About Girls Rock Asheville

Girls Rock Asheville is a nonprofit camp that empowers youth ages 8-14 who self-identify as girls, trans (across the gender spectrum), and/or gender non-binary, of all backgrounds and abilities, through music education. No experience is required, and we supply all of the instruments and gear. Campers will make bands, create a song together, and perform for their peers and community at the end-of-the-week showcase. We offer full and partial sponsorship for campers whose families are facing economic barriers to participation. GRAVL values diversity of age, race, economic status, gender expression, size, physical ability, developmental ability, musical interest, learning style, nationality, religion, citizenship status, and sexual orientation.

At GRAVL, campers build confidence and create community with each other while writing music, learning about gear and the mechanics of sound, and participating in a range of empowering workshops and performances by local bands.

We are a community-centered, volunteer-led organization.

VISION STATEMENT

Girls Rock Asheville envisions a future where girls, women, trans people, and gender nonconforming people are encouraged to unapologetically take up creative space. We want their music amplified, and their self expression embraced. We envision a future where we are confident in our bodies, our abilities, and our identities. We envision a future where those marginalized under systemic oppression are wholly and inherently cherished. We envision a future where youth in Asheville, Western NC, Appalachia, The South, and beyond are not suppressed in their identities or ideas, but instead are liberated to grow and live in a society that affirms them.

Mission Statement

Girls Rock Asheville is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established for the empowerment of people who self-identify as girls, women, trans, and/or gender nonconforming through music education, creative exploration, positive mentorship, and peer collaboration. We aim to center social activism education and youth-led DIY programming in our quest to uplift and affirm musical self-expression from people with marginalized identities in order to disrupt systems of oppression.

 DIVERSITY STATEMENT

GRAVL values diversity in our organization and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, nationality, citizenship, ability, size, economic status, housing status, learning style, musical background, or musical interest. We do not tolerate racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia or any forms of discrimination from campers, volunteers, or staff. GRAVL is committed to fostering a caring and equitable environment which supports our diverse community. GRAVL stands in solidarity with all peoples globally who are struggling for liberation from oppression.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

GRAVL respectfully acknowledges that the land which we reside on is the ancestral territory of Ani-Kituhwa-gi, the Cherokee people, who are the sovereign Indigenous people of so-called Asheville. GRAVL recognizes that the stewardship of Ani-Kituhwa-gi long precedes settler colonialism in these mountains. We wholeheartedly honor the vast histories and liberated futures of Ani-Kituhwa-gi in this place.

You can find more information about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the land we occupy provided by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

MORE ABOUT THE MOVEMENT…

The Girls Rock Camp Alliance is a movement made up of organizations like GRAVL across the world. Read the GRCA Points of Unity here.