Alexia Kemerling, a 2024 Center for Artistic Activism Unstoppable Voters Fellow, comes to us from the American Association of People with Disabilities.
Alexia used creative methods to win big.
“I often come into activism from a space of frustration, as I believe many people do.
Artistic activism training taught me to spend less energy being angry at the way things are and more energy on imagining a better future.”
From Frustration to Inspiration
My goal is to guarantee polling place accessibility for the millions of Americans with disabilities. After the Center for Artistic Activism’s training, I changed my approach.
I moved away from focusing on the failures and enforcing the necessity. And I moved toward convincing more people to see access the way I do. To me an accessible future is something fun, inspiring, and most all: possible.
Disability justice activist Mia Mingus says, “Access is Love.” However, for poll workers learning new information and working under pressure, access might feel confusing or hard.
Previous advocacy in this space has relied on conducting audits or advocating for more training, which are important strategies that have helped. With Unstoppable Voters, I tried something creative.
I created a mini comic book called Be an Accessible Democracy Ally
The comic illustrated the barriers at polling places while adding a sense of magic to the solutions. The book was colorful, fun, and short. I also created a digital plain text version to make it accessible to blind or low vision poll workers.
Then, at a one-day state elections training for 200 election workers (hello, target audience!) we hosted a booth. Our booth was complete with a colorful comic-book city backdrop, our comic books, eye-catching signs, and special Accessible Democracy Ally pins. We also engaged visitors with a spin-the-wheel game that got attendees into conversations around disabled voters’ experiences and accessibility.
Rather than being met with weariness or defensiveness when asking poll workers to learn something new, we were met with curiosity, joy, openness — and even relief.
Choosing a creative method was scary!
Embracing silliness on an important topic felt unnatural at first. But criticism doesn’t motivate people on the ground to commit to make changes.
What does work is:
- Inviting people in
- Celebrating them
- Choosing fame over shame
Creating something memorable that cuts through the noise is worth it to make a lasting impact. That means you have to try something new.
Get innovative with your activism
Take your activism to the next level with Center for Artistic Activism training and resources!
- Apply for Art for the Polls training – deadline August 2
- Explore our free toolkits for creative civic engagement
- Join one of our Happy Hours and share your ideas and questions
Support Work like Alexia’s
Many other artists, advocates, and activists deserve the training and support Alexia received to make all of their efforts as effective as possible.
Donate today and help us amplify the impact of artistic activism in communities around the world. Your gift will support programs like Unstoppable Voters which empowers folks like Alexia to create innovative and effective campaigns that win.
We’re looking for 44 more supporters to hit our summer goal and continue our work through 2024.
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