Women to Watch is a biennial exhibition program, developed specifically for the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ national and international outreach committees, designed to increase the visibility of, and critical response to, promising women artists who are deserving of national and international attention.

An outstanding Massachusetts curator, approved by NMWA, nominates a short list of artists working within the chosen medium. NMWA’s curator selects a single artist from these nominees for the Women to Watch exhibition in Washington.

To mark its 10th Anniversary in 2016, and the 30th Anniversary of National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in 2017, MA-NMWA acquired an artwork to be given to the museum's permanent collection.

Curators at NMWA selected Ambreen Butt, a past Massachusetts Women to Watch artist. Ambreen Butt is a Pakistani-American artist, who holds a BFA in traditional Indian and Persian miniature painting from the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, and earned a MFA in painting at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. In 1999 Ambreen won the inaugural James and Audrey Foster Prize at the ICA, Boston. Ambreen was Artist-in-Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum during that same year. In 2006 she was awarded the Maud Morgan Prize at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Ambreen’s unique artistic practice, and her multicultural and politically aware point of view, makes her painting “The Great Hunt 1” a significant addition to the permanent collection of the National Museum

MA-NMWA has sponsors an endowed summer internship, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. The internship is open to students from Massachusetts or attending a Massachusetts college or university, interested in pursuing museum careers.This 40-hour per week, 12-week internship offers a $2,500 stipend to help defray costs of living in Washington, D.C.

MA-NMWA supports arts education. To mark the 25th Anniversary of NMWA in 2012, MA-NMWA made a significant donation to fund the Role Model Weekend Family Workshops at NMWA, in memory of NMWA and MA-NMWA Charter Member Linda Ryan.

MA-NMWA provides tickets for students based in Massachusetts to attend selected MA-NMWA events free of charge.