SOLA Founder & President, Board of Directors
From the very beginning, SOLA President, Founder, and Artist, Ginny Ruffner, asked, "what more can we do to honor and support accomplished yet under-recognized women artists for their dedication and persistence?" In 2015, she created SOLA and serves as President of the Board of Directors to answer that with a monetary award, resources and community building that support mature women artists in Washington State.
Seattle artist Ginny Ruffner trained at the University of Georgia as a painter, graduating with honors and an MFA in painting. Ruffner has had 88 solo shows, several hundred group shows, and her work is in 55 permanent museums and public collections around the world. Seattle public art installations include a 30-foot tall kinetic water feature downtown and a permanent installation in the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. Recent interactive Augmented Reality projects took place at Photo Center NW, Seattle International Film Festival, and Seattle Art Museum. She has written two books and been the subject of an award-winning, full-length documentary titled, “A Not So Still Life, the Ginny Ruffner Story.” Ruffner has lectured and taught extensively and served as an artist-in-residence numerous times at schools and universities around the world.
