FIND RESOURCES
Here all of our resources are collected together. Find a resource based on a geography, issue, cultural practice, or impact by using the map and menus below.
Cultural Organizing Working Definition and Framework
Workshops
Something Else is Possible
Some of the most powerful change happens in the intersections of generations, cultures, sectors, and geographies. Collected here are stories about these intersections and the people who make them. They are strategic artists and creative organizers, activist anthropologists, poetic politicians, and loving family members. All are engaged in the deeply creative act of believing that something else is possible.
SEIU Collaboration
- Video by Linebreak Media about Arts & Democracy collaboration with SEIU
- Video by Thenmozhi Soundararajan from her collaboration with SEIU Local 521
Muslim Women Write the Body
Muslim Women Write the Body was a series of workshops organized with writer Roohi Choudhry (Nov-May, 2022), focused on Muslim identity and the gray areas of faith, particularly for women. Participants explored their identities in relation to past, present, and future, considering gender, culture and more. Choudhry and guest artists Nsenga Knight, Demo Ibrahim, Hala Shah, Aizzah Fatima led workshops on Zoom with follow up debrief and coaching sessions. The creative work was presented live at our annual Community Iftar on the Avenue C Plaza.
Community Iftar
Getting Out the Vote with the Arts!
Cultural Organizing for Community Change 2022
Arts & Democracy and Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY) presented Cultural Organizing for Community Change, a virtual event on January 8th. Workshop presenters included Jose Richard Aviles, Sage Crump, amalia deloney, Dustin Gibson, Kayhan Irani, Maxine Rebeles, James Rojas, Juan Ruiz, Carlton Turner, The United States Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC), Ayako Maruyama, Urban Bush Women, and Rosten Woo.
Storytelling in Crisis
The virtual dialogue, Storytelling in Crisis, presented by Storyline, Arts & Democracy, The Laundromat Project, Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY) and US Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC) explored strategies for crafting storytelling responses that center care and connection, amplify resistance, and support resiliency. We heard from storytellers who have learned from their experience of making work grappling with pandemics; epidemics; and natural, social, political and economic disasters. Michael Premo (Storyline) facilitated a discussion with Steven Thrasher (Northwestern University), Nick Slie (Mondo Bizarro, Cry You One, I -10 Witness Project), and Regina Campbell (Rikers Public memory Project).
Midwest , Northeast , Southeast , Criminal Justice , Health , Human Rights / Social Justice , Film / Video / Audio / Digital , Theater / Performance / Spoken Word , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Alliance / Movement / Field Building , Community Engagement , Political Engagement , Policy / Law Change
Program
Prokash / Reveal
Led by artist Monica Jahan Bose, the bilingual workshop series Prokash/Reveal took place from July - Oct 2021 providing an opportunity for immigrants and first generation youth to bridge multigenerational points of views related to identity, immigration, and biculturalism. The culminating performance on October 9 at the Ave C Plaza in Kensington, Brooklyn featured a community scroll that connected the tapestries created by participants and an open mic.
Northeast , Environment , Human Rights / Social Justice , Immigration , Visual Art , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Community Engagement
Program
Kensington Cares
Kensington Cares honored community members who led mutual aid efforts in Kensington, Brooklyn. We created this public art exhibition at the Ave C Plaza with photographers Anna and Jordan Rathkopf, Photoville, and ArtBuilt. Programming around the exhibit included a community celebration honoring the groups featured in the photographs and a neighborhood food tour. The exhibit was included in Photoville's fall festival and featured at our October concert on the plaza.
Northeast , Health , Human Rights / Social Justice , Visual Art , Community Engagement
Program
A Quest for Home Upside Down Edition
Cultural Organizing for Community Change 2020
National , Northeast , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Alliance / Movement / Field Building
Program
Activating the Cultural Power of a Movement
On Oct 9, 2020, Arts & Democracy, The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, and NOCD-NY convened Activating the Cultural Power of a Movement, an event that showcased inspiring, movement based organizations across the country. The webinar featured presentations by leaders from racial justice, environmental justice, immigrant rights, and economic justice groups including Michelle Ramos (Executive Director, Alternate ROOTS), Angeles Solis (Director of Worker Organizing, Make the Road Action), Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson (a member of Movement for Black Lives’ policy table leadership team), Charon Hribar (Revivals Coordinator, Poor People's Campaign), and Nina Eichner (Creative Projects Manager, Sunrise Movement).
Artwork by Melanie Cervantes, Dignidad Rebelde
We Decide: Arts, Culture, and Voting Power
Arts & Democracy joined with The US Department of Arts and Culture to convene We Decide: Arts, Culture, and Voting Power to learn how arts, culture, and creative media can reimagine our democracy and revitalize civic participation, with a focus on historically disenfranchised communities. We heard from artists and cultural organizers working in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Wisconsin as well as those working nationally. Presenters included Andrea Assaf, Dr. Rob “Biko” Baker, Trupania “Trap” Bonner, amalia deloney, and Savannah Romero and call participants shared their work as well.
Artwork by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya
National , Midwest , Southeast , Southwest , Cultural / Media Policy , Democracy , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Alliance / Movement / Field Building
Program
Staying In It With You
A 2020 Bridge Conversation by Ron Ragin and Judi Jennings
NOCD-NY
- NOCD-NY website
PB NYC
- Participatory Budgeting video by Meerkat Media
- Participatory Budgeting NYC website
We Count!
