They came to the University of Missouri–St. Louis from as far away as Europe and both United States coasts, according to the St. Louis Beacon. More than 100 arts enthusiasts came to take in events ranging from a seminar on Irish-American women writers to a chamber music concert. The events were part of last week’s Women in the Arts Conference at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Barbara Harbach, professor of music at UMSL and women in the Arts program founder, told the St. Louis Beacon that the goal of the conference is to put women and men artists on par with one another.

“Many people think the playing field is level in the arts,” Harbach said in a Beacon article about Women in the Arts. “Let’s just say it’s getting closer and there are now stiletto holes in the glass ceiling.”