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Press Releases

Activist Opera Company, White Snake Projects, Launches Groundbreaking Directory of Indigenous Performing Artists

July 14, 2025 | By April Thibeault | AMT PR | april@amtpublicrelations.com

Online Platform Will Amplify, Connect, and Empower America’s Indigenous Arts Community

Boston, MA (FOR RELEASE 07.10.25) — Recognized as the nation’s leading activist opera company, White Snake Projects (WSP) is thrilled to announce the official launch of the Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling (IDMS), a searchable online platform designed to amplify the visibility of Native American arts professionals, connect them with opportunities, and help the entire performing arts ecosystem thrive. This free and accessible resource is open to all arts workers, organizations, and businesses. To explore IDMS, please visit theidms.org.

IDMS enables Native performing arts professionals to create and manage personalized profiles that showcase their work, including bios, images, and videos. It is designed to serve a diverse range of arts professionals—from performers and composers to behind-the-scenes collaborators such as costume/lighting/sound/projections/set designers, stage managers, and teaching artists. Similarly, the Directory will help arts organizations identify potential collaborators and clients, fostering growth across the entire sector. By providing those without personal websites an opportunity to build an online presence, IDMS reduces economic barriers to participating in the creative economy.

“Indigenous music and stories have been long overlooked or exoticized in ‘mainstream’ performing arts because of the white gaze. The Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling seeks to return control of their stories to Native Americans. Through this database of Indigenous opera/music/dance/theatre resources, we hope to remove the barriers of unfamiliarity and catalyze new Indigenous repertoire. I am excited for arts organizations to leverage this platform to forge new partnerships with historically underrepresented artists and organizations.”
— Cerise Lim Jacobs, Founding Artistic Director of WSP

A project years in the making—with ideation beginning in 2021, planning in 2022-24, and now implementation in 2025—IDMS was funded by a Civic Practice grant from Opera America, an organization that serves the entire opera community.

"OPERA America commends White Snake Projects on their work developing this extensive database. It will enrich opera across the country by bringing more indigenous artists to the stage."

— Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America

“IDMS celebrates our professional, artistic presence by offering us an important tool to connect, create, collaborate, and build our artistic network. This is about building nations through the arts. I am inspirited with this new device. It ensures our ability to link with the larger arts community and demonstrate Indigenous people as living, thriving components in the world today.”
— Sheila Rocha, Member of IDMS Steering Committee

WSP invites Indigenous arts workers and organizations to create accounts and begin building their profiles and all performing arts organizations to use this platform to increase Indigenous participation in their productions. The platform has already garnered excitement within the Indigenous community for its potential to transform how arts professionals find work, collaborate on projects, and network.

The launch of the Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling is a major milestone for WSP’s mission-driven work that unites artmaking with civic practice. Through several activities including the production of new operas, community programs, and more, WSP presents its 2026 season dedicated to showcasing Indigenous Voices.

The Directory of Indigenous Performing Artists is made possible, in part by, leadership support from the Mellon Foundation, North American Indian Center of Boston, and Opera America.

About White Snake Projects
White Snake Projects (WSP) is an activist opera company making mission-driven work that unites artmaking with civic practice. It envisions a world where the power of opera expands our collective understanding of community and transforms lives through creative storytelling. The company programs thematically. Its most recent themes have been “voting rights” (2024) anchored by Is This America?, the story of Fannie Lou Hamer; and “climate” (2025) anchored by White Raven, Black Dove.

A critical element in the exploration of these themes is the establishment of authentic connections with thought leaders in social justice to ensure that the company’s creative work lives in an ecosystem of activism. WSP sees opera not just as performance, but as performance with purpose, a vibrant and vital art form that is also a champion of change. WhiteSnakeProjects.org

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