Every 10 years the constitution of the United States of America requires that every single person living in this country be counted, everyone. It is not merely a head count, it is the basis of our democracy and it informs and influences our lives. As a cultural community we can play a special role to make sure that the communities that we care about are counted in the 2020 census. This Op Ed by The Laundromat Project, Arts & Democracy, and Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY is a call to action to the cultural community to make sure that everyone gets counted.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change 2019
A Quest For Home
Every Saturday morning for six weeks, 10 strangers with different paths came together to write away their thoughts. At first, they all believed they had nothing in common. But they all yearned for love and acceptance. They were all on a quest for home. Read here about this journey and download the Zine that grew out of this workshop with Roohi Choudhry.
Northeast , Human Rights / Social Justice , Immigration , Literary , Multi / Inter-disciplinary
Program
Walking the Talk: Putting Racial and Cultural Equity Values into Practice
- Personal Practice in Working Towards Racial Equity, Kathy Hsieh
- Practical Real Talk About Equity, Keryl McCord
National , Cultural / Media Policy , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Policy / Law Change
Program
Cultural Organizing for Community Change 2018
Creative Placemaking from the Community Up
Arts + Participatory Budgeting
See What the People Can Do: The Accomplishments of the People's Budget
on May 6, from 1-2:30 PM
On this free walk, we learned more about PB, visited projects that our community chose to invest in, & spoke with City Councilmember Brad Lander, who helped bring PB to NY.
Above and Beyond Borders
and members of the New Sanctuary Coalition's art wing. It was facilitated by Raquel de Anda, No Longer Empty.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change, Brooklyn 2017
Cultural Organizing for Community Change, Brooklyn 2016
Creative Housing Activism and Engagement
Adda Art
- AddaArt workshop flyer
- AddaArt performance flyer
Social Media Workshop
Story Circle on the Right to Belong
Internet and Social Change: Building Culturally, Politically, and Technologically Connected Communities
Internet + Social Change, Building Culturally, Polically, and Technologically Connected Communities interactive workshop. National sponsors were Arts & Democracy and Media Democracy Fund. Local partners included Behailu Academy, PowerUp NC, QC Family Tree, and The Tribe. Special guests included Center for Media Justice, Color of Change, Coworker.org, and Media Mobilizing Project.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change, Brooklyn 2015
Creative Transformation: Arts, Culture, and Public Housing Communities
Recognizing an opportunity to further integrate arts and culture into the transformation of public housing communities, NOCD-NY brought together a diverse range of tenant leaders, residents, elected officials and staff, city agencies, artists, cultural institutions, advocates, funders and community organizations in an Arts, Culturem and Public Housing Roundtable on July 27, 2015. Drawing on interviews carried out in the field, the roundtable was designed to:
• Showcase exemplary partnerships that illustrated equitable, long-term approaches
• Identify barriers and challenges
• Develop recommendations and discuss how to move them into action
• Identify pilot project(s) that could be supported
• Build and strengthened relationships amongst participants.
2015 KY Cultural Organizing Learning Exchange
Toolkits for Creative Change
This call featured: Envisioning Development by the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP); Making Waves by The Culture Group; and the People's Creative Toolkit/Herramientas Populares, Arts & Democracy's soon-to-launch collaboration with SEIU Local 26, Rogue Citizen, and Line Break Media.
2014 Cultural Organizing for Community Change, Brooklyn NY
At Groundswell, Reel Works and Spaceworks, 540 President Street, Brooklyn
Organizers, artists, media makers, educators, and policymakers came together to learn effective ways to deepen our work and engage our creativity in organizing for community change. The day included a cultural organizing framework, hands-on skill building workshops, case studies, resources, and networking opportunities.
Co-sponsored with Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY)
Art Meets Activism: A Cultural Organizing Workshop in Charlotte, North Carolina
October 18, 2014, Behailu Academy, Charlotte, NC
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).
Animating PB with Arts & Culture
Climate Justice: Arts, Culture, and Creative Action
This call featured presentations on creative projects leading up to the People's Climate March and beyond. It was cosponsored by the People's Climate March Arts Team.
National , Environment , Visual Art , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Alliance / Movement / Field Building , Policy / Law Change
Program
Just Economies: Part 2
just and democratic economies Part 2, July 22, 2014
In the face of growing economic inequity, people around the country are coming together to reimagine and rebuild their economies and communities based on the values of equity, democracy, cooperation, self-determination and sustainability. This New York City focused call featured the POINT, Solidarity NYC, Trade School, Our Goods, and The Rockefeller Foundation's support of the area of work. The call was cosponored by NOCD-NY.
Cultural Organizing for Social Change in New Orleans
Two dozen artists and activists from the New Orleans area gathered for the 4th annual Cultural Organizing workshop, produced by Arts & Democracy in collaboration with Junebug Productions.
Just Economies: Part 1
just and democratic economies Part 1, July 10, 2014
In the face of growing economic inequity, people around the country are coming together to reimagine and rebuild their economies and communities based on the values of equity, democracy, cooperation, self-determination and sustainability. This nationally focused call highlighted examples from Jackson Mississippi, Eastern Kentucky, and from Native communities across the country.
