About Us
History
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.
The Women’s Wisdom Art center moved from midtown Sacramento to Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento in May, 2021. Located in Sacramento Promise Zone, the center is in a historically disinvested community in urgent need of resources. Women’s Wisdom Art offers a wide array of free creative art, writing, and wellness workshops and events with programs planned in conversational ESL, basic computer literacy, and job search skills scheduled to begin in early 2024. Free food, toiletries, and PPE supplies are available at the center, and free food, care kits, and art kits are regularly distributed to passersby and at outreach events. All women are welcome and encouraged to join our free classes and supportive community.
A Message From Our Founder
Why The Arts?
Art demands the involvement of the whole person: body, mind, emotions, imagination, spirit and, it requires unrelenting self-reflection and self-discipline. No matter what her condition in life, level of education, degree of physical, emotional, or mental health, any woman can participate in art, can assume the identity of “ARTIST.” Engaging in art is the primary survival skill of the human spirit.
~ Laura Ann Walton ~
Board and Staff
We are a team of artists, educators, and activists dedicated to empowering women
through engagement in the arts in a welcoming, affirming community.
Lauren Baggett
Director
Roberta Beach, B.A., M.A.
Board Director
Vicki Boyd,B.A.
Outreach Chair
Julia Connor
Advisory Council
Susan Kelly-DeWitt
Advisory Council
Yvonne Evans, M.A.
Advisory Council
Pamela Fitch, PhD
Board Chair
Sharon Liberatore, B.S.N.
Advisory Council
Ali Tucker Lichtenstein, PhD
Advisory Council
Elizabeth Mendez, MA, MT-BC
Board Director
Jaymie Pressley, B.S., R.N.
Board Secretary
Laura Ann Walton, B.A.
Board Director
Deborah Wender, MSW
Treasurer, Fundraising Chair
Workshop Facilitators
Lauren Baggett
Multi-disciplinary art,
@lbcomposition
Liz Bratun
Glass Bead Mobiles, Jewelry
Barbara Church
Acrylics, @cookiejaradventures
Steff Echeverria
Visual Journaling, @steffecheveria
Yannah
Mixed Media, Into the Soul Wisdom Cards, @yannah.live
Pam Fitch
Crochet
Sharon Liberatore
Mosaics
Ali Tucker Lichtenstein
AWA Writing, Fiber Arts, @zazasews
Yoli Manzo
Mixed Media, @sacredyolidesigns
Carrie Markel
Clay, @cmarkel12
Elizabeth Mendez
Music Wellness, @emmusictherapy
Jenny Nousen
Framing, Tombow Drawing and Watercolor
Yoga
Marie Taylor
Mandala, Drawing, @marietaylorink
Hilda Tonarley
Acrylics
Contact Us
VISIT OUR ORGANIZATION
1029 Del Paso Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95815
Phone: 916-838-2981
501(c)(3) non-profit
CHECK OUT OUR CALENDAR FOR OUR CURRENT OPERATION HOURS.
Email wisdomart@womenswisdomart.org with questions about workshops and events.
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