Neo-Political Cowgirls Launch Winter Arts Programs Focused on Creativity & Community

The Neo-Political Cowgirls, a nonprofit dance-theater company based on the East End, will offer two winter arts programs in January that focus on creativity and community.

The Neo-Political Cowgirls will present January Girls, a free workshop series held each Sunday in January beginning Jan. 4 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Springs Presbyterian Church. The program is open to girls and women ages 6 to 106, with advance registration required.

Now in its 10th year, January Girls was originally developed to welcome immigrant girls to the East End community, Mueth said, but has grown into a broader intergenerational initiative.

“It became clear very quickly that there was a real need for girls and women of different ages to be in the same room together,” she said. “When young girls see and value the wisdom of elder women, and older women reconnect with the freedom of the girl child, those hard divisions around age start to fall away.”

Each session is led by a professional teaching artist and includes an art project paired with guided conversation. Mueth said the discussions often center on community care and mutual support.

“We’re asking what it really means to take care of one another,” she said. “What help do I need, and how can I offer help to someone else? Being able to talk about need without shame is essential if we want healthier communities.”

The new program, Winter Wanderings, begins Jan. 18 and runs every other Sunday through March 29 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at LTV Studios in Wainscott. The six-session series is open to women ages 18 and older and is structured so that each workshop builds on the one before it.

“It’s really about tending to the season of winter,” Mueth said. “A lot of people find winter lonely or daunting, something to just get through. I see it as a time of opportunity, of creativity, of purpose. This program is meant to help women not manage winter, but actually inhabit it.”

Participants will explore multiple artistic disciplines, including writing, sculpture, fiber arts, movement and theater-based exercises. Mueth said the workshops are intentionally designed to be quiet and reflective rather than performative.

“Because we’re a theatrical company, people sometimes assume this will be about performance or public sharing,” she said. “It’s not. Even though we’re together in a group, it’s a very private, gentle experience. It’s about being honest with yourself, addressing challenges in your own life, and building strength from there.”

Registration for Winter Wanderings costs $350 for all six sessions or $275 for four sessions.

“If you’re interested in discovering your creative talent that you didn’t know you had, you should take one of Kate‘s workshops,” Loretta K. Davis, a past Winter Wanderings participant who currently serves as donor and community engagement director for Project Most, said. “I had the opportunity to do that at a time when we weren’t really connecting with people and it was joyful and playful. I was surprised at what I could learn and create.”

Mueth said winter is an intentional backdrop for both programs, particularly on the East End, where seasonal shifts can affect daily life.

“Winter is the time when things get quieter,” she said. “It invites reflection and curiosity. It’s a time to examine what we’re carrying, what we can let go of, and what we hope might grow when spring comes.”

The Neo-Political Cowgirls regularly present performance work locally and internationally while maintaining a strong focus on education and community engagement.

Founded in 2007 by Kate Mueth, the Neo-Political Cowgirls produce original performance work while also running education and community initiatives. Mueth said the organization was created in response to a lack of space for certain voices in traditional theater settings.

“I was really tired of being handed scripts where I didn’t recognize my story or hear my voice,” Mueth said. “I knew that if I was feeling that as a woman with privilege, then women of color and other marginalized people were experiencing it even more. I wanted to create a place where people could tell the stories they weren’t seeing represented.”

More information about Winter Wanderings and January Girls is available at npcowgirls.org