National , Southeast , Economic Justice / Labor , Traditional Cultural and Spiritual , Community Engagement
Program
Strategies for Cultural Planning
Municipalities, arts councils, and community-based organizations around the country engage in cultural planning in order to better engage their communities, identify and build on resources, and integrate the arts and culture into larger community development strategies. This call featured presentations from two veterans of cultural planning: Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Co-Director, Animating Democracy, and Tom Borrup, Principal, Creative Community Builders.
Cultural Organizing for Social Change, Frankfort, KY
Saturday, May 10, 2014, KY Domestic Violence Association, Frankfort, KY
Over 40 artists, organizers, activists and policy advocates from across Kentucky and beyond came together to participate in this day long workshop focused on Cultural Organizing for Social Change in Kentucky. While the group was quite diverse, they shared a belief in the power of art & culture to advance social justice for all Kentuckians. The purpose of the workshop was to connect individuals, organizations and resources to create and sustain cultural organizing as a statewide strategy.
Culture, Planning, and Community Engagement
This experiential mini-course investigated arts and culture, broadly defined, as a critical part of envisioning and building an equitable and sustainable Atlanta. Through site visits, tours, cultural events, and conversations with practitioners and policymakers representing multiple perspectives, we explored the intersection between arts and culture and participatory planning.
Rural Engagement
This call featured of panel of people with deep experience in rural engagement: Ben Strand, University of Wisconsin Foundation, former development director for Young Auditorium in Whitewater, WI; Maria De Leon; Executive Director of National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and NEA Council member; Bob Gates, folklorist, formerly of KY and LA Arts Councils, and winner of a lifetime achievement prize from the American Folklife Society; and Frumie Selchen, Executive Director, Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire, and 2013 Governor's Award honoree for Arts Leadership. NOTE: the beginning of this call was dropped due to technical difficulties. The first speaker is Maria De Leon.
PB workshops and Expo
Education for Liberation Through Arts and Culture
This call brought together Khmer Girls in Action (KGA), Save Ethnic Studies / Xican@ Institute for Teaching & Organizing, and Project HIP-HOP (Highways Into the Past, History, Organizing, and Power), all supporting liberatory educational practices through engagement with culture and the arts. They explored the possibilities and challenges of practicing — and fighting for — culturally relevant, creative, liberating education.
Rural Art and Culture Yields Big Impact
Judi Jennings, Kentucky Foundation for Women and Savannah Barrett, Art of the Rural discuss Feminist Art: Advancing Social Change in Rural Kentucky, an innovative digital mapping project documenting the powerful and transformative work taking place across rural Kentucky.
Rural , Southeast , Cultural / Media Policy , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Alliance / Movement / Field Building
Program
Arts and Culture for a Just and Equitable City
Dear Mayor-Elect de Blasio, City Council Members (new and continuing), and Transition Team Members,
Congratulations! We, leaders from across sectors, write to share how arts and culture can and should play a vital role in achieving the inspirational One City Rising platform.
Arts and Culture for a Just and Equitable City
This policy brief by Arts & Democracy, Groundswell, and Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts New York (NOCD-NY) recommends maximizing the role of arts and culture to advance a transition agenda for a just and equitable New York City. Art and culture can provide the inspiration, tools, and capacity needed to unify New York City into one city for all.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change - Brooklyn
Cultural Organizing for Community Change provided a space where artists, media makers, organizers and policy makers could learn effective ways to deepen their work and strengthen their capacity to connect creativity, culture, and organizing for community change.
Cultural Organizing for Social Justice SEIU Healthcare PA Leadership Assembly Lancaster, PA
Valuing the Intersection Between Arts, Culture, & Community
Arts and Activism 101: Arts as a Catalyst for Social Change, Los Angeles, CA
What Would it Look Like if NYC invested $50 Million in its Communities?
New York City’s recent capital investment of $50 million dollars in the Culture Shed mega project begs the question – how would a $50 million dollar capital investment in the culture and wellbeing of New York City’s diverse neighborhoods look?
Northeast , Community / Regional Development , Cultural / Media Policy , Multi / Inter-disciplinary
Program
Artful Relief
How Arts and Culture Can Advance a Neighborhood-Centered Progressive Agenda
Northeast , Community / Regional Development , Cultural / Media Policy , Policy / Law Change
Program
From Media to Action: Creative Engagement and Organizing Strategies
As Working Films says, "we know that stories lead to action." From Media to Action: Creative Engagement and Organizing Strategies featured: Fruitvale Station, Herman's House, Land of Opportunity, and 13 in the Hole. The newsletter includes additional strategies for creative community engagement and campaigns for social change that move people to action.
Creative Recovery and Cultural Resiliency
Forced to Flee: Exiled Voices & Visions for Justice
Emotions conveyed and evoked by art and culture can open hearts and minds, heal and transform, build community across difference, and promote peace, equality and justice, advancing positive social change. In Forced to Flee, we heard from refugee artists, artists forced into exile, cultural organizers and their allies, as they spoke about how they are using the power of art and culture to amplify the voices and visions of those forced to flee their countries of origin.
