In The Company of Women is a retreat for members of American Women Artists taking place April 22 – 26, 2026, in Nashville, TN with an exhibition reception and awards ceremony in Clarksville, TN. The Symposium of Women in the Arts is free and open to the public. 

We will come together to inspire, celebrate, and encourage women in the visual arts.

We’ve curated an unforgettable experience during these four days! Here is the itinerary:

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 – 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.  AWA Member Welcome at Holiday Inn & Suites Nashville Downtown – Broadway

Thursday April 23, 2026 – 9a.m.- 1:00p.m. – Plein Air Paint-Out on the grounds of Cheekwood Estate & Gardens sponsored by PleinAir Magazine with media award for winner!

Thursday April 23, 2026 – 3:30p.m. – Country Music Hall of Fame and Haley Gallery Tour

Friday April 24, 2026 – 9:30a.m.- 11:30a.m. – Member Breakfast and Master Signature Member Induction sponsored by Ship and Insure. 

Sharon Louden wears many interchangeable hats: artist, educator, advocate, consultant, and community builder. Sharon graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Yale University School of Art. Louden’s work is held in public and private collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Neuberger Museum of Art, the Arkansas Arts Center, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others.  

Sharon is the editor of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists and the author of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, and Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life over 50. 

Sharon has held the position of the Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution and is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Sustained Creativity. Her teaching experience includes studio and professional practice classes at colleges and universities such as Moore College of Art, Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Kansas City Art Institute, College of Saint Rose, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Vanderbilt University, New York Academy of Art, and Maryland Institute College of Art. 

Elizabeth Chapman is a communications professional specializing in arts and cultural public relations, with more than three decades of experience working with major cultural institutions, museums, artists, and nonprofit organizations. Her career has focused on helping arts groups shape their public narratives, expand audiences, design programs, and strengthen relationships with the media and the public. 

Chapman spent nearly twenty-five years as Vice President at Resnicow & Associates, a leading public relations and strategic communications firm serving the arts and cultural sector. Her work included media relations, strategic messaging, and communications campaign development. Earlier in her career, Chapman worked in public affairs at the American Museum of Natural History, where she spent a decade helping communicate the museum’s scientific research, exhibitions, and educational programs to a broad public audience. 

Chapman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University. Drawing on her deep knowledge of the cultural sector and longstanding relationships across the media landscape, she has built a reputation as a trusted advisor to arts leaders, artists, and institutions seeking to communicate their work with clarity, impact, and public relevance. 

Katie Delmez has been a curator at the Frist Art Museum since 2001. She has organized numerous exhibitions, including In Her Place: Nashville Artists in the Twenty-First Century (opening January 29, 2026); Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage; M. Florine Démosthène and Didier William: What the Body Carries; LeXander Bryant: Forget Me Nots; Terry Adkins: Our Sons and Daughters Ever on the Altar (with Jamaal Sheats, Director and Curator, Fisk University Galleries);We Shall Overcome: Civil Rights and the Nashville Press, 1957–1968; Nick Cave: Feat.; Murals of North Nashville Now; Vadis Turner: Tempest; Shinique Smith: Wonder and Rainbows; and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Journeys.

She was also the curator of a major retrospective on photographer Carrie Mae Weems that traveled to four venues, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Ms. Delmez has been the editor of several accompanying catalogues and overseen the presentation of more than 40 touring exhibitions at the Frist such as Jeffrey Gibson: The Body Electric, Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, and 30 Americans. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Boston University. 

Dr. Rachel P. Kreiter is the Curator of the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art (VUMA), where they lead exhibitions, research initiatives, and collection-based projects that connect historical scholarship with contemporary artistic practice. At VUMA, Kreiter curated Gloss: A Measured Response to Recent Video Art (2024), an exhibition examining the material, conceptual, and temporal dimensions of moving-image work. They are also co-curating Studentship (2026–27), a forthcoming project exploring the evolving role of learning, mentorship, and institutional frameworks within artistic production. 

Kreiter earned a doctorate in art history from Emory University and holds an MFA in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London. Their research centers on the art of ancient Egypt in its myriad contexts, including its relationships within the African continent and the ancient Near East, as well as its resonances in contemporary art and museum practice. 

In addition to their curatorial and scholarly work, Kreiter has written about arts and culture for publications including Burnaway and The Awl. Through exhibition-making, research, and writing, they contribute to expanding conversations about global art histories and the evolving role of museums in shaping how those histories are understood today. 

Susan Tinney is the founder behind Tinney Contemporary Gallery, one of Nashville’s most influential contemporary art spaces. Since establishing the gallery in 2006, Tinney has helped shape the city’s visual arts landscape and foster a vibrant arts community in downtown Nashville’s Arts District. 

Under her leadership, Tinney Contemporary evolved from informal beginnings into a cornerstone of the local scene, presenting innovative exhibitions, supporting a diverse roster of artists, and engaging collectors and art enthusiasts alike. The gallery recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with TINNEY/20, an expansive exhibition reflecting on two decades of artistic collaboration and community growth. 

Tinney’s approach to gallery-making is rooted in deep relationships—with artists, collectors, and the broader creative community—and a commitment to thoughtful, adventurous programming that both reflects and expands contemporary art conversations. 

Her efforts have not only solidified Tinney Contemporary’s reputation as a leading contemporary art venue in the Southeast but have also played a key role in establishing Nashville as a thriving destination for contemporary art.