Laura Ann Walton founded “The Wisdom Project” in 1991 with support from the Sisters of Mercy, Loaves and Fishes, and Ann Rudin, Mayor of Sacramento at that time. The program was located in Loaves and Fishes’ Maryhouse, a daytime hospitality shelter for homeless women and children. Working with Susan Kelly DeWitt, Nancy Earl, and Julia Conner, the art empowerment program was created for women experiencing poverty, violence, and loss as a way to provide access to a supportive, creative community.

“Women’s Wisdom Art,” as the organization is now known, continued to operate as a program under the wing of several sponsors until early 2012. In June 2012 the organization began operating as an independent non-profit corporation under the umbrella of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (now City of Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture) with funding from additional small grants and private donors. In 2015, Women’s Wisdom Art became an independent 501.c.3 non-profit organization.

Participants include a diverse range of women from across a broad spectrum. They gather in our supportive community to engage in creative and wellness activities as they forge new friendships, recover from or manage illness or loss, avoid isolation. Through this process they become empowered to improve and transform their own lives and the lives of others in their families and our communities.