National Museum of Women in the Arts Wins Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom
ArtNews, 12/23/2014

The 2015 Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom is being awarded to Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of Women in the Arts, the museum announced today. It is the first American organization to take home the honor.

Here’s a bit from NMWA’s release about the accolade:

By awarding the Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom, the jury wishes to make a contribution to international solidarity, reaffirm women’s rights around the world, guarantee protection for those who currently risk their lives and stand alongside them to defend the ideals of equality and peace.

“The National Museum of Women in the Arts is extremely honored to receive the prestigious Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom,” the museum’s director, Susan Fisher Sterling, said in a statement. “NMWA is dedicated to providing a platform for women’s free expression and filling the void in recognition of women artists past, present and future.”

The jury for the prize, which was created in 2008 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the author of The Second Sex, is formidable. It follows below, quoted directly from the release.