The Kennedy Center Announces 2022-2023 Social Impact Programs

The Kennedy Center's Social Impact program announced partnerships and programming for the 2022-2023 season, including Community Partnerships, Culture Caucus, the Conflux, Social Practice Residents, and Millennium Stage. Social Impact is the Center's systemic commitment to the belief that the arts hold unique power in our society to build communities, center joy, inspire action, and drive meaningful change. Social Impact aims to leverage the arts for non-arts outcomes to advance justice and equity in all that we do.

"Our work in Social Impact is most visible through our partnerships and programs, but most animated by our underlying commitment to the legacy of John F. Kennedy. Kennedy himself was a change agent with a magnetic social vision of equity across the American landscape", says Marc Bamuthi Joseph, VP and Artistic Director of Social Impact. "Our investment in cultural leaders and brilliant creatives is an extension of Kennedy's vision of a vibrant and diverse public imagination. We're working hard to present an exciting impact season that leverages justice today with an eye on a transformative cultural future."

Returning this season are Community Partnerships, a one-year commitment intersecting with the Social Impact's five pillars of community empowerment, artist empowerment, impact performance, cultural leadership, and REACH activation. Partnerships with The Armed Services Art Partnership, The Ferry Tales Project, Paula Brown Performing Arts Center, Washington Improv Theater, Washington Jazz Arts Institute, and The Recording Academy Washington D.C. Chapter will facilitate discussions and collaborate with Social Impact and other Programming departments at the Kennedy Center, including Dance, Theater, Jazz, Comedy, International Programs, and Hip Hop Culture and Contemporary Music. These partnerships will include artist workshops, panel discussions, performances, film screenings at the REACH, and collaborations with Social Impact's standing programs, Millennium Stage, Office Hours, Local Theater Residencies, and Dance Sanctuaries.

The Culture Caucus is a cohort of 10 individuals and organizations, based in the D.C. area, who represent an ecology of cultural practice whose foothold is in the performing arts. The caucus for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons includes SMYAL, The 1882 Foundation, Miss Chief Rocka, Corazón Folklórico DC, Inc., District Running Collective, The Green Zone, Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center, Latinx History Project, Visionaries of the Creative Arts, and Shanthi Chandrasekar. Through the residency program, these culture makers will create and produce a variety of events that will take place at the REACH.

The Conflux aims to intertwine programming at the Center with a national organization also engaging in social impact-facing work. This past year's programming, We the People's Before, included a three day event and production in the Eisenhower Theater surrounding the First People's Funds commitment to the past and future of Indigenous communities. This year's programming will be presented by The Arab America Foundation (AAF), a nonprofit cultural and educational organization that promotes Arab heritage and educates Americans about Arab identity and Arab Americans across the US with other diverse organizations to counter social inequality. The initiative was established to dispel negative imagery directed against Arab Americans in the US and produce an accurate narrative that is non-biased in combating heightened hate crimes and bigotry. Programming this year includes three events in February featuring The National Arab Orchestra, Emad Batayeh, and an Arab Film & Media Institute Film Screening.

Impactful Connections, a new partnership with the District of Columbia Public Libraries, focuses on creating access through transportation for D.C. residents to experience free local, national, and international arts and culture programming at the Kennedy Center. This program aims to lessen the barrier of getting to and from the Center by providing pick up and drop off locations at five participating District of Columbia Public Libraries across all four quadrants of the District. The partnership will launch on January 21, 2023.

This season also includes the Social Practice Residency, featuring individuals who engage in critical conversations about social change and artistic interactions. This year's residents are Cristal Truscott, PhD-culture worker, scholar, educator, playwright, director, founder of the touring ensemble Progress Theatre, and creator of SoulWork; Elizabeth Rule, PhD-writer, public scholar, and advocate for Indigenous communities; and Kristina Wong-performance artist, comedian, writer elected representative, and Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama.

Millennium Stage will continue its commitment to accessible shows celebrating cultural heritage and the arts with live programming from Wednesday-Saturday. Live shows and events will take place on the Center's North and South Millennium Stages as well as being live streamed on their Digital Stage. This season will also feature a new film series with screenings on Sundays at the REACH's Justice Forum.

