By Jessica Lawson | Co-founder
Walking through the spaces at The Mariposa Center for Girls, you can’t help but be inspired by the art surrounding you. Murals, mosaics, sculptures and colorful signs adorn the property and happy girls are seen dancing, singing, playing instruments, acting, sewing - constantly creating.
Creative expression is a key component of the work that we do to maintain a safe space for girls in the community. It offers them the opportunity to develop skills that support positive social emotional health, helps them identify and manage their feelings, think critically about the world around them and practice self-regulation and care. Creative expression is important for all children, but it’s especially important for girls living in extreme poverty. It empowers them to express the anguish and angst they have with society and direct those feelings to create something spectacular.
Since the pandemic, our girls have not had the opportunity to work with visitors for a few years. It’s been an exciting school year as they were able to do performances in the Fall and Winter! Most recently, they spent five weeks working with musicians, puppeteers and storytellers from Blackspace and Paperhand Puppet Intervention from North Carolina to create a work about coping with difficult situations, finding peace within and achieving a renewed sense of self. The girls wrote original music, designed and made costumes, learned to walk on stilts and produced a spectacular performance about coping with difficult situations, finding peace within and achieving a renewed sense of self.
The project was the focal point of Fall semester programming, aligning with the commemoration of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and 16 Days of Activism. Exploring difficult topics through art allowed for vulnerable girls to build confidence, strengthen their coping skills and imagine a future where they are equipped to lead the global movement to end violence against women. We had a full house for all three performances and Grammy nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon joined us for an amazing finale!
It was an incredible experience that our girls, families, visitors and community will remember for years to come. Your generosity continues to help us deliver world class arts programming to The Mariposa Center for Girls - inspiring creativity, increasing confidence and spreading joy to the girls that come to learn and grow in this beautiful space. We can’t thank you enough and we look forward to our next spectacular performance!
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