And workshop participants!
Read about Steve, Tracy, Rachel, and each other
Workshop Leaders
Steve Lambert (he/him) is the Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Artistic Activism.
Steve’s father, a former Franciscan monk, and mother, an ex-Dominican nun, imbued the values of dedication, study, poverty, and service to others – qualities which prepared him for life as an artistic activist.
In the late 90’s he found himself in the San Francisco court system defending himself against illegal evictions that would have made him homeless, while at the same time trying to complete his art training. Since then he’s worked to mesh the practical, outcome-based world of activism with the aesthetics, emotion, and experimentation of the arts.
In 2008 Lambert, with the Yes Men, organized with hundreds of people on “The New York Times Special Edition,” a utopian version of the paper announcing the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other good news. In 2011 he built a 20 x 9 foot sign that reads CAPITALISM WORKS FOR ME!, that allows passers by to vote true or false, and has toured it across the United States, Europe, and Australia.
Lambert’s work has been shown both nationally and internationally, from art galleries to protest marches to Times Square, featured in four documentary films, and over two dozen books, and collected by museums and The Library of Congress. Lambert has presented at the United Nations several times. His research is included in a United Nations report on the impact of advertising on cultural rights and form the basis of a book analyzing popular understandings of capitalism. He was a Senior Fellow at New York’s Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology from 2006-2010, developed and led workshops for Creative Capital Foundation, and is currently Associate Professor of New Media at SUNY Purchase. Steve has advanced degrees from a reputable art school and respected state university. He dropped out of high school in 1993.
Steve Lambert co-founded the Center for Artistic Activism with Steve Duncombe in 2009.
Tracy Brown (she/her) is a Workshop Leader at the Center for Artistic Activism.
Tracy is also an Independent Curator, Artivist (Artist Activist) and Capacity Building Consultant. She is a seasoned visual artist and community worker who was born in San Francisco and has worked in communities of color all over the world. Tracy received her MA in Arts Politics (Art and Public Policy) from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
She curated the Same Game Different Smokers exhibition which is an exploration of the aggressively pernicious relationship the tobacco industry has had with the Black Community over the last 400+ years.
She was recognized by the Alameda County Department of Public Health for her outstanding contributions to the successful efforts to end the sale of menthol and all other flavored tobacco. Tracy has also spent more than a decade documenting the memorialization and funerary practices of people of the West African Diaspora and has taught and presented photography and visual culture in remote villages and urban centers. Today, Tracy enjoys success as an installation artist, curator, guest lecturer, respected ritual photographer, Cultural Arts Capacity Building Consultant, panel moderator and so much more. Learn more about Tracy & her work at http://thetracybrown.com.
Tracy joined the Center for Artistic Activism in March 2022.
Rachel Gita Karp (she/her) is the Program Director of Unstoppable Voters at the Center for Artistic Activism. Through Unstoppable Voters, Rachel supports bold, strategic, and ambitious organizations, people, and projects that protect the freedom to vote with creativity and innovation. She’s helped over 50 pro-voter groups and over 300 artists and activists via training, community-building, mentorship, and more.
This work builds off of and feeds Rachel’s decade-plus background making activist performances for voting and voters, reproductive freedom, and increased gender representation in politics.
Rachel has developed and directed new performances about these topics and more across the country, through theaters and organizations including The Drama League, Clubbed Thumb, Irondale, Mabou Mines, Ars Nova, Brooklyn Arts Council, the Center for Artistic Activism, the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics, Actors Theatre of Louisville, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, The Wild Project, The Brick, The Flea, IRT, Dixon Place, Philly Fringe, PlayPenn, Incubator Arts Project, Women Center Stage, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Barn Arts, Monson Arts, Orchard Project, the Powerhouse and Samuel French Festivals, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Process Series, Chatham University, Columbia University’s graduate and undergraduate schools, and Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. www.rachelgitakarp.com
Rachel joined the Center for Artistic Activism in September 2020.
Workshop Participants
Mattie Bell (they/them). I’m a Hub Coordinator for the Sunrise Movement (young people, climate change, good jobs), currently Outreach Coordinator and Facebook Manager for the VoteNoKansas PAC, and on my local Sustainability Advisory Board. I’ve got a cute little muscle dog named Lola, I garden (with middling success), and I like to draw fanart of shows I enjoy.
Anthony Mai (he/him) MSW is a community organizer based out of Wichita, KS. His passion includes increasing Asian American mental health services through culturally-inclusive workplace diversification and through open dialogue to destigmatize mental health. Anthony has a strong background in macro-level social work, primarily coalition developing and inclusive policy consulting. In his free time, Anthony loves playing his guitar, writing songs, hanging out with friends and family, and going to the gym.
Rija Nazir (she/her) is a community organizer for Loud Light and a senior at Wichita State University majoring in Political Science with a minor in Spanish. Rija’s passion for law and public policy began during high school while taking related courses. Since then, she has interned for local campaigns, worked with the International Rescue Committee of Wichita, and has even had the opportunity to testify before the Kansas House of Representatives. Through Loud Light, Rija has mobilized young and marginalized Wichitans, and has acquired the skills of digital organizing amid the pandemic to educate Kansans from across the state. Currently, Rija is the lead organizer of Vote Neigh (ksvoteneigh.com), a western-themed, abortion-positive campaign to inform and mobilize young Kansans to vote no to the anti-choice “Value them Both” amendment on August 2nd. After graduating in December, she plans to continue community based work for Loud Light before attending law school in the Fall of 2023 to continue her passion for advocacy.
Birdie Alt (they/them). Student Power Campaign Organizer, Loud Light.
JJ Briscoe (he/him). Fellow, Public Citizen & Declaration for an American Democracy. Student, NYU.
Ariel Dillon (she/her). Community Engagement Intern, Root the Power.
Erin Kruse (they them). Program Coordinator, Climate + Energy Project.
Anita Austin (she/her). Program Director, Loud Light.
Logan Byrd (she/her). Legislative Organizer, Loud Light.
Donnovan Dillon (he/him). Student Power Campaign Organizer, Loud Light.
Lydia Humphries (they/them/she/her). Preparator, Chainlink.
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