Community Partners

The Armed Services Arts Partnership

The Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the largest community arts organization serving the military community in the U.S. ASAP fosters creative communities where veterans, service members, military family members, and caregivers thrive through the arts. Their free classes include stand-up comedy, storytelling, improv, creative writing, acting, and visual arts. Research demonstrates ASAP participants experience significant, lasting improvements in resilience, social connection, self-esteem, and integration of self.

ASAP Chapters are currently located in Washington, DC; Hampton Roads, VA; San Diego, CA; and Indianapolis, IN-and we are expanding nationally. In eight years, 2,000 individual veterans have participated in their classes and their alumni have performed for an estimated 150,000+ audience members, including shows at Carolines on Broadway, Warner Theater, and at The White House.

The Ferry Tales Project

The Ferry Tales Project is a collaboration with the International Programming department at the Kennedy Center, Caitlin Cassidy (Lead Artist), The Earth Commons-Georgetown University's Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, and The Lab for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University.

Georgetown's Earth Commons Institute is a hub for environmental and sustainability innovation, research and education to accelerate action on the most pressing issues of our earth. Assembling a team of interdisciplinary experts, researchers, leaders and students, the Earth Commons is transforming the university into a living laboratory to develop scalable solutions for a greener, more sustainable world.

Caitlin Nasema Cassidy (Lead Artist, Ferry Tales Project) is an actor, director, and producer. Her practice is rooted in joy, embodied research, and (com)post-activism. She is committed to telling stories by/about/with women, the peoples and places from which she originates, and the more-than-human. She is the recipient of a 2022 National Performance Network Creation Fund Award. Caitlin serves as Co-Artistic Director of LubDub Theatre Co. and is the 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence at The Earth Commons-Georgetown University's Institute for the Environment and Sustainability.

A joint initiative of the Theater and Performance Studies Program and the School of Foreign Service, the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University (The Lab) is led by Professors Derek Goldman and Cynthia P. Schneider. Building upon Georgetown's strengths in the areas of theatrical performance and international politics, the Lab is a resource center that brings together in public dialogue an expansive global network of artists, policymakers, scholars, cultural organizations, embassies, faculty, students, and audiences.

Paula Brown Performing Arts Center

An accomplished dancer, singer, actress, choreographer, professor, author and certified Vaganova Instructor. Brown appeared on Broadway, television and film and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Association (AFTRA), and Actors Equity Association (AEA). In 2013, Brown established the Paula Brown Performing Arts Center (PBPAC) and Brown Ballerinas company. The mission is to uplift girls of color by addressing inadequate access to classical ballet training in minority communities. Promoting the study of classical ballet as the footing for PBPAC and her Brown Ballerinas company, she spread her wings into the Prince George's County community as a facilitator of after school performing arts enrichment and community outreach programing in several public charter and private schools. She is compelled by her love for her community to help youth of the dance and performing arts in Prince George's County Maryland.

Washington Improv Theater

Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary season, Washington Improv Theater (WIT) is dedicated to sharing the creative, collaborative power of longform improvisation in Washington, D.C. As the District's premier nonprofit improv theater, WIT is guided by the belief that improv is for everyone.

Re-founded in 1998, they serve thousands annually through affordable or free performances. For the 2022-23 season, WIT is a resident company at Studio Theatre. This residency will include two debut shows: Not a Pyramid Scheme, which satires the scam-ridden multi-level marketing industry, and Tumbleweed!, a light-hearted Western.

WIT shares their craft in the community via multiple community partnerships, offering after-school programming in partnership with DC Public Schools, Project Create, and Sitar Arts Center, as well as classes for veterans and women experiencing homelessness. WIT's workplace training program WIT@Work teaches clients how the skills used in successful improv can help people in the workplace as well. Clients include nonprofits, corporations, and government agencies. In addition to their multi-level eight-week classes, WIT runs regular Improv for All workshops; these free two-hour workshops are opportunities for newcomers to try improv in a safe environment.

Washington Jazz Arts Institute

The Washington Jazz Arts Institute (WJAI) was founded in 1998 by Davey Yarborough and his wife Esther Williams to further his dream of teaching music in a nurturing, mentoring atmosphere. A natural outgrowth of Davey's success at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in DC, this dream was born of a desire to inspire young people into careers in music.

