ART IS CHANGE: Strategies & Skills for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers

Bill Cleveland
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  • Arts
  • Updated Semiweekly

Can your art help dismantle injustice, shift systems, or spark healing in places like homeless shelters, emergency rooms, or city planning meetings? If you’re passionate about making a real difference through creativity, ART IS CHANGE (formerly known as Change the Story / Change the World) is your front-row seat to the real-world impact of art and social change. Hosted by author, musician, and researcher Bill Cleveland, each episode brings you deep into the lives and work of activist artists and cultural organizers who are doing more than dreaming—they’re transforming communities around the world. You’ll discover: • Proven strategies for thriving as an artist for change in complex, real-world settings • How to build meaningful, lasting partnerships that support your mission and your art • Lessons from global leaders creating cultural blueprints for justice, empathy, and resilience ▶️ Start with fan-favorite Episodes 86 and 87: Lessons From an Art and Change Pioneer—a double-dose of inspiration and practical insight.- https://change-the-story-chan.captivate.fm/episode/bighart-bigstory-redux/

  1. 4d ago

    194: Liz Lerman: The Horizontal, the Critical, and the Heretic's Path

    Can an artist who comes from outside a community become an effective partner in creating change? That was the question we explored in an earlier episode of our Building Blocks of Effective Community Arts Practice series. And in our recent conversation with Eric Gottesman, we heard one compelling answer. His experiences in Ethiopia—and later with For Freedoms—taught him to stop acting as the sole author and begin making work with communities through questions, shared authority, and collective storytelling. Our next guest, choreographer and community artist Liz Lerman, takes that conversation further. Through what she calls “the horizontal,” she shows us how artists can bring their knowledge into a community without placing it above everyone else’s. In this episode, we explore: The Horizontal — how leadership and expertise can be shared without disappearing.Critical Response — a feedback practice built around curiosity, consent, and respect.The Heretic’s Path — how artists can challenge established systems while staying in relationship with them. So, as you listen, consider what becomes possible when expertise is joined by humility, curiosity, and a willingness to share power. Notable MentionsDance Exchange: (Previously, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange) Fueled by generosity and curiosity, Dance Exchange expands who gets to dance, where dance happens, what dance is about, and why dance matters. Dance Exchange harnesses the power of creativity and inquiry through dance to connect communities, to deepen our understanding of ourselves and to foster a more embodied, resilient and just world. Critical Response Process: Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process is a method for giving and getting feedback on work in progress, designed to leave the maker eager and motivated to get back to work. is Creative Pee-Posh (Maricopa): The Maricopa people were small bands living along the lower Gila and Colorado rivers. Each of these bands migrated eastward at different times. The Xalychidom (Maricopa of Lehi), left around 1825-1830. The last of these bands is said to have left the Colorado River in the late 1830’s. Eventually these bands came together and became collectively known as the Maricopa. As they migrated eastward, they came upon the Pima tribe and established a relationship. Both tribes provided protection against the Yuman and Apache tribes. Tohono O’odham: The Tohono O’odham Nation is comparable in size to the state of Connecticut. Its four non-contiguous segments total more than 2.8 million acres at an elevation of 2,674 feet. Within its land the Nation has established an Industrial Park that is located near Tucson. Tenants of the Industrial Park include Caterpillar, the maker of heavy equipment; the Desert Diamond Casino, an enterprise of the Nation; and, an 23 acre foreign trade zone. of Wisconsin with a sociologist named Pearlman. Freedom Schools: The Freedom Schools of the 1960s were part of a long line of efforts to liberate people from oppression using the tool of popular education, including secret schools in the 18th and 19th centuries for enslaved Africans; labor schools during the early 20th century; and the Citizenship Schools formed by Septima Clark and others in the 1950s. Anna Halprin: was an American choreographer and dancer. She helped redefine dance in postwar America and pioneer the experimental art form known as postmodern dance and referred to herself as a breaker of the rules of modern dance.[4] In the 1950s, she established the San Francisco Dancers' Workshop to give artists like her a place to practice their art. Exploring the capabilities of her own body, she created a systematic way of moving using kinesthetic awareness.[5 Florence West, dance Milwaukee: Modern dance in Milwaukee begins with Florence West (1912-1994). West left Milwaukee at seventeen to dance in a Broadway road show, quit when she discovered ballet during a tour stop in Detroit, and found her way into the corps of the Chicago Civic Opera ballet. A Milwaukee opera producer asked her to come home to add choreography to a local production of Carmen. She soon became the go-to dance person for Milwaukee dance, theater, and opera companies. Amira de la Garza: After spending a year in Mexico as a Fulbright Scholar, her experiences with the everyday talk and life around her led her to develop methods to integrate the arts, spirituality, and personal reflection into the study of culture. She works with many border-related projects, and has had students from around the world travel with her to many places to learn the methods she teaches.Professor de la Garza reports her research using creative writing, poetry, fiction, and has often shared her research through staged performances. The California State Summer School for the Arts is a rigorous, preprofessional, month-long training program in the visual and performing arts, creative writing, animation and film for talented artists of high school age. CSSSA provides a supportive environment in which students hone acquired skills and explore new techniques and ideas for an intense and exciting learning experience. Ethel Butler, one of Liz’s teachers: From 1933 through 1945, Ethel Butler was a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company. She went on to become a well-known teacher of the Graham Technique, counting among her students Paul Taylor and Dan Wagoner. Sandy Spring Friends School: Sandy Spring Friends School is a progressive, coeducational, college preparatory Quaker school serving students from preschool through 12th grade. SSFS offers an optional 5- and 7- day boarding program in the Middle School and Upper School. Art in Other Places, William Cleveland, Artists have established a remarkable record of innovation and success in institutional settings. Their work with hospital patients, prisoners, the elderly, the disabled, the mentally ill, and others has shown that the arts can have a significant positive impact on the lives of these people. This book recounts the histories of 22 institutional and community arts programs across the country pioneering this approach through activities such as creative writing and the performing and visual arts.Rabbi, Danny Zemel. Wicked Bodies: Inspired by powerful and grotesque images of women’s bodies over multiple historic periods, Liz Lerman’s Wicked Bodies, is an intimate spectacle, brings together several consistent themes of my choreographic output: – the invisible ways and means of feminine thinking and action which have been celebrated, erased, or criminalized; – legal systems that attempt but often fail to bend our actions towards a fairer and more just world; and – how we as a group of intergenerational artists bring our personal lives to the stage within characters that are imagining futures Anand Giridharadas, The Persuaders is a stunning insider account of activists, politicians, educators, and everyday citizens who are on the ground working to change minds, bridge divisions, and fight for democracy. Anat Shanker Osorio: Host of the a href="https://wordstowinby-pod.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

