About Us

OUR MISSION

Willis Wonderland Foundation supports the advancement of songwriters and multimedia artists, especially women and those in underrepresented communities, who will perpetuate the legacy and extraordinary creative vision of Hall of Fame songwriter and artist Allee Willis.

Launched in 2022, the foundation supports diversity, gender and racial equality, and inclusion by giving opportunities to often overlooked songwriters and artists through mentorships, professional training, exposure to industry experts, and workshops.

Willis Wonderland Foundation promotes personal creativity and elevates authentic voices, empowering the next generation of groundbreaking artists.

OUR VISION

“You’ve got to have a vision, and you’ve got to go the whole way.”
ALLEE WILLIS’ WONDERLAND O’ KITSCH VIDEO

The Willis Wonderland Foundation will embrace a multi-faceted approach to providing rich creative opportunities and environments for innovation in music, art, and technology, specifically:

  1. MENTORSHIPS: By award winning songwriters
    and celebrated artists; Artist-in-Residence programs at Willis Wonderland
    exploring the intersection between songwriting, art, and technology.
  2. EDUCATION: Lectures, seminars, and podcasts by creative visionaries.
  3. INSPIRATION: Immersive tours of Willis Wonderland with visuals, audio, and
    storytelling.
  4. PRESERVATION: Willis Wonderland, a classic William
    Kesling-designed Streamline Moderne built in 1937, rumored to be the party
    house for MGM Studios, is home to Allee’s extensive digital and physical
    archives.
  5. EVENTS: Inspired by Allee’s legendary parties, Foundation events will
    combine all of the above into one art form.

“I always had a music career, an art career, set designer, film and video, technology. The parties really became the place I could combine everything.”
— ALLEE, TO THE NEW YORK TIMES

OUR VALUES

Amplify Curiosity

At the core of the artistic process is insatiable curiosity. We are committed to questioning the status quo, investigating new frontiers in creative expression, and supporting imaginative, interdisciplinary inquiry and exploration.

Build Community

While each person brings forth their own unique vision, we believe in the power and beauty of the collective. We will strive to foster harmonious collaboration within the communities we create and with those we serve by prioritizing integrity, inclusivity, honesty, respect, diversity, originality, and equality.

Radiate Delight

Allee believed in finding the happy everywhere, that celebration is not just for special occasions but an everyday essential and a much-needed vibe shift in our world. We will use positivity and fun as primary tools to inspire and uplift humanity.

Elevate Excellence

We are committed to providing an exceptional experience for all who participate in our programs, partnerships, and business operations. We will invest our time, energy, and resources into creating unique and unparalleled opportunities for a broad spectrum of makers, especially from underserved and underrepresented populations, to elevate the crafts of songwriting and multimedia artistry.

ABOUT ALLEE WILLIS

“The most interesting woman you’ve never heard of.”
— THE WASHINGTON POST

Allee Willis was a one-woman creative tornado — a multi-disciplinary artist and visionary thinker with a limitless range of imagination and productivity. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, she was a Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and Webby award-winning and nominated songwriter/performer.

Allee’s compositions have sold more than 60 million records to date. Her hits included Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance,” Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield’s “What Have I Done To Deserve This,” and The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You (Theme From Friends).” She also co-wrote the music and lyrics for the Oprah Winfrey-produced Tony and Grammy-winning Broadway musical The Color Purple.

Remarkably, Allee did it all without knowing how to read, notate, or play music, despite writing both music and lyrics for her expansive hit catalog.

Allee was also a cyber-pioneer who conceptualized internet realms, interactive content, and social networking and was an outspoken advocate for “new media” when it was unknown to most. From 1993 until 1996, Willis and her partner Prudence Fenton developed “willisville,” an early forerunner of the interactive and streaming platforms we know today, with the support of a third partner, Mark Cuban, and eventually funding from Intel. In 1997, Allee addressed the US House of Representatives Judiciary on fair pay and copyright protection for artists, representing 3,000,000 BMI songwriters. Her trailblazing activism is as essential today as it was 25 years ago.

But most of all, Allee was dedicated to uniting people through uplifting music and art. From her world-famous parties to the sing-alongs and special events she led to raise spirits and funds for her beloved hometown, Detroit, Michigan, and to her legendary one-woman shows, Allee was a renaissance woman focused on creating social change through a life led in artistic overdrive.

For a mind-blowing time capsule of Allee’s expansive and singular creativity, please visit AlleeWillis.com.

For partnerships and sponsorships, please get in touch with Tina Fasbender, [email protected].