Their mission and commitment is to the education, presentation and documentation of Jazz Music in and for the Washington, DC community. The Institute is devoted to the preservation of the past, the promotion of the present and preparation for the future of Jazz in DC. The Institute will work to firmly fix through oral and written history the contribution of Jazz music to the cultural and social development of Washington, DC, and the contribution of Washington musicians to the creation of this uniquely American music form. The Institute has developed a city-wide musical outreach and education program in support of a Jazz orchestra which will expand opportunities for the appreciation of live Jazz in the area and enhance the training and performance opportunities for young musicians.

Recording Academy Washington D.C. Chapter

The Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Recording Academy® engages the wide-ranging communities in Maryland, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Working with varied genres including rock, Latin, hip-hop, R&B, go-go, gospel, folk, classical, and jazz, the D.C. Chapter is a vital connection and touchstone for music makers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Led by Executive Director Sharon Ingram and Chapter President Tamara Wellons the chapter offers professional development and opportunities for its members. The Washington, D.C. Chapter works to further the Recording Academy's mission of recognizing excellence in the recording arts and sciences, cultivating the well-being of the music community-at-large, and ensuring the music community remains an indelible part of the culture.

Culture Caucus Members

SMYAL

Based in Washington, D.C., SMYAL supports and empowers LGBTQ youth ages 6 through 24. Since 1984, SMYAL has worked to meet the needs of LGBTQ youth through affirming programs, housing support, accessible mental health services, leadership training, and community outreach.

SMYAL's innovative programs are unique both locally and nationally. Little SMYALs, designed specifically for queer and trans youth under the age of 13, is one of only a few programs of its kind in the country. As the largest LGBTQ youth housing provider in the region, SMYAL's comprehensive housing program provides safe and stable shelter, food, case management services, crisis intervention, resource navigation, and community support for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. In addition, SMYAL also offers LGBTQ-affirming mental health counseling at no cost to youth and families. Through youth leadership training and daily drop-in programming, SMYAL creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to build self-confidence, develop critical life skills, and engage their peers and community. Committed to social change, SMYAL builds, sustains, and advocates for programs, policies, and services that LGBTQ youth need as they grow into adulthood.

Miss Chief Rocka

Angela Miracle Gladue aka Lunacee, is a nehiyaw (Cree)/Greek Interdisciplinary Artist from the Treaty 6 Territory of amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) and is a proud member of Frog Lake First Nation. As an international artist, she has been invited to give master classes, perform, lecture and judge in countless communities throughout the world and continues to share her love for dance in Indigenous Communities and schools across Turtle Island (North America).

Since 2016, Angela has toured as one of the lead dancers for The Halluci Nation (Formally known as A Tribe Called Red) and has also performed alongside The Doors, Buffy Sainte Marie, Lido Pimienta, Jeremy Dutcher, and Cris Derksen to name a few. She has opened up for major recording artists such as TLC, Sean Paul, Lil' Kim, Maestro, GrandMaster Flash, Busta Rhymes, and the America's Best Dance Crew tour. Selected accomplishments include: Performing and choreographing at the 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015 Indspire Awards (formally the National Indigenous Achievement Awards), 2016 PoundMaker Lodge Pow-Wow - Iron Woman Champion, choreographing and performing at the 2017 Juno Awards, and 2016 PoundMaker Lodge Pow-Wow Iron Woman Champion.

Corazón Folklórico DC, Inc.

Corazón Folklórico Dance Company, based in Washington, DC, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in September 2017 dedicated to honoring and preserving the art of ballet folklórico, or traditional Mexican dance. Corazón promotes and celebrates the cultural diversity of Mexico through its dance performances throughout the year and by building a community of passionate dancers from the DMV area. Corazón seeks to create a space where anyone can participate in the joy and art of Ballet Folklórico by offering free classes to adults held at the Spanish Education and Development Center in Petworth and at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, DC.

Honoring the legacy of Mexican culture through dance is a privilege and an important responsibility for Corazón Folklorico. We are committed to promoting the arts and celebrating cultural diversity through folklórico dance performances in the DMV Metro Area. Alejandro Góngora, founder and Producing Artistic Director of Corazón Folklorico DC INC, teaches and choreographs ballet folklórico as a means to create community con corazón in DC. His mission is to create art with people and showcase Mexico's rich cultural diversity and history through ballet folklórico.

