Paper Routes, the sixth installment in NMWA’s Women to Watch exhibition series, showcases contemporary artists working in paper. The exhibition series is presented every two to three years and is a dynamic collaboration between the museum and participating outreach committees. The 22 committees participating in this exhibition worked with curators in their respective regions to create shortlists of artists working with paper. From this list, NMWA curators selected the artists whose work is on view in Paper Routes.

Featured artists in Paper Routes respond to the many uses and cultural associations of paper—from protest signs to packaging, lottery tickets, and wallpaper—approaching the medium in varied ways. Some highlight the delicate properties of paper through meticulous cuts, resulting in elaborate forms, patterns, and designs. Others compact and consolidate the material, forming surprisingly dense and monumental sculptures. Artists rely on traditional as well as innovative techniques. Paper Routes highlights and celebrates this diversity of approaches and the transformation of this ubiquitous and eclectic material into complex works of art.

The exhibition features works by Jen Aitken (representing the museum’s committee in Canada), Elizabeth Alexander (Massachusetts), Natasha Bowdoin (Texas), Mira Burack (New Mexico), Elisabetta Di Maggio (Italy), Oasa DuVerney (New York), Mary Evans (United Kingdom), Rachel Farbiarz (Mid-Atlantic Region), Dolores Furtado (Argentina), Angela Glajcar (Germany), Dalila Gonçalves (Portugal), Julia Goodman (Northern California), Joli Livaudais (Arkansas), Annie Lopez (Arizona), Paola Podestá Martí (Chile), Echiko Ohira (Southern California), Luisa Pastor (Spain), Sa’dia Rehman (Ohio), Natalia Revilla (Peru), Lucha Rodríguez (Georgia), Georgia Russell (France), and Hyeyoung Shin (Greater Kansas City).