From the Neighborhood Up: A Citywide Forum on Culture and Community
Cultural Organizing for Community Change, Frankfort, KY
Cultural Organizing for Community Change (Frankfort, KY) provided a space where artists, activists, cultural workers, organizers and educators from across Kentucky came together to strengthen their relationships, and deepen their capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination, and culture for social justice organizing. This participatory workshop featured case studies, tools, strategies, networking and relationship building.
Culture, Planning, and Community Engagement Course
This experiential mini-course for Pratt Institute's Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development investigated arts and culture, broadly defined, as a critical part of envisioning and building an equitable and sustainable Chicago. Through site visits, tours, and conversations with practitioners and policymakers we explored the intersection between arts, culture, media and participatory planning.
Creative Engagement and a Moral Economy for All
Stories & Places
Cultural practice and artistic expression breathe life into communities.They create opportunities for individuals and institutions to transform their sense of self and relationships with one another, and share their local traditions and ways of being.
This conference call looks at the power of place-based culture to create community narratives, advance racial and economic equity, promote participatory democracy, and foster self-determination and inclusion in rural communities. We will hear from five presenters about culturally-based work in a diverse range of contexts addressing themes that include traditional practice, opportunities for young people as emerging leaders, cultural economies, ecological and cultural stewardship and cross-sector partnerships.
Cultural Organizing Weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana
Placemaking and Belonging
February 13, 2013
We hear a lot about creative placemaking these days. Some like the term and others don't. On this conference call, presenters discussed what sorts of creative placemaking practices strengthen self-determination and belonging within a community. The call illustrated the power of place-based arts and culture as an integral part of equitable, democratic, and culturally vital communities and explored placemaking in the digital sphere.
- Creative Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-Belonging by Roberto Bedoya
Northeast , West , Southwest , Community / Regional Development , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Community Engagement , Policy / Law Change
Program
Making Change in Chinatown
Relief & Recovery: The Transformative Power of Arts & Culture Conference Call
We know the power of arts and culture to heal and transform, connect people and build community. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, artists and cultural organizers stepped up to use their creativity to rebuild the city and rebuild community. They are helping people tell their stories and sing together, offering cultural and wellness activities in evacuation shelters, organizing benefits, and providing leadership to recovery efforts. They've helped to restore dignity, build community, make connections, and heal.
International , Democracy , Human Rights / Social Justice , Multi / Inter-disciplinary
Program
Humanity After the Storm
Election Call: This is What Democracy Looks Like
This call highlighted the great work that is happening in civic participation, arts and culture. It addressed elections as well as the ongoing work to strengthen our democracy. The call featured presenters from across the country who are working to protect voting rights and make sure that those who have been historically disconnected from decisionmaking have opportunities to participate.
Ice sculpture by Ligorno/Reese melted at the two political conventions
What Democracy Looks Like
Creative Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-belongong
Cultural Organizing for Community Change, Brooklyn, NY
Cultural Organizing for Community Change provided a space where artists, media makers, organizers and policy makers could learn effective ways to deepen their work and strengthen their capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination and organizing for community change. The workshop included cultural organizing framework, skill building workshops, networking opportunities, and an intergenerational conversation with cultural organizers.
- BAC Sample
Participatory Budgeting NYC Creative Resources
Spacing Out: Innovative Urban Uses of Cultural Space
Northeast , Cultural / Media Policy , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Community Engagement
Program
Cultural Organizing: Integrating Arts & Culture with Organizing
Cultural organizing is a core practice of the Arts & Democracy Project that exists at the intersection of arts, culture and activism. Cultural organizing integrates arts and culture into organizing strategies. It is also about organizing from a particular tradition, cultural identity, and community of place or worldview to advance social and economic justice. This call will focus on four different approaches to to this practice.
Shifting Culture Making Change
Civil Rights, Human Rights, and A Moral Economy for All
Urban Bush Women at SEIU Convention
Guest Blog by Maria Bauman, Urban Bush Women
The convention felt like a family reunion, with members addressing one another as “Sister” or “Brother,” and receiving warm greetings and rousing affirmations from SEIU president Mary Kay Henry. The Colorado Convention Center had become the largest organizing hub I have ever seen; think of a kitchen or a black church and then magnify times 10,000!
SEIU artist residencies
National , Midwest , Southeast , Southwest , Economic Justice / Labor , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Alliance / Movement / Field Building
Program
From the SEIU convention!
California local 521 about to perform
Arts & Democracy Testifies at City Council Hearing
(Photo: Dave Sanders)
Home-buying With Artists in Mind
Culture, Planning, and Community Engagement
Animating Democracy Has a New Web Site!
Animating Democracy's new web site is inspirational, informative, and promotes and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to community, civic, and social change. Animating Democracy co-director Pam Korza takes us on a tour of this great new resource.
Time to Vote!
Creative Engagement: From Civic Dialogue to Direct Democracy
March 7, 2012
The conference call focused on creative engagement through civic dialogue, cultural asset mapping, and participatory budgeting.
Welcome to Our New Web Site!
We’re so happy to have this attractive new online home. We think this site is better able to explain our work, share resources, and highlight some of the exciting work our partners and allies are doing in the field.
Read on for an introduction to some of the features you’ll find here...
We've Been Busy!
