Nevertheless Arts Ensemble

For the woman who has been told her voice was not enough, we are here.

For the daydreamer told she had to wake up, we are here.

For the woman artist told to get a "real" job, we are here.

Nevertheless, we create.

Nevertheless Arts Ensemble was born in a basement in early January of 2018 when our founder, Sarah Tonini, found herself yet again fighting disappointment and depression from coping with the scarcity of singing opportunities. It was nothing new. This time, however, she found herself reflecting on her singing career and the many times she’d been in the same depressive space. Though highly trained, experienced and capable, there had often been limited opportunities available simply due to the fact that companies, regardless of genre, generally need many more men than women. Even opportunities won most often felt like failures due to constant competition with other artists, lack of support, emotionally unsafe environments and a lack of integrity in much the industry.  As a young artist, an eating disorder had seemed to be the only way to cope, fit in or succeed.  That gray day in January of 2018, Sarah came to a crossroads. Having gained some recovery around the eating disorder, acting out in old ways to cope with depression was no longer an option.  It was clear that a creative outlet was necessary for mental health and wellness, but what was there to do? 

Realizing that she could not possibly be alone in facing this challenge, Sarah began to reach out to the multitude other highly trained and capable women artists in her acquaintance who had given up the fight in order to make their living in other, less emotionally volatile environments.  Maybe letting it all go was the answer - were they happier simply stopping? So, she tentatively asked the question - “Hey, would you be interested to come sing some songs in my basement?” The answer was not simply, “Yes,” It was a resounding, breathless, “Oh YES. PLEASE. WHEN?” 

Sarah discovered there are many, many women artists of all media who share a similar story.  Among them, there are not only stories of rejection, lack of opportunity or emotional abuse all in the name of artistry, but also sexism, assault, racism, overwork and underpayment.  This is all so common as to be the norm. How can women artists possibly be creative, keep their sense of self and add into the artistic fabric of our culture under these circumstances? Somehow, we do. Nevertheless, women artists keep showing up. We keep creating because, to us, being an artist is as vital as breathing. 

Since those basement days, Nevertheless Arts Ensemble has been surrounded with unstoppable energy. We have produced and performed multiple show-case events highlighting women artists in a variety of media including dance, voice, instruments, sculpture, martial arts and Tibetan Singing Bowls. We provide space for visual artists of all media; from painters and designers to tattoo artists and photographers. As well, we've been fortunate to collaborate in our community with other artist groups including Commonwealth Theatre Center, Louisville Gay Men's Chorus and have shared the very generous stage of Kentucky Shakespeare. Our 2023 -24 season will add "Nevertheless She Speaks" an event supporting women writers and spoken word artists and a series of 5 workshops available to women artists covering various topics specific to meeting their mental health, career and emotional needs.

Nevertheless Arts Ensemble is here to empower the artistic voice of all woman-identifying creatives through compassion, collaboration and community. 

Our objectives are to:

CREATE safe spaces for women to authentically express themselves

ADVOCATE for equitable treatment and compensation for all women artists

EDUCATE communities on the impact of women artist

INSPIRE a sense of artistic vulnerability