Art Meets Activism: A Cultural Organizing Workshop in Charlotte, NC

On October 18, 2014, over thirty artists, activists, neighborhood leaders & youth from Charlotte gathered for a Cultural Organizing workshop, produced by Arts & Democracy in collaboration with the UNCC’s College of Art + Architecture and the Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP)

The gathering took place in the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte at the Behailu Academy, attracting residents from the neighborhoods of Enderly Park, Seversville, Washington Heights, Reid Park and Thomasboro as well as individual artists and cultural organizations from across Charlotte and neighboring Concord.

In the morning, the group, which ranged from 11-70 years old, participated in sociometric mapping and a Junebug Production style story circle process. A framing conversation shared Arts & Democracy Project’s working definition and key elements and values of Cultural Organizing.

After lunch, amalia deloney, of Arts & Democracy facilitated a dialogue with artists, activists, and cultural workers from Charlotte, Concord, Wilmington and Manhattan. This included: A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas, Working Films, The Empowerment Project and fabNYC. 

The day ended with a conversation about the potential for collaboration and joint action on a range of issues, and a brainstorm on how to keep the momentum going.

For more information on the gathering, check out the Twitter coverage at #CLT_culturalorg and at storify.

Agenda:

9:30 am  Registration

10:00am  Welcome

10:15am  Introductions & Mapping

11:00am  Cultural Organizing Introduction

11:30am  Story Circles

12:15pm  Lunch

1:00pm    Dialogue with artists, activists & cultural workers  

• Anna Lee, Working Films
• Toni Tupponce, Sign of the Times
• Sunya Folayan, The Empowerment Project Inc.
• Tamara Greenfield, Fourth Arts Block

2:00pm    Break out conversations

3:00pm    Group report backs

3:30pm    Next steps and closing