Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to research, promote, support, and educate on the contributions of women and non-binary photographers to modern and contemporary art in order to rewrite the artistic canon and provoke social change. WOPHA fosters a more diverse and equitable world by providing a permanent archive for future generations that preserves, documents, and promotes women photographers’ work while being a driving force for innovative thinking and discussion about the role of women in photographic arts.
The Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) entered its second WOPHA Congress in 2024 with a clear and urgent mission: to expand on the momentum of its inaugural convening and to confront a persistent gap in photography education — namely, the absence of structured academic focus on women and non-binary photographers despite their numerical majority in global photography programs. The 2024 Congress sought not only to deepen international engagement and academic discourse, but also to raise broader public awareness of women’s contributions to photography and amplify Miami’s evolving role as a cultural hub — positioning WOPHA as a leading institution in a global network of photographic communities.
A&O PR collaborated with the WOPHA team to design and implement a strategic communications campaign that highlighted the Congress’s cultural significance, academic relevance, and global reach. From initial media outreach to sustained storytelling across multiple phases of the event, the plan centered Aldeide Delgado’s leadership and the Congress’s thematic framing — How Photography Teaches Us to Live Now — to attract press, partners, and participants alike.
Tactics included a tiered media strategy with early national and regional press announcements, followed by art-specific and international outlet engagement tied to speaker and programming reveals; development of compelling campaign assets to support pitches across traditional and digital media; and securing targeted interviews and features with Delgado and key speakers to articulate WOPHA’s institutional vision and the Congress’s impact on photography pedagogy.
The 2024 WOPHA Congress communications campaign achieved notable visibility, broad audience engagement, and meaningful media impact, solidifying the event’s resonance within cultural, academic, and public spheres. A&O PR achieved widespread media coverage, securing 63 unique press placements across global, national, and international outlets, contributing to a combined audience reach of 3.56 billion.
Major highlights included The Miami Herald, which featured in-depth articles introducing the Congress to a broad regional and national readership; The Phoblographer, which spotlighted the Congress’s potential impact on the future of photography; and The Eye of Photography Magazine, which amplified the Congress to the international photo community. Influential arts publications like Artishock Revista, ArtburstMiami, and Sugarcane Magazine reinforced the event’s cultural relevance and thematic discourse. Press placements drove robust social engagement, including 247 total engagements and consistent amplification of Congress content, raising awareness not only of the event itself but also of WOPHA’s long-term mission and future educational initiatives.
