American art, including new scholarship on gender.[30] From the beginning, their partnership has focused on interdependent, intersectional, and interdisciplinary feminist initiatives, including education, publishing, organizing, curating and advocating for feminist art.[31]

Brodsky and Olin’s initial efforts took place within the Rutgers’ community, across all three campuses. Their aim was to incorporate the visual arts, especially women’s contributions to it, into an expanded curriculum, and thereby integrate visual literacy into the student experience. Importantly, through their collective efforts, the aesthetic and intellectual contributions of women visual arts professionals were recognized and documented. They work closely together, co-authoring books, including Junctures in Women’s Leadership: The Arts.[32]

In 2005, Olin and Brodsky received funds for their proposed center for women in art from then Rutgers’ University President Richard McCormack, who announced the opening of the Institute for Women and Art (IWA) and the appointment of Brodsky and Olin as co-directors in 2006.[33] The IWA was established to transform values, policies, and institutions, and to ensure that the intellectual and aesthetic contributions of women visual artists from diverse communities were included in the cultural mainstream and acknowledged in the historical record.[33]

Together, since 2005, Brodsky and Olin also developed and have managed The Feminist Art Project (TFAP) and its Advisory Council—an international collaborative that recognizes the aesthetic and intellectual impact of women artists on the cultural record, to counter the erasure of women artist, and celebrate the feminist art movement.[34] For TFAP’s inaugural event, Brodsky and Olin co-curated the exhibition How American Women Invented Postmodernism, 1970-1975 at the Mason Gross School of the Arts galleries and bringing pioneering feminist artists together for the first time in more than a quarter of a century. They also co-authored the accompanying catalog.[35] Olin and Brodsky built TFAP to align with national and international art institutions, but specifically professional as an Affiliate Association with the College Art Association (CAA), the largest professional visual arts association in the US. Annually TFAP provides a very popular day of conference programming on the cutting edge of feminist art.[23] Today, TFAP has more 45 regional coordinators, and has mounted more than 1200 exhibitions and programs about women artists, on the schedule through 2023. In 2023, TFAP left Rutgers to become allied with the Women’s Caucus for Art.[36]

Olin and Brodsky co-curated the Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series from 2006 to 2016. Olin again curated and exhibit for the Series in the 2018/2019 term. During this period, Brodsky and Olin organized more than 75 exhibitions of works by over 225 artists, along with related programming, including lectures and programs co-sponsored by departments and research centers on the Rutgers’ campus. Their partnerships expanded DWAS’ reach and provided space to addressed issues raised by women-identifying artists in their works. During their tenure they co-authored and published more than 50 exhibition catalogs, in print and online.[37]

In 2023, Olin's curatorial effort to celebrate the Brodsky Center came to fruition. Olin opened The Brodsky Center at Rutgers University: Three Decades, 1986–2017 at the Zimmerli Art Museum. Olin also edited the accompanying catalog of the same name.

Publications

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  • Brodsky, Judith K.; Olin, Ferris (2006). How American Women Artists Invented Postmodernism, 1970-1975. New Brunswick, NJ: Margery Somers Foster Center, Mabel Smith Douglass Library. OCLC 85257667.
  • Brodsky, Judith K.; Olin, Ferris (2012). The Fertile Crescent: Gender, Art, and Society. Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers University). Galleries. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Institute for Women and Art. ISBN 978-0-9790497-9-8. OCLC 794365492.
  • Ferris Olin (2023). The Brodsky Center at Rutgers University: Three Decades, 1986–2017, Rutgers University Press ISBN 978-1978839922

Awards and honors

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Olin was awarded a Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.[38] In 1980, Olin received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to found, at Radcliffe College, the Women in the Community Project.[13]

