ORGANIZATIONS & ENTERPRISES

Sonoma County is home to more than 200 non-profit arts organizations along with 100s of other creative enterprises who work every day to enrich our lives with exhibits, performances, readings, happenings. Sometimes, they are caretakers of our collective cultural identity. Sometimes they are tour guides, leading us on an exploration into uncharted emotional waters. And always, they are the critical threads that tie together the fabric of our creative community. Browse this ever-growing gathering of our creative eco-system for ideas and opportunities.

Do you work for a creative organization or enterprise in Sonoma County? Register HERE to have your company’s page included on CreativeSonoma.org.

Vegar Abelsnes Photography, LLC Art Gallery, Arts Council/Alliance, Association/Club/Group/Guild, Business, Corporation, Creative Design, Decorative Arts, Environmental, Festivals/Markets, Film Office, Film/Video, Food/Drink, Government, Interior Design, Kids/Family, Library, Media, Museum, Nonprofit, Nonprofit Services, Performing Arts, Publishing/Printing, School, Special Events, Sports/Outdoors, Theatre, Travel, Visual Arts Vegar Abelsnes is a global lifestyle, location, portrait, and food photographer & director, who is currently based in Sonoma County. For many years he worked out of New York, then San Francisco, and now Petaluma, CA. At the age of 19, he left Norway to go traveling around the world in search of a greater purpose. After nearly two years of exploring – during which he experienced, saw, and tasted much of what the world had to offer – Vegar discovered the irrepressible desire in him to photograph. For Vegar photography developed beyond an avocation, into both a profession and a lifelong passion. Vegar strongly believes in creating a collaborative environment on his shoots and is known in the industry for the subtle, yet effective ways in which he directs his talent and crew. His ability to capture spontaneous and authentic moments – without sacrificing technical or aesthetic perfection – is a testament not only to Vegar’s professionalism but also to that of his team. His personable approach makes for a fun and relaxed atmosphere, regardless of the size and complexity of a production.

Voice Lessons By Katie Watts Dance, Education, Kids/Family, Literature/Poetry, Music, Nonprofit, Nonprofit Services, Performing Arts, School, Special Events, Theatre Study vocal technique and performance with me! With over 20 years experience as a voice teacher, Musical Theatre Coach and director I work all aspects of vocal production from performance, auditioning, breath control and breathing to head/chest voice technique, and yes, that dreaded "break". I have studied and coached all vocal styles and ages and focus on "acting" the song, not "singing" the song. Contact me at katierosewatts@gmail.com for more information, rates and schedule.

Walking Elephant Theatre Company Creative Sonoma Grantee, Education, Nonprofit, Performing Arts, Theatre, Youth Arts Education Walking Elephant Theatre Company's mission is to bring documentary theatre projects and awakened acting to underserved and ethnically diverse youth in Sonoma County with the aim to build and heal communities. Walking Elephant Theatre Company creates innovative live documentary pieces for social and ecological healing. The original productions are created from conversations and interviews between youth and their community. They walk a mile in the shoes of their neighbors and then create original documentary plays about the elephant in the room. We believe that hearing each other’s stories awakens our compassion. These projects help our culture shift from the paradigm of isolation, extraction, scarcity and violence, to the paradigm of connection, regeneration, abundance and peace. As a nomadic theatre company, we go to where stories need to be told and heard. We create and perform in schools, theatres, homeless shelters, cafes, and front porches. We are consistently going through an iterative process, meeting the needs of whatever “elephant in the room” a community would like to explore and transform.

Windsor Performing Arts Academy Creative Sonoma Grantee, Dance, Education, Kids/Family, Music, Nonprofit, Performing Arts, Theatre, Visual Arts, Youth Arts Education Students young and old are given opportunities to learn, refine, and share their talents and skills in a safe and happy environment. We are very strict about enforcing our "No negativity, not even in jest" rule. Our least skilled students are free to make mistakes and learn from them and become better. Our highest skilled students are free to shine and to share what they know in an envy free environment. Many areas of production are taught: Lighting, Sound, Acting, Dancing, Singing, Costuming, Set Design and Creation

WTAW Press Literature/Poetry, Nonprofit, Publishing/Printing

WTAW Press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded and directed by Peg Alford Pursell, that supports the artistic development of writers, fosters a thriving literary community, and inspires a passion for literature. We publish and champion exceptional literary books that possess a mastery of craft and artistry, showcase a variety of voices and experiences, and are unafraid to take risks—books likely to be overlooked in mainstream corporate publishing.

Our books have been reviewed and covered in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Shelf Awareness, Ms. Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Booklist, the Moscow Times, among other national and international media outlets. They've found an ardent readership, as evidenced by their regular and consistently long-lasting appearances on the best selling lists of our distributor, Small Press Distribution. Our books have received awards, accolades, and other notice, such as appearing on lists of best books of the year and most anticipated forthcoming pre-publication. Our inaugural titles received Independent Publishers Book of the Year Awards. Our books have also received the Foreword Book of the Year, Northern California Book Award shortlist — the only small publisher of the list of 5 — the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing long list, among others. Learn more about our books at our website.

There, you can learn more about our publishing program as well as all of our programming.

WTAW Press is a member of the Community of Literary Presses and Magazines. We participate in the national AWP Conference and Bookfair each year, as well as in local and other national book festivals and conferences. If you are interested in applying to be part of our team, you can read about our opportunities here.

You may get in touch here, and you can stay up to date with our activities by signing up for our newsletter. We value you, our community.

We hope that we can rely on your generosity and support to keep up the good work. All contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.