District Running Collective

We exist where fitness, fun, and community collide. We support one another up every hill, across every bridge, and through each painstaking mile. As a crew, we represent the best of each individual that dedicates themselves to getting better, faster, and stronger every day.

We believe we can change the way people view running, while simultaneously having a positive impact on the city we call home. Open to all levels of runners, we have built a community of people around a common goal: pushing past perceived limits and becoming better every day through running and supporting one another.

The Green Zone

The Green Zone is DC's first and only standalone Middle Eastern Cocktail Bar. The winner of several local awards and recipient of national acclaim, what began as a pop-up in 2014 has now been a permanent DC establishment for over 4 years, representing the flavors and cultures of the Middle East through its drinks, food, decor, music, and entertainment.

Taking inspiration from owner Chris Hassaan Francke's heritage and travel experiences in the region, The Green Zone shines a spotlight on the rich and varied flavors, scents, and sounds of the Middle East through its cocktails. Even the design of the bar was heavily influenced by the region. The walls downstairs feature vintage Arabic and Turkish coffee pots and travel posters, the bartop showcases Moroccan zellij tile. Upstairs, the walls are covered in framed Arabic, Turkish, and Persian records.

True to the bar's roots as a pop-up, not only does it host others, but The Green Zone's main form of promotion is to travel and hold events across the country and around the world, with pop-ups and takeovers from New York to New Orleans, San Juan to London.

Congress Heights Arts and Cultural Center

Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center is a 501 (c)(3) organization with a mission to expose, inspire + educate both youth + adults to the rich arts + cultural opportunities, specifically in Wards 7 + 8, from a historical and modern day prospective.

CHACC was established to the explore arts + culture of people of the African Diaspora, specifically, communities of African Americans, residing East of the Anacostia River. CHACC's purpose is to develop and expand cultural and artistic opportunities for their residents and one of the highest priorities is to weave children and youth into the fabric of the economic revitalization occurring in the communities within Wards 7 and 8. CHACC is not just a home to East of the River creatives but home full of legacy. Formerly the residence and business space of the Executive Director's father, the arts and culture center serves as a tangible example of black ownership, generational success and cultural legacy

Latinx History Project

In 2000, the Latinx History Project, formerly known as the Latino GLBT History Project, was founded to collect, preserve, and share Latinx LQBTQ history. The Latinx History Project now celebrates over twenty years of meaningful service to the Latinx LGBTQ community, and a major milestone as it launches new Latinx Education Workshops with a Digital Resource-hub. We continue to be a pillar for their community in D.C. as the organization that hosts all DC Latinx Pride events and festivities during pride month as well as various other gatherings and events throughout the year. Since the Covid-19 Pandemic disproportionately affected their community, the organization also stepped up in the last three years to raise funding for and build unity amongst grassroots Latinx LGBTQ organizations spanning the continental United States and various Latin American countries as their third program area.

Visionaries of the Creative Arts

Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, was established in July 2019 by Michelle Banks, the visionary leader and Artistic Director and Nayte Paxton, co-founder and Associate Artistic Director, in response to the critical need to support the works of the D/deaf and hard-of-hearing BlPOC artists locally and nationwide. After Banks directed Gallaudet University's spring 2018 production, she realized what was missing--a permanent home for local artists. When Banks shared her vision to present a platform for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color artists to create, collaborate, and showcase their culturally distinct work through theater, dance, poetry, music, film, and storytelling in American Sign Language (ASL) and Black American Sign Language with Nayte Paxton, both of them eagerly agreed to make the vision come true by embarking on the establishment of VOCA. As a result, Visionaries of the Creative Arts -VOCA was born! The Deaf/HHBIPOC community and its artists have been overlooked and underrepresented in mainstream Deaf culture, a form of social injustice that VOCA stands to redress.

Shanthi Chandrasekar

Shanthi Chandrasekar is an Indian-American multimedia, multidisciplinary artist based in Maryland. She has an academic background in Physics and Psychology, and has been trained in the traditional art forms of Kolam and Tanjore-style painting. While many of her works are influenced by her Indian heritage, her true inspiration comes from the mystery and majesty of the world around her; her muse lives where the scientific overlaps with the spiritual.