  2. Sep 2

    193: Eric Gottesman Asks: Whose Questions Get Asked -Whose Story is Told?

    What happens an artist realizes that they can never be the only one with questions?From that reckoning, artist Eric Gottesman spent the next twenty-five years rethinking what an artist with a camera, or a big idea is actually for. In this conversation with Bill Cleveland, Gottesman traces his path from documentary photographer to collaborative image-maker in Addis Ababa's AIDS-affected communities, and eventually to co-founding For Freedoms, the artist-led initiative that has turned billboards, town halls, and even a Super PAC into tools for civic discourse. This is a conversation about authorship, collectivity, and the culture of inquiry at the heart of both artmaking and a thriving democracy. In this episode we explore: How asking the right question often matters more than delivering the right answer.Why Eric Gottesman says he has never made art alone. And why he thinks that's true for everyone.A “composite nation:” Drawing on Frederick Douglass, Gottesman is now developing projects that imagine an American identity built from multiplicity and complexity rather than a single official story. Notable MentionsPeople Eric Gottesman — Artist, educator, writer, and organizer whose collaborative work addresses nationalism, migration, structural violence, history, and civic life. He is a co-founder of For Freedoms. Wendy Ewald — Photographer and one of Gottesman’s mentors. Her decades of co-authored photography projects challenge conventional divisions between photographer, subject, observer, and author. Hank Willis Thomas — Conceptual artist and For Freedoms co-founder whose work examines identity, history, media, popular culture, and representation. Claudia L. Peña — Executive director of For Freedoms, UCLA law lecturer, and practitioner of transformative and restorative justice. She appears with Gottesman and Thomas in the episode’s Skoll World Forum excerpt. Baalu Girma — Influential Ethiopian journalist and novelist who disappeared after publishing Oromay, his critique of the Derg regime and its military campaign in Eritrea. Emily Shur — Photographer who worked with Hank Willis Thomas, Eric Gottesman, and Wyatt Gallery to create contemporary photographic versions of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms. Wyatt Gallery — Photographer, For Freedoms co-founder, and producer of the contemporary Four Freedoms project. Marc Bamuthi Joseph — Spoken-word artist, writer, librettist, and cultural strategist who developed the six questions at the heart of America, the Beautiful. aja monet — Poet, recording artist, storyteller, and organizer appearing in the October 3, 2026, America(!) the Beautiful(?) performance, which is part of For Freedom’s America, the Beautiful project. Derek Goldman — Director, playwright, educator, and co-founder of Georgetown University’s Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics. Gottesman and Cleveland cite his emphasis on care in cultural work. Ariel Fristoe — Founder and artistic director of Out of Hand Theater, whose work brings theater, social justice, and civic engagement together. Organizations, Institutions, and Places For Freedoms — Artist-led civic organization founded in 2016. It uses public art, billboards, exhibitions, town halls, and artist commissions to encourage listening, inquiry, belonging, and civic participation. Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University — The center at Duke University where Gottesman began his work in Ethiopia in partnership with Save the Children. Save the Children — International humanitarian organization that sent Gottesman to photograph the effects of drought in Ethiopia shortly after his graduation from Duke. The Charles F. Kettering Foundation — The Charles F. Kettering Foundation, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, operating foundation with a mission to advance inclusive democracies worldwide by fostering citizen engagement, promoting government accountability, and countering authoritarianism. Democracy and the Arts — The Kettering Foundation’s focus area for integrating the power of the arts into democratic life locally, nationally, and globally. Corcoran School of the Arts & Design — George Washington University school where Gottesman serves as the W.W. Corcoran Visiting Professor in Community Engagement and where For Freedoms has been in residence. Future Currents — Organization that helps movement leaders prepare for uncertain conditions and collaboratively imagine more inclusive, just, and democratic futures. U.S. Agency for International Development — Federal agency to which evidence of the Ethiopian drought was submitted to help prompt an international aid response. The episode conversation takes note of the agency’s dismantling and changed status. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The city in which Gottesman began collaborating with people living with HIV and with children whose parents had died of AIDS. Somali Region, Ethiopia — The drought-affected eastern region where Gottesman first confronted the power imbalances and ethical contradictions of humanitarian photography. Sheshatshiu, Labrador, Canada — Innu community where Gottesman later collaborated with Wendy Ewald and young residents on a cross-generational photographic and community-curated project. Projects, Artworks, and Events For Freedoms at the 2024 Skoll World Forum — The episode includes an excerpt from this presentation by Eric Gottesman, Hank Willis Thomas, and Claudia Peña about art, interdependence, democracy, and social change. The forum took place in Oxford (not London as stated in the podcast). Contemporary Four Freedoms — For Freedoms’ expansive reimagining of Rockwell’s four paintings. More than 100 participants created 82 images representing a broader range of American identities; its Freedom of Worship appeared on the cover of TIME. Question Bridge: Black Males — Collaborative project...

    193: Eric Gottesman Asks: Whose Questions Get Asked -Whose Story is Told?

  3. Aug 25

    192: Can Art Build Trust & Love Between Separated Communities?

