What We Do

Welcome to the Center for Artistic Activism!
We make social and environmental change more effective – and more creative.

(Which in turn makes it more effective.)

We train and advise organizations, grant-makers, and individuals to excel in activism and advocacy through creativity and culture.

Our innovative methodology, backed by research, along with our creator-led evaluation frameworks lead the field. We are informed by multi-year national programs like Unstoppable Voters as well as on-the-ground training experience in dozens of countries on six continents. Our tools and resources are shared freely to make our insights accessible to all.

Explore how we can help:

• Advocacy Organizations: We specialize in helping groups develop new and impactful campaigns.
• Grantmakers: We assist funders in developing and supporting creative advocacy strategies.
• Arts Organizations: We guide arts groups in using the arts for social and environmental justice.
• Individuals: We offer resources, courses, and a community for those interested in artistic activism.

C4AA and Advocacy Organizations

Unlock the Power of Artistic Activism

At the Center for Artistic Activism, we empower advocacy groups to harness the impact of creativity and culture in their campaigns. Our expertise has helped hundreds of organizations achieve remarkable results through innovative strategies and training.

Staff tell us our training and mentoring brings about new strategies and tactics, a renewed sense of purpose, and individual creativity and joy that moves the organization forward while preventing burnout.

Our Services:

• Creative Strategy Advising: Develop long-term engagement strategies with creativity at the core.
• Trainings and Talks: Inspiring presentations and interactive workshops, online and in-person.
• Professional Development: Practical skills training for advocacy staff and volunteers.
• Research & Assessment: Expert guidance on measuring success and adjusting practices.
• Creative Campaign Mentoring: Hands-on support for innovative campaign implementation.
• Unstoppable Voters: Specialized support available for voting organizations through trainings, fellowships, and more.

Resources:

• Tools and Information: Access our free assessment app, Creative Campaign Kits, and more.

Recent Collaborations:

We’re proud to have worked with a diverse range of organizations and initiatives, including:

• Cleveland Votes: Co-creating the More Than My Art workshop series to engage the Cleveland creative community in civic action.
• Greenpeace South Africa: Training artists to collaborate on alternative energy economic solutions.
• People for the American Way: Mobilizing artists for social impact.
• Open Society Foundations: Integrating creative communities into human rights work globally through the Arts and Culture program.
• A Blade of Grass: Conducting research to inform innovative artist-led organizational models and strategic plans.

Campaign Case Study: Kansas Vote Neigh

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C4AA and Grantmakers

Empowering Funders, Amplifying Impact

We partner with funders to support their grantees in developing innovative advocacy strategies and projects leveraging all the powers of art.

Our Services for Funders:

• Creative Strategy Advising: Include long-term engagement with creative strategies in your portfolio, including new approaches to working with grantees and soliciting proposals.
• Trainings and Talks: Engaging presentations and interactive workshops on creative activism, online and in-person.
• Professional Development: We help program officers and foundation staff understand artistic activism best practices so they can assess proposals, as well as supporting their grantees and mission.
• Research & Assessment: We believe assessment is most useful not at the end, but when it informs practices still in process. Together we can define organization, grantee, and mission led metrics aligned to reveal what success uniquely looks like for your teams – and help realize it.

Recent Partnerships:

We’re proud to have collaborated with:

• Open Society Foundations: Implementing impactful creative advocacy strategies through strategic planning, staff trainings, assessment research, and developing multi-year projects.
• A Blade of Grass: Co-creating innovative approaches to support artist-led social change initiatives.

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For Arts Organizations

Unlock the Power of Art for Social Change

The Center for Artistic Activism helps arts organizations tap into the unique and transformative potential of art and artists to advance their advocacy, social justice, and environmental sustainability goals.

Resources for Lasting Impact

• Creative Strategy Advising: Develop effective strategies for long term engagement with social and environmental justice.
• Trainings and Talks: We deliver inspiring, useful presentations and interactive workshops online and in person.
• Research & Assessment: Stay ahead with our cutting-edge research on creative activism. We’ll help you set goals, measure success, and refine your approach with methods tailored to your organization and community.

Trusted Partnerships

We’ve collaborated with innovative organizations like:

• A Blade of Grass
• Recess Arts
• Public Assistants

Email us a quick note if you think you’d like to work with us.

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For Individuals

Unleash Your Creative Power for Change

The Center for Artistic Activism offers a range of resources to help individuals like you harness the powers of art for social change.

• Fellowships: occasionally we are able to offer fellowships for specific projects and campaigns. Join our mailing list to get the latest updates.
• Internships: Stay tuned for occasional opportunities to work with us via our mailing list.

Explore, Share, and Get Inspired

• Resources: Dive deep into our library of tools, including webinars, publications, videos, and more. Get started with our founders’ book, The Art of Activism.
• Actipedia: Discover a world of artistic activism in our user-generated database of actions from across the globe.

Stay Connected and Informed

Join our mailing list to be the first to know about new resources, opportunities, and updates from the Center for Artistic Activism.