The Line: An Unemployment Demonstration March 6
Cultural Organizing for Community Recovery
Art is My Occupation
Arts, Culture & Environmental Justice Organizing
January 24, 2012
This conference call focused on how people and organizations across the country are bringing the power of arts and culture to bear on the environmental devastation that is disproportionately affecting poor communities and communities of color.
Cultural Organizing: Experiences at the Intersection of Art & Activism
This paper explores the power of cultural organizing with examples of groups and individuals placing art and culture at the center of organizing strategies: organizing from a particular cultural identity, community of place, or worldview. It highlights the work of Third World Majority, Raices, M.U.G.A.B.E.E. and Ricardo Levins Morales.
Civil rights , Community / Regional Development , Economic Justice / Labor , Environment , Human Rights / Social Justice , Immigration , Film / Video / Audio / Digital , Traditional Cultural and Spiritual , Visual Art , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Education / Awareness Raising , Alliance / Movement / Field Building , Political Engagement
Program
An Introduction to the Profiles
When the Arts & Democracy Project began in 2005, we spoke with artists and activists from across the country who are exemplars at connecting arts, culture, media, and civic participation. We wanted to know more about the work they did. What made it succeed? What challenges did they face? What did they need to increase the impact of their work? We commissioned a series of profiles to document these conversations; some were updated in 2011-2012. "Insights from Arts and Civic Engagement: 13 Profiles" an essay by Lena Richardson, identifies key themes and insights.
Activating the Creativity of Community Development
Jeremy Liu and Gayle Isa talk about the spaces ‘in between’.
By Gayle Isa
Occupy Movements: Art, Culture & Creative Action
This conference call focused on how arts, culture and creative actions are being used as part of the 99% movement across the country.
Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Community Engagement , Political Engagement , Policy / Law Change
Program
Image from Housing is a Human Right
Artists in a Movement Moment
Aesthetics and Mathematics of Social Change
Dee Davis and Michelle Miller discuss the art of strategic communications.
By Michelle Miller
Anthropology as Social Activism
Alaka Wali and R. Lena Richardson on drumming circles, sustainable conservation, and valuing difference.
By R. Lena Richardson
Breaking Out of a Bifurcated World
A conversation about the powerfully transformative and at times, painfully fragmented practice of philanthropy.
By Caron Atlas
Quilt at Hopscotch House
Kentucky Foundation for Women Workshop
You Can’t Evict an Idea Whose Time Has Come
By Caron Atlas
At the recent Policy Link Conference in Detroit, at a session called “Holding Ground,” presenters spoke about maintaining equity in a time of cutbacks. At the end of the session, one of the younger audience members asked where in all this talk of holding ground were the progressive ideas, the vision for the future. His question significantly shifted the room.
Connecting Action and Academia in California's Central Valley
Isao Fujimoto and Tim Marema on the power of ‘edgewalking’.
By Tim Marema
Back to the Future (Part One)
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. We have a responsibility to those who will come after us.
These simple yet powerful concepts have been echoing in my head the past few days in New Mexico where I participated in a roundtable discussion held at the Institute of American Indian Arts sponsored by the Open Society Foundations, First People’s Fund, and Arts & Democracy Project. The people I met and the stories I heard reinforced the power of the arts – and more importantly culture – in transforming our communities.
Highlights from a Gathering on Cultural Organizing and Climate Solutions
Report from a day-long meeting in New York involving musicians, artists, filmmakers, photographers, theater groups, festival producers, chefs and others working to raise public awareness about the threat of climate change and the promise of clean energy. Sponsored by the Chorus Foundation, the gathering was organized and facilitated by Farhad Ebrahimi, Betsy Taylor, Cuong Hoang, and Lauren Nutter. Arts & Democracy presented on arts and social justice organizing.
Creating With a Sense of Strategic Practice
Maribel Alvarez and Jason Bulluck on paying attention to the ‘little stuff', engaging in critical discourse, and understanding how power can be shaken up.
By Jason Bulluck
BCC: Building Collaborative Capacity - NYC
Creating Transformative Spaces
Harriet Barlow and Kathy Engel talk about the Commons and crossing borders.
By Kathy Engel
Don't Hesitate, Communicate: Fusing Arts, Culture and Social Change
Up From the Roots: Economic and Cultural Equity in Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts
NOCD-NY (The Naturally Occurring Cultural District Working Group)
- Play the NOCD audio postcard
- Visit the NOCD-NY website
Walking the Talk and Talking the Walk
Arts & Democracy Project hosted a People's Potluck in Brooklyn. The potluck was part of a series of artist-led conversations and meals focused on interdependence taking place in the summer of 2011 created by MAPP International Productions in collaboration with Samita Sinha and Create Collective.
From the Highway to Nowhere to the Power of Place
In June and July I was fortunate to attend ROOTS Fest National Learning Exchange in West Baltimore, the Rural Cultural Roundtable in St Paul, and the freeDimensional retreat on Wasan Island in Canada. While diverse in focus, the three events were all grounded in the power of place, culture and creative agency. Collectively they made me reflect on how we can take active roles in creating communities that reflect our values.
Creative Responses to the 10th Anniversary of 9/11
This conference call focused on the 10 Year Anniversary of 9/11 and the programs, cultural convenings and artwork that have helped to heal, facilitate dialogue, build community and move us forward.