    What can happen when art carries people across boundaries they rarely cross? in 2019, a remarkable theater project brought together two very different communities: rural largely white Brussels, Illinois, and the predominantly Black St. Louis-area communities of Normandy and Pagedale, Missouri. Separated by the Mississippi River—and by race, geography, and very different assumptions about one another—they became collaborators in a new version of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Under the direction of artist/activist/educator Kathi Bentley students, teachers, residents, artists, and audiences traveled by bus and ferry between the two communities. Along the way, strangers became castmates, hosts, guests, and friends. This reprise show is the first in a four-episode journey exploring what can happen when artists enter communities, cross into unfamiliar territory, and create the conditions for people to hear and change one another’s stories. Threshold Questions and Juicy Quotes:Can collective creation change settled world views? I mean, there are a couple of Mexican families in Brussels. They're no black folks. So, I would always kid that I was like, you know, that's a cute little house, and if I bought that, I'd be okay. Like, yeah. You know, for some of those students, this was prayerfully life changing in how they see folks and communities that are different than them and for our students from Normandy.Can we build lasting bridges between communities separated by race and culture? You’ve got to have people love each other. You’ve got to have people like, "Can't wait to see you at rehearsal."... because then on stage, I got your back ... that experience it was so affirming to me about the power of just having people just talk to each other, you know, so they fell in love with each other. I fell in love with them. What kind of leadership grows community ownership and accountability? I'm humbled by the whole experience. You know, because often people don't know or really care who the director is, and that's okay. That's my goal. So, it's nice to just be on the ferry and nobody know what my roll was in it and hear people like, this is so cool. Oh my gosh, I can't believe we're doing this.Notable MentionsBlackberry Productions St. Louis Shakespeare Festival: Shakespeare, in the Streets Art and Upheaval, Wedding Community Play. CHIPS Health: Community Health-In-Partnership Services (d/b/a CHIPS Health and Wellness Center) is the place where uninsured and underserved people in the St. Louis metropolitan area can receive free primary and preventive health care services. Bread and Roses Missouri An organization with the mission of organizing arts and humanities projects about workers and their families.

  4. Aug 19

    191: Tricia Rose Burt - This Is No Time For Artists to Be Timid!

    Tricia Rose Burt spent nearly fifteen years doing everything right — director of corporate communications, a career built inside Fidelity Investments and Harvard Business School, the whole stable, predictable life she was raised to want. Then a career counselor told her she needed freedom and art, and within a year she'd quit the job, sold the car, ended the marriage, and moved to an artist's studio in Ireland for what was supposed to be six months. She stayed four. Now she's a Moth storyteller, a TEDx speaker, and the host of No Time to Be Timid — a podcast built entirely around one idea: the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe. In this conversation, Tricia and Bill dig into what it actually costs to become someone else on purpose — and why fear, boredom, and failure aren't obstacles to the creative life, they're the price of admission. Three reasons to listen: The week she blew up her old life. Job, car, marriage — gone in seven days, on the strength of one priest's line: "Everyone will tell you the cost of going. No one will tell you the cost of staying."Even the pros get scared. Why a 22-time Grammy winner joining the Eagles and a Nashville hitmaker turned wheelchair-tech founder both told Tricia, on record, that fear never actually goes away — you just get better at using it.A 10-point manifesto for getting unstuck. From "practicality is overrated" to "constraints are opportunities" — the field-tested rules Tricia now hands to everyone from artists to executives. Notable MentionsNo Time to Be Timid — Tricia Rose Burt People Tricia Rose Burt — Speaker, storyteller, and podcast host who left a corporate career at Fidelity Investments and Harvard Business School to become an artist; host of No Time to Be Timid and a longtime storyteller and instructor for The Moth. Vince