Exploring stories of trials and triumphant as listeners imagine
PATHS OF POSSIBILITIES.
Do you know how precious you are?
Artist | Speaker | Storyteller
Artist, speaker, and storyteller Paula Ralph Birkett’s work is equal parts music, theater, and empowerment festival. Beginning her professional career in musical theater in the New York Tri-State area, Paula has toured as a featured vocalist with choral ensembles throughout Europe. She is the featured vocalist for progressive jazz group TB| Emancipation, and has played venues big and small including The Apollo Theater, The United Nations, and the WNYC Greene Space. As a playwright, Paula won the Howard Gilman Foundation Bronx Council on the Arts | Bronx Cultural Visions Fund award for her stage play Black American Working Woman, which had its Manhattan workshop at the Episcopal Actors’ Guild Theater in summer 2024. Recently, she received a 2026 Support for Artists grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support her creative work. Employing the arts as an envelope of illustration for her concept Perception to Decisions: How we see ourselves is how we will be ourselves, Paula has presented at several conferences including TEDx Deer Park. Join Paula as she continues to produce stories of trials and triumph, helping audiences imagine their path of possibilities.
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I am so very grateful to (finally) announce that I am a NYSCA Support for Artists 2026 awardee for playwriting. 🤯 💯🎉🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 #AGtGA
Official announcement: Paula Ralph Birkett is awarded a New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant awardee. She received a Support for Artists grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support her creative work. Sponsored by Fractured Atlas, this award will fund a new musical theater work. Through New York State’s continued investment in arts and culture, NYSCA has awarded millions in FY 2026 to arts and culture nonprofits across all 10 regions and a historic number of artists. “New York’s arts and culture sector is a cornerstone of the state’s identity, and we’re making bold investments to ensure it remains strong,” Governor Hochul said. “These grants will lift up artists and organizations in every region, fueling local economies and expanding access to the arts. Congratulations to all the grantees – your talent and dedication help power New York’s future”
I was selected by the Bronx Council of the Arts (BCA) as a Concept Development grantee for the Bronx Council 2023 cohort of the Bronx Cultural Visions Fund! The Bronx Cultural Visions Fund (BCVF), a regrant from the Howard Gilman Foundation, represents a significant investment in the Bronx’s performing arts scene.