In anticipation of the 22nd anniversary of V‐Day in 2021, the city of West Hollywood is encouraging the community to support VOICES, a new piece curated by poet and organizer Aja Monet.

The public can submit poems, monologues and songs from Black women around the world that will be assembled into a V-Day performance piece anticipated for fall 2021. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 31. For information and to apply, visit voices.vday.org. 

V (formerly Eve Ensler), founder of V-Day, recently announced that “The Vagina Monologues” will not be performed as part of the annual global V-Day awareness campaign. Instead, the focus is on VOICES, a new interdisciplinary performance arts project and campaign grounded in Black women’s stories. The goal is to unify the vision of ending violence against women: cis women, trans women and non-binary people across the African Continent and African Diaspora.

“The city of West Hollywood has supported the mission of the V-Day movement for many years in many ways, including sponsoring local productions of ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ and hosting annual community events for the One Billion Rising Campaign, which is the biggest mass action to end violence against women in history,” West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath said. “A hard truth remains: the staggering statistic that one in three women globally will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. I encourage the West Hollywood community to take action and participate in the V-Day VOICES project, and I look forward to raising awareness in February for the V-Day global day of action, which aims to end violence against women and girls, once and for all.”

More than two decades ago, V’s play “The Vagina Monologues” launched V-Day, bringing widespread attention to issues of harassment, rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex slavery. Every year, the play is performed by local activists to raise awareness and funds for organizations supporting women. The events have raised more than $120 million for grassroots, anti-violence groups and safe houses worldwide.

In February, the city will again commemorate V-Day with activities urging community members to add their voices to the global effort to end violence against women via the hashtag #vday. Violence prevention and awareness information will also be highlighted including the city’s “Only Yes Means Yes” public awareness campaign about sexual assault, which promotes the important message of consent.

For information, call (323)848-6413 or visit weho.org.