Shanthi has won numerous awards for her work including Individual Artist Awards and grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, as well as the Maryland Traditions Folklife Apprenticeship Grants to teach Kolam. She designed the Kolam concept for the 2021 Kolam Project that involved community participation from around the USA, to install a 1,950-tile Kolam in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Her artwork is in the DC Art Bank, Montgomery Public Art, and other collections. Shanthi has exhibited, participated and presented her work at several galleries and institutions including Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Gandhi Memorial Center, the Smithsonian and most recently at American University's Katzen Center and the Art on Paper 2022 NYC. Apart from exhibiting her artwork, Shanthi also illustrates books and teaches art. Juxtaposing various fields like science and math, with abstract and traditional arts, and experimenting with media to communicate her thoughts and ideas to audiences from all walks of life is the essence of Shanthi's work.

The 1882 Foundation

Established in 2012, the 1882 Foundation's founding mission is to educate the public about the Chinese Exclusion Laws, their history, and their continued significance to all Americans. The Foundation fulfills this mission through four program areas: collecting oral histories of Chinese and Asian Americans and preserving their story sites; developing curriculum and resources for public educators; promoting collaboration and best practices among Asian American museums and historical societies; and providing a platform for literary and artistic exploration among Asian American youth.

The Foundation emerged from a successful national grassroots effort by a coalition of five national Asian American organizations calling for a Congressional apology for the Chinese Exclusion Laws and related racist provisions. Though the Senate and House unanimously passed resolutions of regret in 2011 and 2012, respectively, anti-Asian sentiment and discrimination continue today, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Chinese and Asian Americans face new challenges, the 1882 Foundation is committed to increasing the visibility of Asian American communities and celebrating their achievements as integral constituents of the United States. Locally, the Foundation addresses the changing needs of Chinese and Asian Americans around Washington, D.C., by working to build and support D.C.'s Chinatown as a vibrant cultural and educational hub for thinkers, creators and activists. Nationally, the 1882 Foundation is a leading voice of efforts in AAPI curriculum inclusion, the recognition of landmarks and monuments of Asian American history, and the mobilization of museum and other archival organizations to form a dynamic network that brings Asian American stories and experiences to the American public.

Conflux Programing

Join the Arab America Foundation (AAF) and the Kennedy Center as we celebrate Arab heritage and highlight the contributions of Arab Americans to America with three days of performances, art, and film screenings.

Taking Back Our Narrative

Presented in collaboration with the Arab America Foundation, Taking Back Our Narrative speaks to the fullness and diversity of the Arab American experience, values, and cultural landscape throughout the United States. "The root causes of racism directed against Arab Americans are linked heavily to orientalism, colonialism, popular literature, stereotyping in films, misrepresentation in textbooks, negative coverage in the mass media, and political rhetoric." says Warren David, co-founder of the Arab America Foundation, "There is a fundamental need for this marginalized community to take back their narrative and to increase awareness of their accomplishments and the contributions of Arab Americans to America."

Program Details

Conflux Presents: The National Arab Orchestra
The Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater
Friday February 17 at 8:00pm

Founded in 2009, the National Arab Orchestra, (NAO), a nonprofit, is dedicated to elevating and preserving Arab culture and musical traditions in the United States and beyond through performance, education, outreach, and collaboration. Under the leadership of founder and Music Director Michael Ibrahim, the NAO creates memorable, high-quality musical experiences that keep Arab culture alive and thriving. These concerts bring the beauty of Arab music to entirely new and diverse audiences.

Conflux Presents: Emad Batayeh
Millennium Stage Grand Foyer
Saturday, February 18 at 6:00pm

Emad Batayeh is one of the leading Arab vocalists in the United States. Batayeh is also a musician and producer. Born to a Jordanian family in Detroit, Emad inherited his musical talents from his parents who encouraged him from a young age to pursue music as a career. He became known as a musical genius as a kid. He now performs at Arab American cultural events across the U.S.

