- Bay Area RisingA powerful and diverse network of artists, spiritual leaders, and activists dedicated to ending violence against women and girls
In 2012, I founded Bay Area Rising in my livingroom. Today, I work closely with Mary Owen and other artists, spiritual leaders, and activists to produce an annual event dedicated to ending violence against women and girls.
I envisioned BAR as a local response to a call to action from V-Day's One Billion Rising movement, based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION women and girls.
Over the years, we have welcomed activists and artists including Alicia Garza, Eve Ensler, gina Breedlove, Holly Near, Pratibha Parmar, the Radical Monarchs, Melanie DeMore, Skip the Needle, Sarah Crowell + Destiny Arts, Starhawk, Eve Decker and many more.
BAR has a 501(c)3 non-profit fiscal sponsor, is staffed by volunteers, and contributes a portion of proceeds to front-line service organizations that advocate for the fierceness and resiliency of women and girls. Our events inspire our community to heal through performance ritual, dance and activism. Some of the organizations that we have supported are: IDEX, 1000 Mothers to Prevent Violence, the American Indian Child Resource Center, Himalayan Sisterhood, Black Lives Matter, and several other local groups.
