Just under 18% of our art technical users of ArtTechSpace.com are women. Through our Instagram account, we can see that 42% of our followers are women and 58% are men. Women are a minority in the male-dominated art technical industry, we already know that right?

Level It: Women’s Art Handlers Network https://www.levelit.network/ is an organisation based in Seattle, Washington USA working to unite women-identified art handlers, museum preparators, and speciality fabricators for growth and empowerment in these fields. Through hands-on technical workshops and regularly scheduled events, this group is laying a foundation for women working in the industry to gain confidence, recognition, experience, and an expanded professional network. In their own words: “We created Level It because we wanted to break out of the isolation that is common working in industries where you feel under-represented. We saw the importance of using our personal platforms and privilege to open space for others. Level It provides training opportunities to other women-identified folks in the field through our workshops and skill-shares, we promote community and collaboration through our meetups, and we centre women-identified experts as our paid instructors. By doing this work, we hope to open pathways for underrepresented voices breaking into the field and to provide continued support to growing experts already in the field. Ultimately, we want to see more women and diverse representation leading the industry. It feels like a tremendous moment industry-wide right now. We’ve been hugely inspired and guided by The Broad’s Diversity Apprenticeship Program (https://www.thebroad.org/dap), tenets of the Women’s Center for Creative Work, Los Angeles (https://wccwcorevalues.persona.co/), A Workshop of our Own (Baltimore)http://www.aworkshopofourown.com/, and we’re watching what the Womxn Art Handler’s group (San Francisco) http://womxnarthandlers.com/ is doing in terms of pay transparency and disseminating job opportunities. Additionally, there feels like a huge push towards unionization within institutions as seen at The New Museum (New York) https://www.artforum.com/news/new-museu ... 2110-78432 , and a big spotlight on how existing unions are fighting for their members as seen at SFMoMA https://www.kqed.org/arts/13838611/sfmo ... e-proposal, MoMA https://hyperallergic.com/456426/moma-s ... argaining/, NYC, and the Vancouver Art Gallery in British Columbia https://globalnews.ca/news/4926963/vanc ... rs-strike/ . We see Level It’s work as unique in this greater landscape in three specific modes: Our DIY dedication to educational models outside of the institution, our centering of women-identified experts as the paid instructors in our workshops, and our intentional inclusion of and collaboration with speciality fabricators. We are dedicated to consistently re-assessing what this organization is and how it can better serve the community it supports. We’re learning and growing as we go.”

Training courses so far (L to R) Art & Archival Materials, Framing & Matting 101 and Essentials of Metal Fabrication. Since this organization’s start in August of 2017, Level It has launched its website hosted regular social meet-ups for networking, and launched a series of sold-out technical workshops led by women-identified industry experts. Training topics have included Essentials of Metal Fabrication, Art and Archival Materials, Woodshop Fundamentals, and Framing and Matting 101. Level It is beginning to roll out programming for 2019 including the return of their popular Woodshop Fundamentals class, offering both introductory and intermediate levels this year, speaking engagements with local college art departments, and participation in the PACCIN conference in Amsterdam this April. They go on to say: “One of the most exciting parts for us is hearing from women all over the country who are seeking this kind of support structure and training by experts that they feel represent themselves. It’s clear that we’ve hit upon something and that this is something women in the industry deeply want to engage with.” So as part of the group’s programming for spring, Level It will host its first out of state workshop at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art March 30th & 31st 2019, with more to follow they hope. They say “Part of our larger vision is to expand our geographical reach and encourage other communities to create access to training opportunities they need”. Connect with Level It and stay up to date on events and workshops via their website https://www.levelit.network/ and Instagram @levelit.network Level It was co-founded and is co-directed by Alexa Anderson and Jes Gettler, in Seattle, Washington in the Fall of 2017. Alexa Anderson is currently a Preparator at the Seattle Art Museum. She has worked with the Donald Judd Foundation New York, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Allison & Ross Fine Art Services, and Roy McMakin Studio, Big Leaf Mfg., & Domestic Furniture. Jes Gettler is the Exhibition Designer/Lead Preparator at the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle. Previously, she was a Project Manager at Artech, co-owned and operated the Phoenix-based Exhibition Design, Installation, and Fabrication company Argo, and was the Head Preparator at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Level It: Women’s Art Handlers Network unites women-identified art handlers, museum preparators, and speciality fabricators for growth and empowerment in our fields. Level It believes in an inclusive definition of Woman, and our participants represent a gender identity spectrum. We welcome our queer, trans, and non-binary community and work towards more fully representing this inclusive vision of Woman in our industry. Level It understands that gender equity is inherently tied to racial equity in the workplace. We are dedicated to the advancement of all under-represented voices in our field, and beyond. If you are interested in providing your support for Level It by hosting a training workshop, donating space for an event, providing financial support to develop programming or any other contributions to further our mission, please get in touch at levelit.network@gmail.com