Conflux Presents: Arab Film & Media Institute Film Screening
Justice Forum at the REACH
Sunday, February 19 at 3:00pm

The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) is a non-profit organization founded by the team behind the largest and oldest Arab Film Festival in North America. AFMI aims to be a complete ecosystem to find, nurture, and showcase Arab talent in the United States. Starting with organizing school screenings, and growing into offering filmmaker services and original programming, AFMI is the place for Arab cinema and its fans, and the home of the Arab Film Festival.

Social Practice Residents

Cristal Truscott, PhD

Cristal Chanelle Truscott, PhD is a culture worker, scholar, educator, playwright, director, founder of the touring ensemble Progress Theatre, and creator of "SoulWork" - a generative method for making performance, training artists, engaging communities and framing analytical research that is rooted in generations-old African American cultural practices, theories and performance traditions. She is a recipient of the Doris Duke Impact Artist Award--given to those "influential in shaping powerful creative movements in contemporary arts"--the Creative Capital Award, MAP Fund, NPN Creation Fund and NEFA National Theatre Project grants.

Through SoulWork Studio, she offers training to empower artists and arts educators to engage the fullness of their identities by cultivating creative power through an inclusive and socially-conscious performance practice. With Progress Theatre, she writes and directs acapella musicals called "NeoSpirituals," that span and straddle time between histories and the present to explore identities, inheritances/legacies and cultural movements to encourage connection, consciousness and healing. Her plays - PEACHES, 'MEMBUH: Confessions of The Only Generation, The Burnin' and, work-in-progress, Plantation Remix - blend pop culture and academic conversations, fusing genre from Negro Spirituals and Folklore to Blues, R&B, and Hip Hop to produce performances that engage communities across race, class, gender, and spiritual identity.

Elizabeth Rule, PhD

Elizabeth Rule, PhD (enrolled citizen, Chickasaw Nation) is a writer, public scholar, and advocate for Indigenous communities. She holds a Social Practice Residency at the Kennedy Center and is an Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies at American University. Rule's time at the Kennedy Center is being dedicated to the development of an Indigenous feminist television screenplay, Moon Time. Rule is founder of the Guide to Indigenous Lands Project and creator of the Guide to Indigenous DC (2019), Guide to Indigenous Baltimore (2021), and Guide to Indigenous Maryland (2022) digital maps and mobile applications.

Rule's work has received support from the Henry Luce Foundation, MIT Solve, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Center for Black, Brown, and Queer Studies, and more. In 2021, she was recognized as an AT&T Women's History Month Honoree, was named among the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development's "40 Under 40," and received the Library Company of Philadelphia's Innovation Award. Prior to joining American University, Rule served as Director of George Washington University's Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy. Rule received her Ph.D. from Brown University, and B.A. from Yale University.

Kristina Wong

Kristina Wong is a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama. She's a performance artist, comedian, writer and elected representative who has been presented internationally across North America, the UK, Hong Kong and Africa. She currently is a three year Artist-in-Residence at ASU Gammage culminating in 2026. Her work has been awarded with grants from Creative Capital, The MAP Fund, Center for Cultural Innovation, National Performance Network, a COLA Master Artist Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, nine Los Angeles Artist-in-Residence awards, Center Theatre Group's Sherwood Award, and the Art Matters Foundation.

Her recent "Kristina Wong for Public Office" is simultaneously a real life stint as the elected Sub-district 5 representative of Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council and rally campaign show. Kristina founded Auntie Sewing Squad, a national mutual aid network of volunteers that sewed cloth masks for vulnerable communities during the Covid pandemic. Her role in the Auntie Sewing Squad is the subject of her currently touring "Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord"- a "New York Times Critics Pick" that premiered off-Broadway at New York Theater Workshop. The show won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards for "Outstanding Solo Performance".

Millennium Stage

Millennium Stage is a manifestation of the Kennedy Center's mission and vision to welcome all to celebrate our collective cultural heritage in the most inclusive and accessible way possible. Millennium Stage offers free live community performances, streamed live Wednesday-Saturday each week and Sunday matinee film screenings in the Justice Forum.

The series aims to eliminate financial and geographical barriers to the arts and celebrate the human spirits and arts in our society, hopefully, ultimately leading to intercultural understanding. The programs are varied with artists from many different communities and mediums of performing arts so that we are showcasing the story of our country and our world.

For more information, please visit the Social Impact page on the Kennedy Center website.

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