Gill — Grammy-winning country musician who joined the Eagles in 2017 following Glenn Frey's death; discussed on No Time to Be Timid the fear he still feels performing, including tackling the Beach Boys' notoriously difficult "Surf's Up." Barry Dean — Nashville hit songwriter ("Heartache Medication," "Pontoon") who co-founded the smart wheelchair technology company LUCI with his brother Jered after his daughter Katherine was born with cerebral palsy. Devin Finigan — Self-taught chef-owner of Aragosta at Goose Cove in Deer Isle, Maine, trained through stints at Per Se, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and The French Laundry; her restaurant was named among Food & Wine's top U.S. dining destinations in 2024 and 2025. Laura Wilson — American documentary photographer inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2019, known for her decade-plus access to photograph Montana's Hutterite communities; mother of actors Owen, Luke, and Andrew Wilson. Nell Painter — Princeton historian who, in her mid-60s, left academia to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, chronicled in her memoir Old in Art School; she is a past guest on Tricia's own podcast. The War and Treaty (Michael & Tanya Trotter) — Husband-and-wife Americana duo; Michael, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, found his voice singing at the funerals of fellow soldiers before he and Tanya began performing together. Amy Grant — Six-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and friend of Tricia's; discussed anticipating the excitement rather than the anxiety of returning to the stage after a decade away from releasing new music. Organizations & Institutions The Moth — Global nonprofit dedicated to live, unscripted personal storytelling; Tricia is a longtime storyteller and instructor for the organization. Fidelity Investments — Boston-based financial services firm where Tricia worked in corporate communications before her career pivot into the arts. Harvard Business School — Part of Tricia's original corporate career track before she left the business world for art school in Ireland. Aragosta at Goose Cove — Devin Finigan's destination restaurant and inn on Deer Isle, Maine, ranked among Food & Wine's top U.S. culinary destinations. LUCI Mobility — Smart technology company founded by songwriter Barry Dean and his brother Jered, building collision- and tip-prevention sensors for power wheelchairs. Books, Talks & Media No Time to Be Timid — Tricia's award-winning podcast (a Signal Award winner in Arts & Culture) featuring artists, entrepreneurs, and everyday people who made a bold creative leap. The No Time to Be Timid Manifesto — Tricia's 10-point guide to living more creatively, including principles like "the riskiest thing you can do is play it safe" and "constraints are opportunities." Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over — Nell Painter's memoir of leaving a celebrated academic career to earn a BFA and MFA in her 60s; a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. "How I Redeemed 35 Years of Regret" — Tricia's TEDxPortsmouth talk built around the idea that the biggest risk in life is playing it safe. Acknowledgements (FreeSound.org) Sounds from the forest by GirlWithSoundRecorder -- https://freesound.org/s/636921/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 Horses Whinnying.wav by LeandiViljoen -- https://freesound.org/s/502084/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 Pulse Breath with Bells_version 1.wav by phylobates -- https://freesound.org/s/493559/ -- License: Creative Commons *******Art Is CHANGE is a podcast that chronicles the power of art and community transformation, providing a platform for activist artists to share their experiences and gain the skills and strategies they need to thrive as agents of social change. Through compelling conversations with artist activists, artivists, and cultural organizers, the podcast explores how art and activism intersect to fuel cultural transformation and drive meaningful change. Guests discuss the challenges and triumphs of community arts, socially engaged art, and creative placemaking, offering insights into artist mentorship, building credibility, and communicating impact. Episodes delve into the realities of artist isolation, burnout, and funding for artists, while celebrating the role of artists in residence and creative leadership in shaping a more just and inclusive world. Whether you’re an emerging or established artist for social justice, this podcast offers inspiration, practical advice, and a sense of solidarity in the journey toward art and social change.

