Komal Shah, recognized as one of the world's leading art collectors, has announced the transformation of her Shah Garg Foundation into the Making Their Mark Foundation. This rebranding marks a significant new chapter for the nonprofit organization, which will launch with a three-day forum in Washington, D.C. next year focused on celebrating and advancing women artists in the art world.
The new foundation takes its name from the acclaimed traveling exhibition "Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection," which was curated by Cecilia Alemani. The exhibition highlights the extensive collection of women artists' works that Shah has built alongside her husband Gaurav Garg over more than a decade. The name was originally suggested by art historian Katy Siegel, who served as co-editor of the exhibition's accompanying catalog.
"It struck a chord with all of us as we wanted to portray women artists as active mark makers on the canvas and also on the canon of art history," Shah explained. "As the exhibition started traveling across the country, I noticed that the phrase Making Their Mark resonated deeply with audiences." She emphasized that the renaming better reflects the foundation's expanding mission, which encompasses exhibitions, educational programming, and various initiatives supporting women artists.
Since its debut in 2023, the "Making Their Mark" exhibition has traveled to multiple prestigious venues, opening in New York, Berkeley, California, and St. Louis, Missouri. The exhibition is scheduled to arrive at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. this February, before continuing to the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe in 2027. Shah has been energized by the positive response from visitors at each location, noting that many people connect with the exhibition through women in their own lives.
"Many know women in their own lives—their mother, sister, or aunt—who may not have had the same agency or opportunities because of gender inequality, and it brings them joy and inspiration to see women create boldly and confidently," Shah observed. This personal connection has contributed to the enthusiastic reception the exhibition continues to receive across the country.
Coinciding with the Washington, D.C. exhibition, Shah will launch the inaugural Making Their Mark Forum, scheduled for March 5-7 during Women's History Month. The main programming day on March 6 will be hosted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The forum will feature an impressive leadership team, with Cecilia Alemani serving as curatorial director, Loring Randolph as director, and Alexa Milroy as chief of staff.
The forum will offer a comprehensive program including panels, keynote speeches, poetry readings, and performances, organized around four central themes: Visionary Voices, The System Reimagined, Studio Sessions, and Changemakers. The Visionary Voices sessions will feature art world leaders discussing their groundbreaking work, while Studio Sessions will spotlight artists sharing insights into their creative practices and processes.
The Changemakers theme will highlight cultural workers developing innovative models to expand visibility, support, and opportunities for women artists globally. Meanwhile, The System Reimagined will bring together diverse voices to present new ideas for structural change across the cultural field and propose innovative strategies for achieving equity and sustainability in the arts. These panels will specifically address rethinking museum practices, mentorship pipelines, and improving visibility and market value for women artists in both primary and secondary markets.
Shah's inspiration for creating the forum came from attending the "Loophole of Retreat," a three-day symposium organized by Rashida Bumbray that accompanied Simone Leigh's U.S. Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. "I was so deeply impacted by the discussions and performances that I began to think of other ways to bring together women across the art world," Shah reflected. "Having had the good fortune to spend so much time around these artists, curators, and thinkers, I felt it would be amazing to have this community of women celebrate their hard work and accomplishments but also engage in pressing dialogues regarding gender disparity in the art world."
The Making Their Mark Forum will feature an impressive lineup of participants, including renowned artists Andrea Bowers, Laura Ortman, Joan Semmel, Tschabalala Self, Joyce J. Scott, Sasha Stiles, and Uman. The forum will also showcase leading curators and art historians such as Rashida Bumbray, Rhea Combs (director of curatorial affairs at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery), Christophe Cherix (director of the Museum of Modern Art), independent curator Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, and Kaywin Feldman (director of the National Gallery of Art).
Additional notable participants include Sandra Jackson-Dumont (former director of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art), Michelle Kuo (chief curator at large at MoMA), Kymberly Pinder (dean of the Yale School of Art), Lowery Stokes Sims (former director of the Studio Museum in Harlem), and Jasmine Wahi (founder of Project for Empty Space). The complete list of speakers is available on the Making Their Mark website.
Shah acknowledged that while the forum was planned well before the start of the second Trump administration, which has targeted cultural institutions and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, the timing feels particularly significant. "This is a challenging moment for cultural institutions across the country, but it is very special to me that this exhibition will come to Washington, D.C. now," she stated. "Our original vision now feels more relevant and vital than ever. Making Their Mark is an exhibition that demonstrates the excellence of women artists. With the forum, we'll expand on the exhibition's ethos by not only recognizing the contributions of women artists but also pragmatically examining the ongoing issues facing women in the arts."
