About
MISSION
WHOOP DEE DOO’s mission is to utilize collaborative art and live performance as tools to connect communities.
ABOUT
Founded in 2006, WHOOP DEE DOO is an artist-led organization that creates live performances and immersive installations as part of an extensive community engagement initiative.
We partner with museums, galleries, arts organizations, festivals and universities, and thoughtfully construct programming to be intergenerational, inclusive, and specific to the needs of our partnering organizations and each of our collaborators. WHOOP DEE DOO’s programming is designed to welcome collaborators as fully engaged participants by creating spaces that welcome all ages and skill levels. Every production comes together in a flexible and participatory process that works to achieve each participants’ creative goals.
In our 17 years of community programming we have worked in 32 cities, partnered with 50 youth groups, produced 90 projects, worked with 150 artists, led 455 public workshops, collaborated with 1,245 community performers, and funded over 2,600 hours of student engagement.
Since our inception, we have offered 100% free arts programming and events to the public.
We organize collective workshops, brainstorms, meetings, and rehearsals to research and ground our programming in community care. Each production allows for new opportunities to cultivate intergenerational and cross-cultural dialogue. This conversation is inherent to the work and becomes most substantive when we prioritize inclusion and create experiences and artistic projects that give genuine ownership to the participants.
OUR PARTNERSHIPS
WHOOP DEE DOO’s partnerships prioritize:
The immediate and long-term goals of our partnering organizations.
Determining the educational and artistic goals of our collaborating youth, community, and performance groups.
Creating an inviting, inclusive, and exciting participatory environment.
Practicing extensive community outreach to welcome and invite new audiences
Creating programming for new student engagement opportunities between our partnering organizations and youth groups, after-school programs, young adult programs, and more.
Initiating new and lasting connections within communities that often last well beyond our stay
Through conversation, research, and planning we work with partnering organizations, institutions, and community centers to establish new connections with local youth and performers, constructing programming that is both intergenerational and inclusive.
“WHOOP DEE DOO's practice is squarely based in generosity and an acute understanding of collective action. They freely offer their skills and resources to bring a sense of creative agency to communities large and small. WHOOP DEE DOO’s truly expansive approach to performance art does the necessary work of expanding the cultural field to include our neighbors, friends, and peers.”
Jodi Waynberg, Director, Artists Alliance Inc., New York, NY
PERFORMANCE COLLABORATORS
Collaborators work with WHOOP DEE DOO artists to devise and create one-of-a-kind sets, props, costumes, and immersive environments that are reflective of brainstorming meetings and the presentations given by partnering performance groups on the history of their craft.
When seeking collaborating artists and performance groups, we prioritize multicultural, often traditional or folkloric groups in an effort to amplify and pay homage to diverse histories. During workshops, collaboration performance groups have the opportunity to present their craft and histories, which then serve as the main inspiration for each project.
Through this historical context, students make informed collective artistic decisions under the guidance of our collaborating performance groups - from regalia or costume alteration and inventive choreography to interactive set design and performance.
COMMUNITY & PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
WHOOP DEE DOO’s programming invites performers from a wide range of specialties and backgrounds to collaborate with one another. These new partnerships create meaningful moments for both the performers and the audience. Our audience and participants have ranged from ages 4-80+ years old. Our hope is for all participants and audience members to experience a truly collaborative and unified way of working, and in turn gain a new and unique perspective on their community.
We prioritize selecting performance groups that are interested in connecting with youth, interested in sharing the history of their performance, regalia, music and culture, and interested in working closely with youth and artists to co-create a unique performance for the live show.
These qualities allow for a rich and unique experience for our young collaborators, with the intention of having young people reconsider the possibilities of who they can work with in their community and beyond. As a result, the most impactful experiences of a WDD program often stem from this cross-pollination of diverse creative producers, and these collaborations often create new connections within communities that continue to flourish for years.
YOUTH IMPACT
WHOOP DEE DOO connects with youth groups to be fully involved members of the creative team. Wherever we travel nationally and beyond, we often partner with organizations and programs including Boys & Girls Clubs, afterschool programs, highschool classes, and organizations providing creative opportunities for system-impacted youth and young adults.
Youth collaborators see the direct influence of their ideas, skills, and interests in every show, and establish professional connections with a robust network of peers and professional artists. Their participation in a WHOOP DEE DOO production can range from 1 week to 2 months depending on the scale of the project.
Youth collaborations gain hands-on experience:
Working as a team to invent creative design solutions
Cultivating technical production skills
Producing immersive installations
Engineering live audio and special effects
Building intergenerational understanding and meaningful community connections
“Working with WHOOP DEE DOO showed me how to be softer on myself while still hustling harder. During my work with WHOOP DEE DOO I got to see myself grow and heal through art making and being surrounded by youth and artists. I was given the opportunity to try so many new things from costume making to taking up as much space as I could on stage with my voice and body. I got to connect back to myself as an actor to show myself my full potential and everything I am capable of as an artist. It really boosted my confidence. On top of that I had a really good support system. I felt very admired and loved and heard the way my ideas and art impacted the finished product of the show.”
Kamilah, 19, young collaborator from Sunset Youth Services, October 2022 project