Radio for Community, Art and Culture
This conference call focused on the power of radio in fostering art, culture and community. It provided informattion about an exciting upcoming opportunity for community groups to start their own radio stations.
- See the slide presentation associated with the call
- Radio for Community Art, and Culture Resource Newsletter
Cultural Organizing and Collaborating Across Sectors at the National Rural Assembly
Jeremy Frey Porcupine basket c/o Maine Indian Basketmakers Association
Rural Cultural Roundtable
Cultural Organizing Workshop at ROOTS Fest
Artists who are dedicated to social justice often find themselves organizing their communities, their audiences, or even other artists. But what does it mean to be an 'organizer'? This workshop took place during ROOTS Fest's National Learning Exchange and explored the intersection between culture and organizing. (June, 2011)
Arts & Economic Justice
This nation-wide conference call was focused on the role of the arts, culture and media in economic justice organizing and movement building in communities across the U.S.
Music, Memory and Imagination
Two separate, yet related–events made me think about music and memory, and the healing properties they offer together.
Fabulous February of Freedom
February 2011 was the busiest month of my life. I participated in a revolution that toppled a corrupt regime after 30 years of dictatorship.
Pro-Democracy Organizing in the Middle East & Beyond
Focusing on events in Egypt and the extraordinary pro-democracy movements sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East, this conference call highlights how artists, art spaces and cultural organizers in the region and in the U.S. are participating and responding, and how more cultural workers can engage in positive ways.
Cultural Organizing for Community Recovery, New Orleans
Update on Belarus Free Theater
Little Globe Crosstown #4, Santa Fe Bus Opera - photo Chris Jonas
Inspirations from 2010
Looking back on 2010, I am inspired by the grace and power of the imagination in the midst of challenging times.
Cultural Organizing for Social Justice Idea Forum
How we can further our work by connecting with one another and with sustained strategies for social justice and movement building? This Idea Forum at the 2010 National Performance Network meeting in Dallas, Texas explored this questions with examples of creative activism and cultural organizing. (December, 2010)
Arts & Equitable Development
November 2010
This conference call focuses on the arts and equitable development work that is being conducted in Brooklyn, NY; Harlan County, KY; Skid Row, Los Angeles; and beyond.
A New Movement for Humanization
When I first met Grace Lee Boggs in 2003 she transformed me, along with everyone else. Boggs embodies the US Social Forum concept of "another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary," and she celebrated her 95 birthday at the Detroit Social Forum in 2010, looking to the future.
Breaking out of a Bifurcated World
Activist Artist and Media Justice Networking Dinner
National , Urban , West , Cultural / Media Policy , Human Rights / Social Justice , Alliance / Movement / Field Building
Program
Chicago Networking the Networks Dinner
Arts & Culture Resources for Election Participation
This newsletter offers nonpartisan resources, opportunities, and events that join creativity and civic participation - during the election cycle - and beyond.
Reportback on the Creative Resistance Retreat
By Caron Atlas
A Rural Conversation
- Part 1: http://vimeo.com/15508085
- Part 2: http://vimeo.com/15508267
Ricardo Levins Morales Reportback on the U.S. Social Forum
Cross-posted from his e-newsletter, reflections from artist Ricardo Levins Morales on his time at the U.S. Social Forum.
Javiera Benavente's Reportback on U.S. Social Forum
On June 22-26, 2010 the 2nd US Social Forum took place in Detroit, MI, and brought together thousands of people from around the country (and beyond) to participate in a movement-building process that distinguishes itself by focusing on creating space "to come up with peoples' solutions to the economic and ecological crisis" we face in the world today.
Immigrant Rights Organizing
As ongoing immigration battles are waged in our own backyards, this resource newsletter shares information and cultural organizing resources that are related to migrant and immigrant justice.
National , Southwest , Immigration , Theater / Performance / Spoken Word , Visual Art
Program
Detroit U.S. Social Forum Workshops and Creativity Lab
Image from the Art Dept. Chronicles
Open Internet
A free and open Internet has become a necessity, not a luxury, for all aspects of art and democracy. As laws tighten and access is further limited, this newsletter offers resources that assist in understanding issues and offer opportunities to take action.
