Women's Wisdom Art

MISSION:

Women's Wisdom Art provides art, writing, and wellness classes for women in a safe,
welcoming community.

HISTORY/INFORMATION:

Laura Ann Walton founded "The Wisdom Project" in 1991 as part of Maryhouse, a daytime hospitality shelter for homeless women and children. The program was designed as an art empowerment program for women overcoming poverty, homelessness, violence, and abuse.

Women’s Wisdom Art, as the program is now known, operated under the wing of The Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services from 2000 until 2012. Beginning in June of 2012, the organization began operating as a non-profit corporation under the umbrella of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC), receiving additional small grants and depending mostly on private donors to fund the program.

In June of 2015, Women’s Wisdom Art became an independent 501.c.3. The organization’s artist and writer participants include a diverse range of women from across a broad spectrum. They gather in our supportive community to create art as they forge new friendships, recover from or manage illness or loss, avoid isolation and become empowered to transform their own lives and the lives of others in their families and communities.

Since March 2020, Women’s Wisdom Art has been teaching several virtual weekly art, wellness, and writing classes, reaching participants via Zoom, email, USPS, texts, phone calls, social media, and social-distanced visits. We conduct one-to-one outreach for vulnerable participants, and mail art and writing supplies as needed.