Saturday, November 18

from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Panache Banquet Hall, 827 State Street, Springfield, MA
Suggested Donation at door

On Nov. 18, enjoy Somali music, dancing, and a sneak-preview of performances to come!! Learn about the project, meet participants, enjoy great food, and buy hand-made crafts to support the community! $5-suggested donation at the door.

About The Somali Women's Project

Over the past five years, more than 100 Somali refugee families have been resettled in the city of Springfield and the surrounding areas. Median household income in Springfield is barely half the state average, and unemployment is 25 percent higher than the rest of Western Massachusetts. Women are particularly limited in mobility, educational access and professional choices.

Through a community-based arts process, The Somali Women's Project creates new approaches to self-directed economic development. The Somali women meet weekly for English-language training, craftwork exchange among the women and local artisans, career-development workshops, and community-based performance workshops. Performance workshops are led by three professional artists of color: playwright/ performance artist Robbie McCauley, dancer/choreographer Wanjiru Kamuyu, and artist/musician Terry Jenoure.

This multi-year, collective process rooted in storytelling, oral history, visual and craft-based arts, song and movement will lead to the creation of a collaborative, multidisciplinary theater production presented by New WORLD Theater. Performances will be exciting cultural, aesthetic, educational and promotional events, raising awareness in the region and providing publicity and direct-sales opportunities for women's micro-businesses. Award-winning filmmaker Julie Akeret will chronicle the project activities and create a new documentary on the Somali refugee story.

Supported in part by the John & Abigail Adams Arts Program of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts, The Somali Women's Project is a collaboration among several local partner organizations: New WORLD Theater, the Fund for Women Artists, the International Language Institute, the Center for Popular Economics, the Massachusetts Career Development Institute. Weekly meetings are hosted by Springfield's Community Music School.