National , Cultural / Media Policy , Film / Video / Audio / Digital , Policy / Law Change
Program
Creative Recovery: Culture, Planning, and Community Engagement course
Taking Over and Talking Back
Brooklyn Networking the Networks dinner
White House Briefing on Art, Community, Social Justice and Recovery
Cultural Organizing at the Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed Conference
This multiracial, intergenerational, and multidisciplinary dialogue between civically engaged artists, cultural organizers, and scholars focused on the intersection between art, culture, and organizing around social change. It addressed both tensions as well as synergies in this work and offered examples of different approaches – some generated by artists and some generated by community organizers. (Minnapolis, May, 2009)
Cross-ÂSector Partnerships and the Role of the Arts in Policy and Systems Change
By Erik Takeshita and Anusha Venkataraman
In April of 2009, 27 participants from the arts, community development, education and other diverse sectors around the country met at California State Monterey Bay as part of the Community Arts Convening and Research Project to discuss “Cross-Sector Partnership and the Role of the Arts in Policy and Systems Change.” This is the report from that session.Arts and Activism Convening in partnership with Nathan Cummings Foundation
Cultural Organizing for Progressive Change session at the National Organizers Alliance Gathering VI
Cultural Organizing for Progressive Change at Michigan Policy Summit
The session explored the power of cultural organizing to expand who is included in organizing and how they are included, creatively frame and communicate visions of change, encourage critical thinking, break down fear, and humanize polarized issues. (Lansing, May 2008)
From Activist Art to Cultural Organizing at Intersection V conference
An interdisciplinary dialogue between artists and organizers, co-organized with New World Theatre, that provided frameworks and went deeper into examples and issues related to cultural organizing. What's the difference between issue-based art and cultural organizing? What are some of the successes and challenges artists and organizers have experienced in working together? Where does your work fit in the spectrum? (Amherst, MA April 2008)
Learning Community Gathering
Hip Hop artist and activist gathering
In this strategic conversation, cosponsored with the League of Young Voters, Hip Hop artists, presenters, and activists shared their plans for 2008 and how they might collaborate in their work.
State of the Nation Gathering
Highlander 75th Anniversary Celebration Gathering
This gathering took place as part of the Highlander Center’s 75th Anniversary and followed a one-day institute on cultural organizing that was also part of the celebration. The goal of Highlander was and is to provide education and support to poor and working people fighting economic injustice, poverty, prejudice, and environmental destruction. Presenters at the gathering included: co-facilitators Anasa Trautman, Highlander Center; Caron Atlas and Javiera Benavente, Arts & Democracy Project; Amelia Kirby, Appalshop; Carlton Turner, Alternate Roots; Michelle Miller, SEIU; Mathew Jones, SNCC Freedom Singers; and Baldemar Velazquez, Farm Labor Organizer Committee.
Atlanta United States Social Forum
The Arts & Democracy Project’s session on cultural organizing at the first-ever USSF in Atlanta had a standing room only crowd of 60 people. (June 2007)
Rural Cultural Organizer Gathering
This was a small 1.5 day-long strategic national gathering of cultural organizers cosponsored by the Main Street Project /Raices, Center for Rural Strategies, and the Humboldt Area Foundation in Klamath, CA, April 2007. Also participating were Alternate Roots, Appalshop, Central Valley Partnership for Citizenship, Llano Grande Center, Feral Arts, United Indian Health Services, and Northland Poster Collective.
Imaging the Frame, Framing the Image
In the first years of the Arts & Democracy Project we co-convened small conversations to learn about the needs and interests of artists and activists across the country. Our first one, cosponsored with the New Progressive Coalition, took place at la Pena in Berkeley, bringing together over twenty Bay Area artists, activists, and cultural organizers for a discussion about the relationship between framing, community cultural development, arts, and organizing. (March 2007)
Cultural Organizing: A Conversation at the Intersection
Arts & Democracy BAC Local Arts Support sample
Report on Latino Culture & Traditional Arts in TN
Tennessee Arts Commission hired Norma E. Cantú, Ph.D., to carry out a fact finding mission in West, Middle and East Tennessee to meet with representative members of Latino communities and learn about Latino culture and traditional arts in the state. This is the report that resulted from this inquiry.
Southeast
ACCESS and the Arab American National Museum
All-Ages Movement Project
Appalshop and Robert Salyer
Future of Music Coalition
Hip Hop Congress
Los Angeles Poverty Department
League of Young Voters
Marty Pottenger
Sojourn Theatre
Northwest , Education , Peace , Theater / Performance / Spoken Word , Policy / Law Change
Program
Urban Bush Women
We Got Issues!
Working Films
Crossing the Borders of Culture and Politics
Paul Chin and Vanessa Whang talk about animating a Latin American idea in the U.S..
By Vanessa Whang
Direct and Indirect Approaches to Community Change
Littleglobe and SouthWest Organizing Project talk about finding a relationship between community-engaged arts and organizing.
By Valerie Martinez, Robby Rodriguez, Molly Sturges, and Rosina Roibal
Finding Common Language Between Artists and Community Organizers
The second Bridge Conversation between Littleglobe and SouthWest Organizing Project about their ongoing collaboration.
Incarceration, Fatherhood, and Artmaking
Carol Fennelly and Ayo Ngozi on artmaking with fathers and children in federal and state prisons.
By Ayo Ngozi and Carol Fennelly
National , Northeast , Civil rights , Criminal Justice , Human Rights / Social Justice , Multi / Inter-disciplinary , Direct Action
Program
Innovative Approaches to Linking Nonprofit and For-profit Models
Adam Huttler and Ruby Lerner on entrepreneurial arts service organizations.
By Adam Forest Huttler
Interweave of Culture and Ecology
Ken Wilson and Caron Atlas talk about cultural context and creative philanthropy.
By Caron Atlas
Listening to the Stories Underneath the Work We Do
Paula Allen and R. Lena Richardson talk about traditional arts and culture as resources for Native community health.
By R. Lena Richardson
Multifaceted Art of Community Planning
Ron Shiffman and Anusha Venkataraman consider the intersections of organizing, creative practice, and community-based development.
