Big Chief Demond Melancon of the Young Seminole Hunters
It was an incredible honor to be welcomed warmly into the home and studio of master beader Big Chief Demond Melancon of the Young Seminole Hunters while in New Orleans this summer. He and his partner Alicia gave us a glimpse into the beautiful traditions and culture of New Orleans. “With a career spanning almost...
AJ Silver – Cowboy from the Bronx!
AJ Silver, trick rider and cowboy dropped by the studio to break up some Bronx stereotypes! He even brought his lasso and bullwhips so we all got a chance to cowgirl a little at Girl’s Club. Yippee Ya Yo Ka Ay!
Confronting Criminal Injustice
This Fall, we were blessed to work with longtime Girl’s Club collaborator and A Blade of Grass Fellow Jackie Sumell on her Solitary Gardens project in a larger event sponsored by ABOG. Big shout out to all the collaborators and ABOG for a fantastic evening – you can catch the full panel here hosted by...
Strange! Odd! Bizarre! A Visit to Obscura Oddities and Antiques
Join us for a super creepsville field trip to New York City’s oldest oddity emporium located in a former funeral parlor! Obscura Oddities and Antiques was equal parts fascinating and horrifying! They carry medical, scientific, natural history, fraternal, circus/sideshow, and all things unusual. The shop had it’s own successful series on the Discovery/Science channel for...
Music Box Village – a Tiny Town of Musical Wonder!
Music Box Village in our sister city of New Orleans is truly an experience where art comes alive and vibrates with song! We have had the honor of performing there in the past in a female musical history of New Orleans and are lucky to count Airlift, who run Music Box, as our NOLA family!...
Sowing Seeds of Hope with Jackie Sumell
Jackie Sumell is an incredible artist, activist and compassionate friend of the Girls Club. Her work seeks to expose and change the abuses perpetrated by the criminal justice system in America. We caught up with Jackie in her home town of New Orleans, at her Solitary Garden project. What resulted is more of a discussion...
Shine On! with Reese Witherspoon, Elaine Welteroth, and Cleo Wade
“The Best Thing about Girl Power is over time it becomes Women Power” – Cleo Wade. We were thrilled to be featured in Reese Witherspoon’s new series “Shine On with Reese Witherspoon” from her women-centric media production company Hello Sunshine! on the DirectTV platform. We also got a chance to sit down with Reese and...
Danni Washington – Diva of the Deep
TV Host and personality Danni Washington is deeply passionate about our oceans and science communications. She dreamed of studying the oceans since she was six years old and now in addition to her career as a scientist and onscreen personality she keeps busy with Big Blue & You – A non-profit organization she founded with her Mother...
The Changing Face of Politics — Cyndi Nguyen Breaking Barriers in the South
WGRL has a sisterhood with the great city of New Orleans, so we were inspired to learn that Cyndi Nguyen became the first Asian American to earn a seat on the New Orleans City Council! We caught up with Councilwoman Nguyen on our last trip to New Orleans where she graciously spent some time with our young reporters...
Dread Scott — Revolutionary Artist Speaking Truth to Power
On our recent trip to New Orleans, we had the extreme pleasure of running into activist and artist Dread Scott at Paper Machine, an art gallery-print shop-artist studio in the Lower 9th Ward. Dread was gracious enough to grant us an interview and spoke eloquently about his mission to make revolutionary art to propel history forward...
Presenting Princess Shaw – Words of Music, Love, and Life
One of the highlights of our recent trip to our sister city, New Orleans, was a chance to interview the inspiring songbird Princess Shaw! Princess Shaw has overcome tremendous struggle in her life and is a testament to staying true to your gift and the grace of forgiveness. Check out her film “Presenting Princes Shaw”...
Coco and Breezy – The Power of Sisterhood!
Coco and Breezy stopped by to talk about sisterhood (they’re TWINS!), girl power and the value of being true to yourself and having each other’s backs as women. We hope you are as super inspired as we were by the story of twins who went from not fitting in and being outsiders in school to...
Sisterhood and Community at Louisiana Products
When in New Orleans, WGRL recommends a trip to the Louisiana Products Deli, a neighborhood institution for more than thirty years! Run by charming sisters Martha and Melanie, Louisiana Products is part art gallery, part community center and part old sc hool deli with delicious home cooked NOLA specialities. In this edition of our podcast,...
Meschiya Lake – From Circus to Jazz Classics
Meschiya Lake was a little girl with a big voice, starting her career at the tender age of nine! WGRL caught up with the sultry voiced New Orleans vocalist who has lived a fascinating life that includes running away with the punk rock circus! From eating glass to her current stint singing jazz with her...
Trans Model Superstar Connie Girl
We were so happy to host the lovely Connie Girl at our studios for a discussion on the world of modeling. She even gave us a lesson on how to walk the runway – it’s not as easy as it looks! Hopefully she will be back at Girls Club soon preparing us for our next...
Kara Ross – Designer and Entrepreneur Unleashes Her Secrets to Success
We were excited to host energetic entrepreneur, philanthropist and ethical jewelry designer Kara Ross in the WGRL studios recently. Kara spoke on taking a career risk to follow her passion to create Unleashed, a social impact brand whose net profits support girls’ education and job creation globally and gave us some solid advice on pursuing our...
Irma Thomas – the Soul Queen of New Orleans Exclusive
In May of this year we had the incredible opportunity to take WGRL on the road to New Orleans for Jazzfest where we had the chance to meet and interview none other than the Soul Queen of New Orleans, the Grammy award winning Irma Thomas! Irma shared her wisdom from over 58 years in show...
Singer Jamar Rogers on Music, Life and Inspiration
Extraordinarily talented Jamar Rogers has been volunteering with us for close to a year now, sharing his gifts for songwriting and performance. We celebrate Jamar’s release of his first solo record “Lazurus” released on the Tommy Boy label by posting this interview from the very first time we met him in the WGRL studios! We...
Tank and the Bangas – Words of Wisdom from New Orleans
Le bon ton roulet in New Orleans! This Spring we had the very special opportunity to visit this world class city of art, culture, food and music. In conjunction with our sister group, the YaYa’s, we had a booth at the legendary Jazz Fest and spent 4 days live painting, experiencing and getting inspired by...
Ms. Leona Tate of the Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum
One of the highlights of our Civil Rights trip to New Orleans and Montgomery, Alabama last year was meeting Mrs. Leona Tate, one of The McDonogh Three. Ms. Tate was one of three African-American girls, who, at the age of six, were the first black students to integrate an all-white school in New Orleans! We...