Our methodology combined quantitative and qualitative research to assess the Center for Artistic Activism’s impact. It included data collection from workshops, surveys, interviews, and evaluations. Responses were analyzed for recurring themes, which were grouped into eight categories, revealing how C4AA’s training influences strategy, creativity, community engagement, and advocacy outcomes worldwide.
Tag Archives: research
Study: 15 Years of Impact
We wanted to understand what effect we’ve had in our decade and a half of existence, so we commissioned this self-study of our impact. The project seeks to understand the Center’s impact on people and communities at multiple levels.
Transformative Impact Framework
By analyzing data from surveys, interviews, feedback, and statements from 15 years of Center for Artistic Activism alumni, key impact themes emerged. Initially identifying 30 themes, we condensed them into eight categories.
Journal Rappé (Senegal)
Through the training, Journal Rappe integrated structured processes and strategic planning into its creative work. This clarity improved project execution and enhanced the team’s ability to communicate strategies effectively with both internal collaborators and external stakeholders.
SWEAT (South Africa)
The Center provided SWEAT with the tools to bridge theory and practice, enhancing both their internal team and broader movements by making their activism more strategic, effective, and creatively impactful.
Fair Count (USA)
The training by the Center transformed Jeanine Abrams McLean’s, approach to civic engagement. She learned to integrate joy with creativity and strategic objectives, moving beyond enthusiastic efforts to structured, impactful projects.
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (USA)
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign described working with The Center for Artistic Activism as a game-changer. When they first got involved in 2021, The Center helped them create a redistricting Loteria game to engage the community on crucial local issues.
Ewura Adams (Ghana)
Ewura Adams Karim, a theater for development professional and social behavioral change expert in Ghana, first engaged with the Center for Artistic Activism in 2019 at the Art Action Academy in Senegal. The training, centered on anti-corruption and non-traditional approaches, profoundly influenced his work, sparking creative strategies for social impact. “The training was phenomenal. It …
Free the Vaccine (Global)
Free the Vaccine used creative tactics like books, songs, performances, and art to innovate online activism. With in-person protests limited, the Center helped activists rethink organizing, introducing fresh, disruptive ideas.
Transgender Europe (The Balkans)
Innovative approaches in the Western Balkans redefined support for trans and intersex communities, addressing healthcare challenges. The impact was evident in the Trans Day of Remembrance, shifting from mourning to celebrating resilience and solidarity.
Democrasexy (USA)
Becky Bullard credits C4AA with building her confidence to embrace unconventional methods, showing that bold experimentation can lead to significant impact.
Roshani Thakore (USA)
The Center’s training enabled Rohani’s team to move beyond “problem-solving” into a more reflective and audience-focused practice, fostering meaningful engagement.
University of Corrupted Sciences (Albania)
The Center’s training equipped activists from the Balkans with innovative strategies to make activism more impactful, emphasizing audience engagement and interaction.
Timeline: 15 years of the Center
View highlights from our first 15 years.
The Powers of Art
Art is powerful. And social scientists can tell us why. A couple years ago, Center for Artistic Activism Executive Director Rebecca Bray started to research what social scientists tell us about the powers of art. She dug into the literature looking at the role art and creativity play in our world. Rebecca wanted to put …
Towards an International Research Co-Lab on Artistic Activism
Last week we held a second meeting to give shape to what we are calling an international research collaboratory (co-lab) on artistic activism. This is an initiative bringing together researchers from the Aoteroa/New Zealand, China, Denmark, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our collective objective is to generate a …
Continue reading “Towards an International Research Co-Lab on Artistic Activism”
Creative vs. Conventional Activism – Published in Social Movement Studies Journal
The Center for Artistic Activism’s Stephen Duncombe and Silas Harrebye’s evidence-based, empirical study demonstrates the effectiveness of creative activism.
How to talk about voter suppression
How do you talk about voter suppression and election issues without amplifying the doubts and fears seeded by those who benefit from voter suppression? This resource we’ve been sharing with our Unstoppable Voters Project participants. It’s an interview with Anat Shenker-Osorio in Rolling Stone: “There’s a Right and a Wrong Way to Talk About Trump’s …
The Copenhagen Experiment: The Report
This is the first ever public experiment on the comparative efficacy and afficacy of artistic activism vs more traditional forms of activist intervention.
The Copenhagen Experiment
This is the first ever public experiment on the comparative efficacy and afficacy of artistic activism vs more traditional forms of activist intervention.