"Women and Flight," a traveling exhibition premiering June 14, 1997 at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (6th Street and Independence Ave, S.W.), presents 75 black-and-white photographs of contemporary women pilots by Carolyn J. Russo. The photographs, accompanied by quotes and biographical sketches, profile 37 women aviators and astronauts.
A staff photographer at the museum, Russo traveled the United States extensively to interview and photograph each pilot. The range of women is impressive. It includes pilots from virtually all fields of aviation -- military, commercial, business and sport. Featuring working environments as backdrops, Russo's portraits reveal the circumstances and conditions of the daily lives of female fliers. Their stories offer vivid demonstrations of personal courage, historical progress and accomplishment.
Women have been pilots since 1908 -- only five years after the first successful airplane flight. But for decades they remained a rare breed, hampered by social, economic and legal barriers. Only in the past 25 years have professional training and career opportunities become widely available to women. Today, as shown in these photographs, women fly everything from gliders to space shuttles.
"Women and Flight" will begin a five-year, 30-city tour with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in September. SITES develops, organizes and circulates exhibitions on art, history and science throughout the United States and abroad. Descriptions and itineraries for SITES exhibitions can be found on the SITES Web page at
http://www.si.edu/sites or by calling (202) 357-3168.
A companion book to the exhibition will be published by Bulfinch Press, Little, Brown and Company Inc. in spring 1997.
"Women and Flight" has been generously supported by Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies Corp.
The National Air and Space Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. The Smithsonian Institution's World Wide Web address is
http://www.si.edu.