The Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM) was founded in 1973, during the beginning of the national Feminist Art Movement. The mobilization of the Feminist Art Movement in the early 1970s directly stemmed from the Feminist Movement that began the decade before. The 1970s were a time of social, political and economic tumult in the United States as conservative organizations and large corporations pushed back against the progress of both civil rights and women’s rights in the 1960s. 

WARM had two broad goals: increase the visibility of art made by Minnesota women and provide a platform of support for them. Initially, the group had a handful of members who met monthly and worked on collecting 35mm slides of artwork made by its members. The slides were assembled into a registry, which WARM made accessible to galleries, museums and other institutions across Minnesota. The purpose of the registry was twofold: familiarize the broader art community with the work of Minnesota women artists, and encourage art institutions to include works by these artists in their exhibitions. 

WARM’s founding, programming and activities were comparable with other feminist art organizations of the time, such as A.I.R. Gallery in New York (an artist-directed gallery for women artists), the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles (an art education center for feminist artists) and Artemesia in Chicago (a women-owned artists’ cooperative). Each space was founded and run by women, all with the goal of providing women artists with professional support and public recognition. By revisiting period artworks and archival materials, the “Roots” portion of this exhibition shares a timeline of selected activities and accomplishments that punctuate WARM’s earliest years.