School for Creative Activism

The School for Creative Activism is a participatory workshop infusing community organizing and civic engagement with culture and creativity.

Hosting The School for Creative Activism

To bring the SCA to your community contact the Center for Artistic Activism directly.

What is The School for Creative Activism?

Working directly with organizers and community actors, the SCA leverages the strengths of grassroots activism and the attention grabbing and complex messaging of art through a curriculum designed to:

• Teach cultural tactics and creative strategies employed effectively by organizers in the past.
• Recognize and draw upon the cultural resources and creative talents residing within individuals, organizations, and communities in the present.
• Collectively run scenarios and plan campaigns that utilize culture and creativity.
• Build a network of organizers and artists using a model of creative organizing more effective in our media-saturated, spectacle-savvy world.

The first rule of activism is to know the terrain and use it to your advantage and the current political topography is one of symbols and signs, images and expressions. This is the avant-garde of activism today. From small community organizations to international NGOs, visionary activists are looking to broaden their base of appeal and the reach of their message by employing culture alongside more traditional organizing practices. Our training will help these organizations use innovative and creative ways to engage politics.

The SCA is not just about ‘better messaging,’ our goal is more effective organizing. Our curriculum updates the activist tool-kit through the reimagination and reconfiguration of tactics, strategy and organization in such a way that creativity and culture factors into every plan and every action.

Over the 2010-2011 year the SCA has run two training sessions working with local artists and Open Society Foundations organizing partners, one in the New York area, the other in North Carolina.

The School of Creative Activism is funded by a generous grant from The Democracy and Power fund of the Open Society Foundations (formerly Open Society Institute).

Testimonials

From SCA-New York participants:

“This was an incredibly inspiring weekend for me. pulling together long disparate threads of creativity and justice action into a kind of “a ha” moment. Seeing the history and theory of this kind of work opened up a Pandora’s Box inside my brain. I pledge never to be bored with activism again.”

“While I always believed that the creative was the way to go, I now have an historical and social/theoretical framework through which to articulate it, to share it,  to give it legitimacy, and to give myself confidence.”

“Very effective workshop! It was useful for me in terms of how I process my communication with the population I work with and the institutions I work through. It motivated me to think big!”

“I learned a lot and feel inspired to create and dream. Thank you!”

“The workshop was great. I can’t wait to flesh these concepts out and move into practice.”

“This was the best weekend ever!!!”

From SCA- North Carolina participants:

“SCA was exactly what I needed to get my creative juices flowing again. Combined with healing laughter and critical thinking, the creative space was food for the soul. I will be better in my practice because of this weekend.”

“Thank you. I am encouraged now to start each action in the spirit of liberation and bring my full creative self forward.”

“This is serious stuff. I like being reminded and pushed to ‘Imagine.’”

“Thank you for the reminder and the permission to have a big vision, be absurd, dream crazy and be creative. Watch us now!”