The WOPHA Congress is a groundbreaking photography conference, exhibition series, and creative convening held at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and virtually, with parallel activations taking place across South Florida. It aims to establish a critical space for photography by bringing together worldwide organizations of women photographers, art historians, theorists, and curators with a goal to enrich and more accurately represent the dynamic history of women photographers from the nineteenth century to the present day. This event showcases both seminal and emerging research and discourse in the field, encompassing national and international discussions on women and feminisms in the history of photography. Additionally, it serves as a platform to celebrate women and foster an unparalleled network for the international community of women in the photographic arts.

Despite the fact that 75% of photography students around the world are women, there remains a glaring absence of academic programs specifically addressing the history of women in photography. The 2024 WOPHA Congress “How Photography Teaches Us to Live Now” endeavors to confront this disparity and initiate discussions on women, photography, and pedagogy as a foundational step towards the establishment of a dedicated educational institution for the study of photographic practices, criticism, and historiography. Building upon the themes explored in its inaugural edition, this year’s Congress edition serves as a continuation of the dialogue surrounding women and non-binary photographers. By acknowledging women in photography as a distinct discipline, it advocates for the integration of these narratives into new educational programs, affirming the importance of inclusivity and diversity in framing the future of photographic education.

WOPHA’s origins trace back to 2013 when Aldeide Delgado created the project titled “Catalog of Cuban Women Photographers” in her native Havana, Cuba. The Catalog was the first project to comprehensively collate the works of Cuban women photographers spanning the 19th century through the present. Imbued with a distinct historiographic and critical character, the Catalog is an interactive online platform that offers information for artists, curators, critics, and other cultural agents through a dynamic database of creators, publications, and exhibitions. Building on the original aim to locate, document, and acknowledge gaps in information on the contributors to the development of Cuban photography, upon immigrating to the United States and settling in Miami, Delgado expanded these efforts to an international scale, creating WOPHA as a space to celebrate women in the photographic arts.