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References

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  1. ^ "Women's Caucus for Art, 2012 Honor Awards, 40th Anniversary Celebration" (PDF). Women's Caucus for Art. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  2. ^ "Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities (CWAH)". Rutgers' University. 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  3. ^ "Miriam Schapiro Archives on Women Artists". Rutgers University. 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "Project Overview". The Women Artists Archives National Directory (WAAND). 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  5. ^ "Feminist Art Project". The Feminist Archive. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, Oral History Archives: Ferris Olin Part 1". Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, Oral History Archives. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Olin, Ferris (May 30, 2023). Consuming Passions: Women Art Collectors and Cultural Politics in the United States, 1945-1995. Art History Dissertations and Abstracts from North American Institutions (Thesis). Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences Department of Art History: Faculty Emeritus". Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences Department of Art History. May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  9. ^ "Oral History Archive: Interviewees Olin, Ferris Part 1". Rutgers - New Brunswick, School of Arts and Sciences. 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Oral History Archive: Interviewees, Olin, Ferris Part 2". Rutgers - New Brunswick: School of Arts and Sciences. 2021.
  11. ^ "Rutgers' University School of Arts and Sciences Oral History Archives, Olin, Ferris, Part 1". Rutgers' University School of Arts and Sciences Oral History Archives. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  12. ^ "Rutgers' University School of Arts and Sciences Oral History Archives, Ferris Olin, Part 1". Rutgers' University School of Arts and Sciences Oral History Archives. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Wallace, Michelle. "Ferris Olin: A Biographical Sketch" (PDF). Women's Caucus on Art. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  14. ^ "Rutgers: School of Arts and Sciences: Oral History Archives: Interviewees -Lubetkin, Rebecca". Rutgers: School of Arts and Sciences: Oral History Archives. 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Research on Women: Our Mission and Work". Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences, Institute for Research on Women. May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  16. ^ "Rutgers' Institute for Women's Leadership: The Blanche, Edith, and Irving Laurie Chair in Women's Studies at Douglass Residential College". Rutgers' Institute for Women's Leadership. May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  17. ^ "NETWORC: News Exchange through the WO/Men on Rutgers' Campuses" (PDF). NETWORC: News Exchange through the WO/Men on Rutgers' Campuses. Fall 1987. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "IRW Network" (PDF). IRW Network. Spring 1994. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  19. ^ "Women's Caucus for Art: About". Women's Caucus for Art. January 25, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  20. ^ "The National Association of Women Artists: NAWA Now". The National Association of Women Artists. Fall 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  21. ^ "Ruters University: Archives and Special Collections at Rutgers: Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series Records". 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  22. ^ "Rutger's University Libraries: Archives and Special Collections at Rutgers: Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series Records". Rutger's University Libraries: Archives and Special Collections at Rutgers. 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences, Oral History Archives, Ferris Olin, Part 2". Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences, Oral History Archives. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  24. ^ "Douglass Discovery: Douglass Programs: Center for Women in the Arts at Douglass". Rutgers - Douglass Residential College. 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Merkel, Jayne (September 29, 2023). ""Making Their Mark: Women Artists Move Into the Mainstream, 1970–85"". ARTFORUM. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  26. ^ <&catid=64&Itemid=112 "Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences Department of Art History, News & Events, Newsletter 1999, Vol. 1, n. 1". Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences Department of Art History. October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  27. ^ Burstyn, Joan (1997). Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women (1st ed.). Syracuse, NY: University of Syracuse. pp. vii. ISBN 0-8156-0418-1.
  28. ^ "National Association of Women Artists, Inc.: NAWA TEAM NOW". National Association of Women Artists, Inc. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  29. ^ "Special Gifts and Funds". Arts Council of Princeton. October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  30. ^ "Arts Council of Princeton, An Interview with Judith K. Brodsky and Dr. Ferris Olin". 28 August 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Women Artists Series Catalog, Barbara Bryson Shahn: The Continuing Creative Journey, p. 1. New Brunswick, NJ, Mabel smith Library. 1987.
  32. ^ "An Interview with Judith K. Brodsky and Dr. Ferris Olin". Arts Alliance of Princeton. 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Rutgers Today: Rutgers launches Institute for Women and Art". Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  34. ^ Tell, Connie (2015). "Introduction," TFAP @ TEN. Rutgers University: New Brunswick. p. 4.
  35. ^ Genocchio, Benjamin (January 8, 2006). "Maybe Not the First Postmodernists, but Who's Counting?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  36. ^ "The Feminist Art Project: Welcome to the new The Feminist Art Project". Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  37. ^ "Rutgers University Libraries: Archives and Special Collections at Rutgers: Mary H. Dana Women Artists Series Records". 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  38. ^ "2012 Honor Awards" (PDF). Women's Caucus for Art. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.