Athena Project strengthens the local Denver Colorado artistic community by empowering women and girls to embrace their place as leaders in the arts. It does this by producing an annual women’s art festival that embraces diversity through the celebration of dance, music, theatre, fashion and visual art. Furthermore, Athena Project works to support and encourage future generations of female artistic leaders through summer camp offerings specifically for girls going into 6th-10th grades. Athena Project’s GIRLS CREATE SUMMER CAMPS, taught by professional artists, focus on playwriting, fashion design, improvisation and visual art. Each camp culminates with a public showcase of the student’s artwork.

This year, Athena Project is excited to include a camp accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community (Deaf/HOH) in its GIRLS CREATE SUMMER CAMPS offerings. The accessibility of this camp provides a unique opportunity for young women in the Deaf/HOH community to work with established professional artists and receive mentorship in their artistic discipline. The camp, available to young women in both the Deal/HOH community and the hearing community, also strives to break down barriers that lead to audism.

Athena Project has an established relationship with the Deaf/HOH community in the Denver Metro Area. Ruthie Jordan, a Deaf/HOH community activist, artist, and teaching artist will be our teacher for the week as we have worked with her on other performances throughout our year. We have also successfully partnered with FLOW Interpreting to provide American Sign Language interpreters for various events during the annual Athena Project Arts Festival. Both FLOW and Ms. Jordan have been instrumental in working with Athena Project to find ways to further engage the Deaf/HOH community. An accessible GIRLS CREATE SUMMER CAMP is one manifestation of this.