To promote an appreciation and understanding
of racial and cultural differences through various
forms of artistic expression.
To promote an appreciation and understanding
of racial and cultural differences through various
forms of artistic expression.
Michell Marshall is a woman of action and energy, with ideas constantly churning. On a walk through the woods one day, thoughts focused on living as a community member and in the beauty of the small island of Orcas in the San Juan Islands of Washington. As a black woman, Michell reflected on the predominantly homogeneous population of Orcas, and wondered how the faces and perspectives of the island could better reflect the broader world that we actually live in.
A spark of an idea began forming as she considered what she could do to help stimulate and engage curiosity, imagination and awareness through a multi-cultural lens. As a lover of the arts, she envisioned an organization that would embrace and present cultural inquiry and conversation by inviting to the island performance artists with diverse ethnic and cultural perspectives. By the time she finished her walk and got to her car, Michell’s vision crystallized: Woman in The Woods Productions. Then, the clincher, as she was unlocking her car door she realized, “Oh, my maiden name is Woods.”
President
VP/Communications
Secretary/Treasurer
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Chef Marquis Hayes and Woman in the Woods Productions present a socially-safe evening not to be missed. Marq Hayes is a self-taught chef and artist from The Bronx. After serving five years in prison, he completed Defy Ventures’ MBA-like internship program and went on to impress many restauranteurs with his resourcefulness, eventually cooking for elite restaurants including Daniel, The French Laundry and Bouchon. Over the years, he has launched his catering company Brown Butter NYC, co-owner in a farm-to-table restaurant in Cooperstown, NY, co-founded Ghetto Gastro, a team of Bronx-natives gourmet chefs who have since become culinary icons. Chef Marq created the curriculum for and helped spark Drive Change organization, a program that teaches kitchen skills to formerly incarcerated individuals and pairs them with employment in the restaurant industry. With Recipe For Humanity, Chef Marq is raising money to purchase farm land on Orcas Island and build the first black-owned culinary arts school. The institution is not only a social justice mission providing a healing atmosphere to teach underprivileged and formally incarcerated individuals the soft skills of hospitality, but also open to anyone who wants to learn. Musical guests for the evening include the Steve Alboucq Jazz Quartet, Oliver Groenewald and Opera Baritone Jonathan Green.
Tickets are available at the Office Cupboard (Monday - Saturday, 8:30am - 4:00pm) or by calling 360. 376. 2378. Also available through the OrcasCenter.org website.
Celebrate our nation’s 244th birthday by joining Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky) for a 7pm showing of Rebirth of a Nation - his provocative "Remix" of D.W. Griffith’s infamous 1915 silent film “Birth of a Nation” about the Civil War and Reconstruction. It depicted black men as ignorant and aggressive toward women, while portraying the Ku Klux Klan as heroic. The original KKK had disbanded by 1870, but Griffith’s movie inspired a second KKK to be formed in 1915. Rebirth of a Nation is a “DJ mix applied to cinema'“ which deconstructs one of the most influential and inflammatory movies of all time.
DJ Spooky, whose career started as a deejay, is a composer, writer, and multimedia artist whose work blends many genres. He has collaborated with major recording artists including Metallica, Chuck D, Steve Reich, and Yoko Ono. His work has appeared in the Whitney Biennial survey of contemporary American art, The Venice Biennial for Architecture, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Kunsthalle in Vienna, and many other galleries.
Tickets are available at the Office Cupboard (Monday - Saturday, 8:30am - 5:30pm) and the Orcas Center Box Office (Tuesday - Friday 12:00pm - 3:00pm).
Please mail your tax-deductible donation by check payable to Woman in the Woods Productions, PO Box 418, Orcas, WA 98280. Thank you.
Our annual fundraising Gala here at Orcas Center will feature Steve Alboucq’s jazz band and Special Guests John Boogz and Robin Sanders. They use the power of movement artistry and spoken word to elevate the artistic, educational, and social impact of dance. Boogz - an internationally known movement artist, choreographer, and director - melds art forms to push the evolution of dance. He has choreographed for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, and Gloria Estefan. He wrote, choreographed, directed and danced in the award winning short film Color of Reality, which showcases the art of movement. Sanders is a spoken word artist known for her poetry compositions and passionate delivery.
Tickets are available at the Office Cupboard (8:30am - 5:30pm) and the Orcas Center Box Office (Tuesday-Friday 12:00pm - 3:00pm).