By Anusha Venkataraman
New Paradigms of Artful Change
A discussion about whether art can be as powerful a vehicle for change as it can be a bastion for maintaining the status quo.
By Dudley Cocke, Peter Pennekamp, and Craig McGarvey
Organic and Traditional Bridging
Francisco Guajardo and Edyael Casaperalta on intentionality, consciousness, and creating new opportunities.
By Edyael Casaperalta
Rural , Southwest , Community / Regional Development , Democracy , Education , Immigration , Film / Video / Audio / Digital , Traditional Cultural and Spiritual , Education / Awareness Raising , Alliance / Movement / Field Building , Community Engagement , Policy / Law Change , Leadership and Skill Development
Program
Planning the Revolution over Collards
Tufara Waller Muhammad and Javiera Benavente talk about arts and culture in Southern organizing and the danger of spotlighting individuals.
By Javiera Benavente
Regional , Southeast , Civil rights , Community / Regional Development , Economic Justice / Labor , Environment , Human Rights / Social Justice , Music , Theater / Performance / Spoken Word , Traditional Cultural and Spiritual , Education / Awareness Raising , Community Engagement , Political Engagement
Program
Politics and Humanity
Mark Ritchie and Caron Atlas talk about balancing work and life.
By Caron Atlas
Power of Art To Move People
Ismael Ahmed and Anan Ameri discuss the extraordinary model of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS).
By Anan Ameri
Spiritual Core of Indigenous Social Justice
Tia Oros Peters and Vanessa Whang talk about maintaining your vision and integrity in rooms of power.
By Vanessa Whang
Tensions and Synergies of Being Strategic and Creative
Brad Lander and Esther Robinson discuss organizing and art, anthropological listening, and whether being holistic is important.
By Esther Robinson
Theater and Banned Cultural Expression in Belarus
freeDimensional talks with the Belarus Free Theatre.
By Todd Lester and Carolin Wiedemann
Who Will Carry the Work Forward?
An intergenerational conversation at the State of the Nation festival and a tribute to Nayo Watkins.
By Caron Atlas, R. Lena Richardson, and Carlton Turner
Arts of Regional Change
The Art of Regional Change (ARC) brings together scholars, students, artists, and community groups to collaborate on media arts projects that strengthen communities, generate engaged scholarship, and inform regional decision making. Founded by media artist jesikah maria ross, ARC is a joint project of the University of California at Davis Humanities Institute and the UC Davis Center for Regional Change.
A Youth Voices Curriculum Resource and Guidebook developed to help other communities engage in similar projects is planned for spring 2012.
Center for Urban Pedagogy
The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) Making Policy Public series of foldout posters uses graphic design to explore and explain public policy. Each poster is the result of collaboration between a designer, an advocate, and CUP. To date, CUP has produced eight posters/instructional pamphlets on issues ranging from affordable housing to the rights of domestic workers.
Operation Paydirt / Fundred Dollar Bill Project
Operation Paydirt/Fundred Dollar Bill Project (Paydirt/Fundred) is a multidisciplinary, artist-driven project addressing the national crisis of lead-contaminated soil. With the self-expression of the young people most affected by lead contamination, these projects propose a solution that incorporates demonstrated scientific procedure. The approach extends across disciplines of art, science, and education and is sensitive to aspects of community development and urban infrastructure.
Not In Our Town (NIOT)
Not in Our Town (NIOT) is a national organization that creates films and video, and facilitates convenings to help communities working together to stop hate through creative anti-bias programs and responses. Anchored by a social networking website, NIOT documents and shares initiatives, helps link individuals and groups, and provides guidance for positive intergroup responses to hateful actions. Aired on PBS stations on September 21, 2011 (http://www.niot.org/lightinthedarkness), and screened at venues around the country, Light in the Darkness is the latest in a series of films produced by the Working Group of NIOT. In addition to their documentary work, NIOT has produced over 45 videos (http://www.niot.org/videos).
Llano Grande
The Llano Grande Center for Research and Development’s vision is to inspire a youth culture that aspires to attend college and engage in community change. Beginning informally in the early 1990s with activities intended to show Edcouch-Elsa High School students in Texas that college was both possible and necessary for them, the Llano Grande Center was formalized in 1997 as a program of the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District (EEISD). The center has trained students, educators, and community development agents locally, nationally, and internationally on how to distinguish, tell, and use their story to achieve community change.
- Llano Grande : More Videos
Sojourn Theatre
Sojourn Theatre is an ensemble of ten core artists creating new performances in Portland, Oregon, and around the country. Their innovative work shares a goal of bringing together strangers to collectively experience and strategize in arts-based civic dialogue projects. Sojourn’s members are nationally recognized for their innovation as artists and engagement practitioners, and the company’s work is featured regularly at conferences and universities nationwide as a "best practice model" for arts-based civic dialogue projects.
The Strength of Scribe, Where Videos Give Voice to Unheard Stories
Scribe Video Center came into being in December 1982. It was founded by Louis Massiah as a place where individuals and communities could learn media making and explore the use of video as both an artistic medium and a tool for progressive social change. The center has grown in size from a small rented workshop space to an internationally recognized media arts education center in a 4,000-square-foot loft that has helped thousands of people and over 150 community groups document their passions and concerns in some 200 videos produced with the center’s support.