Five years ago, the focus of all five Taos museums, many art galleries and the town’s tourism marketing campaign centered on women – “Remarkable Women of Taos.”
A 200+ webpage section of TAOS.org profiled historically important women, women artists, female business owners, outstanding outdoors women, healthcare women, and community leaders of the feminine persuasion. In all, 770 women were cited on the Remarkable Women of Taos 2012 webpages.
As happens with dated online content, the Remarkable Women webpages were removed from the internet in a site reoganization in 2016. Recently, a group of businesses – women-owned and operated businesses – joined forces to retrieve the historically significant digital files and make them available again to the public.
WomenofTaos.org is a re-issued, archival website that presents all the profiles developed in 2012 and offers a 300-page book that includes all 770 women. The revival project was led by writer/historian Liz Cunningham (who also edited the original website and book), Rebecca Lenzini of Nighthawk Press, Janet Webb, Webb Design Inc., and Taos Community Foundation.
Lisa O’Brien, director of Taos Community Foundation, describes the foundation’s interest in seeing the Remarkable Women content preserved for future generations: “The Foundation has funded numerous projects over the years that have directly impacted the lives of women and girls in our community. Through our Women Give funding circle, the advisory group was thrilled to support the website version of Remarkable Women of Taos. The online availability is an asset to the community and we were delighted to make this investment.”
The Town of Taos Marketing Department also aided in making WomenofTaos.org possible. Marketing Director, Karina Armijo, explained why it was important to her to see the women of Taos memorialized, “The strength these women exhibit says something significant about the values of this place, Taos. I believe the community’s acceptance of the right of all citizens to explore their creativity is what makes many travelers choose to visit Taos. Telling these women’s stories helps explain Taos.”
Below, BeyondTaos calls out one woman from each category to whet your appetite for perusing the website.
In a Nutshell
Website: WomenofTaos.org
The Book: Remarkable Women of Taos, Nighthawk Press, 2012 available from nighthawkpress.com and Amazon.com
Taos Community Foundation’s Women Give program
Taos News: Taos Woman
