ABOUT US

Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA) is a national, grassroots service organization driven and grounded by our values and dedicated to creating transformational change in the arts sector. We do this by promoting professional opportunities for arts leaders and by providing a platform to help amplify the voice and visibility of women of color,* leaders who are disproportionately impacted by inequitable structures and practices in the sector.

As a membership-based organization, WOCA specifically champions the work of those leaders helping to propel the arts from behind the scenes. While our work could not happen without centering artists, the work of WOCA is and has historically been catered towards women working in some type of administrative capacity to support artists and the performing arts - theater, music, dance, spoken word, etc. – a field which has unique, and often specific processes and practices.

It should be known that many of our members’ work traverse the lines between artistic mediums and disciplines like visual, media, and literary arts and our members work in and outside a plethora of institutions like performing arts centers, museums, universities, production companies, foundations, state/regional arts agencies, and community centers. They also work independently as curators, organizers, fundraisers, facilitators, and artist managers, to name a few. We recognize the richness and complexity of working in the arts and cultural sector.

As an ever-evolving organization, we also recognize the value of women of color whose work may fall outside of our scope of membership. To that end, we continue to consider and develop new means of engagement for those who wish to actively participate in and support our work. Most importantly, WOCA is committed to fostering an accessible environment of connection and support for all women of color in the arts to thrive.

*WOCA uses the term “women” to encompass all those that self-identify as women or with womanhood including non-binary, transgender, and cisgender women. Our intention is to uplift and address the very specific ways in which this particular group of people, and their multiple identities, are impacted by various forms of oppression, notably sexism and racism. WOCA uses the term “women of color” as an organizing tool, acknowledging the expression is a political designation, not a biological one, and borne out of a solidarity movement originating from the labor of Black women.