A resource list of individuals and organizations to explore that understand art as a powerful way to push for positive change. Just a few to get our wheels turning.
YouScan Company Overview - Social Media Listening with Visual Insights.pdf
Art and advocacy
1. Art and Advocacy
During our recent webinar on letters to the editor we discussed ways to express opinions, educate and build
support utilizing art and images. People were looking for places to start to explore this alternate and powerful
way of pushing for positive change. There are of course countless, amazing examples out there, but here are a
few to get your wheels turning.
Monument Quilt
The Monument Quilt is a project of FORCE, a group working to change the conversation around consent
and sexual violence. The goal of the quilt is to create healing space by and for survivors of domestic and
sexual violence. They are organizing workshops throughout the country to give people the opportunity to
make quilt squares to share their story or to advocate with and for survivors. The long-term goal is a
display of the quilt on the National Mall in Washington, DC to make a strong statement of support and
push for positive change.
Contact: upsettingrape@gmail.com
Artists United for Reproductive Justice (AURJ)
Artists United for Reproductive Justice (AURJ) is a program of SisterSong, the national, women of
color reproductive justice collective. AURJ works to push communities beyond just telling stories
and toward recalibrating reality through artistic mediums that allow for reclamation of space,
representation, visuals, narrative, history, and community that is uncensored and fearless.
Creating art is a way of fighting back against distorted discourse and images that erase and
dismiss the voices of those most marginalized in the fight for reproductive justice. The first cohort
of artists will begin work in 2016.
Contact: info@sistersong.net
2. Mama’s Day
Mama’s Day is a project of Strong Families and Forward Together. The goal is to utilize Mother’s Day to
talk about the fact that mamahood is not one size fits all and that families can come in many forms, as
well as to ensure that all mamas are seen and honored. A big piece of the campaign are images that can
be shared as electronic postcards or posted as images.
Contact: info@forwardtogether.org
Repeal Hyde Art Project
Founded by Megan Smith, the Repeal Hyde Art Project raises awareness and creates dialogue about the Hyde
Amendment, which denies health coverage for abortion care for people who use Medicaid benefits. The Project
accomplishes its mission through collaborative arts and shareable graphic content. It is a colorful, optimistic, and
interactive response to Hyde that reflects the self-determination of the people who have overcome barriers and the hope
for change. They also recognize that the Hyde Amendment has a disproportionate impact on women of color and exists
within a multi-layered, oppressive environment. They strive to create intersectional dialogue that links abortion access to
other related issues: a dialogue which reflects the complex realities of our lives.
Contact: megan@repealhydeartproject.org
3. These are just some of the incredible projects and programs aimed at using art to raise awareness and push for
positive, transformative change. Do you know of other projects we should check out? Contact us at
info@healthyandfreetn.org.
CultureStrike
CultureStrike empowers artists to dream big, disrupt the status quo, and envision a truly just world rooted in
shared humanity. As risk-takers with the creative audacity to think beyond today's boxes, artists play a powerful
role in inciting conversations, inventing new ways of thinking, and redefining the limits of what's possible. They
believe cultural work is key to creating systemic change.
Contact: info@culturestrike.org