"FOCUS: Philadelphia Focuses on Women in the Visual Arts" was a city-wide arts program that occurred in April and May of 1974. Initiated by Philadelphia painter Diane Burko, the two-month program included art exhibitions, juried shows, panels, lectures, workshops, demonstrations and film viewings, all organized by Philadelphia-area women who were involved with the arts. Most of the women were employed as artists, historians, teachers and museum staff, and volunteered their time on FOCUS committees. The running of FOCUS programs was divided among several internal groups: the Advisory Board, Documentation Committee, Finance Committee, Institutional Alliance Committee, Program Committee, Public Relations Committee, Social Committee and Steering Committee. The events were funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Fels Fund, as well as participating institutions and private donations. Speakers and artists were mostly from the Philadelphia area, although a few outside experts and scholars were invited to participate. Lectures, panels and workshops ranged in topic from race (“The Black Woman as Mother and Artist”) to history (“The Homemaker as Artmaker: The Colonial Woman”) to the realities of being a female artist (“Survival in the Marketplace”).
[Sources: PACSCL survey historical note and “FOCUS: A Brief History” (Box 1, Folder 20)]
From the guide to the FOCUS archives, 1972-1975, (Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives)
