About Us

Brought to you by…
Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative
and
Ocean Ana Rising


Women on Wednesdays is an art and culture project dedicated to celebrating the creativity, empowerment, holistic health, and civic engagement of black girls and women.

Motto
Engage. Create. Empower.


Vision Statement

Through our art and culture series, interactive speak outs, workshops, residencies, and street actions Women on Wednesday practices and affirms a world where black girls and women live healthy, creative, liberated lives.

Project Objectives

1. Increase the visibility amplify the voices of girls and women artists, cultural workers, and scholars of African descent.
2. Support inter-generational dialogue about issues directly affecting girls and women of African descent.
3. Increase civic engagement among girls and women of African descent.
4. Increase the holistic health of girls and women of African descent

Project Components

1. Art and Culture Series-Held once a week, on Wednesdays, during the month of February, the series features performances by an inter-generational group of established and emerging artists and cultural workers. The series will take place at Brecht Forum in the West Village again this year.

2. Interactive Speak-Outs- More than just a talk back, WoW speak-outs are fully interactive dialogues designed to get audiences thinking about solutions the social issues raised during the performances and presentations.

3. Cultural Arts Community Workshops/Residencies- WoW organizers believe art and culture are tools for community empowerment and transformation. Our CAC workshops and residencies are led by experienced teaching artists that perform during February. Participants explore the basics of community-based art making. The workshops are interactive and culminate in group and/or individual performance sharing. Residencies and workshops will take place at the Brecht Forum, Medgar Evers College and El Puente.

4. Street Action(s)- WoW organizers believe that art extends into our daily lives and beyond the stage. This aspect of the project trains artists, activists, and cultural workers on the basics of street actions that support political and social justice campaigns.

In honoring the voices of women and girls of the African Diaspora, “Women on Wednesdays: Art and Culture Series” privileges our ancestors and their labor, affirming our collective truth – we do not walk alone, and we could not create transformative and innovative art without the journeys of those who came before us. Thus, WoW creates a space for our ancestors’ at every “Women on Wednesdays” event, encouraging participating artists and audience members to share this sacred space.

This series’ success is notable, because it provided women of color professional and emerging artists with an opportunity to share their work, engaging audience members in talk-backs after each performance. Such opportunities are crucial for women of color and our community. Though many social and political advances have been made, cultural art-making by women and girls of the African Diaspora still lacks the support often granted to others. “Women on Wednesdays: Art and Culture Series” celebrates our labor and creativity, putting women of color at the center of cultural exchange while simultaneously creating a welcome space for audiences which may not have known of this work without such a platform for expression.