Women in Lutherie to Hold its First Annual Online Conference

To be held from October 29 - 31, the conference will provide professional development and networking opportunities for women in the industry

Women in Lutherie, an organization founded to provide a women-led, bench-centered platform, is hosting currently their first annual conference. Speakers at the conference will cover a wide range of topics that relate to the experience of being a female luthier.

For instance, the conference offers sessions focusing on the way in which issues such as pregnancy, motherhood, and financial freedom intersect with a luthier's career. There are also sessions which focus on the past, such as a talk covering the erasure of women's labor in the history of lutherie.

These topics will be contrasted with more general talks, which provide professional development for women in the industry, covering issues such as sustainability, injury prevention, acoustics, and ethical practice in lutherie.

Founded in April 2021, Women in Lutherie have already been making an impact in the profession. The conference is not the organization's first event: between June and September 2021, they ran a Fellowship Program, which pairs eleven early-career Fellows with their own Mentors. Each Mentor built a one-on-one relationship with their Fellow, which was supplemented with wider group discussion. Some Fellows were able to travel in order to get practical bench experience with their Mentor.

The conference is a new, annual initiative and provides another means by which the organization can support women in the industry. You can find the full program and registration instructions for the conference on Women in Lutherie's website.