  5. Aug 12

    190: Who Tells America's Story?

    What happens when a government decides that one of the greatest threats to its future isn't an armed force — but a cultural institution?On July 4th, America's 250th birthday, the White House Domestic Policy Council released a 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History of "ideological capture." Twenty days later, the President signed a second executive order directing federal agencies to force the museum to change how it tells the country's story. Host Bill Cleveland lays out the specifics: the named exhibits, the named staff, the quiet stall in confirming new members of the Smithsonian's governing board — and asks what it means when a nation stops trusting itself to hold a complicated history. Drawing on decades of work with artists in Serbia, Cambodia, Northern Ireland, and Watts, California, and revisiting labor leader Ken Grossinger's conversation about Bryan Stevenson's Legacy Sites in Montgomery Alabama, Cleveland makes the case that culture is never a side issue. Authoritarian movements go after artists first, not for their political power, but because artists shape imagination itself. This episode is about why museums, memorials, and community art aren't warehouses of old objects, but living civic spaces where democracy is practiced, one story at a time. In this episode we explore: How an government report, an executive order, and a quiet stall in board appointments aren't three separate stories, they're one strategy for defining and controlling America's history moving through official channels.Why authoritarian movements attack culture first because stories shape what people believe is possible, before governments can control people, they go for the imagination.Democracy isn't only a system to defend; it's a creative practice — rehearsed in murals, story circles, museums, and neighborhood theater as much as in legislatures. If this show sparks your curiosity we invite you to visit this ART IS CHANGE Collection: Art In Action: Stories of Artists Making a Difference in These Tumultuous Times Notable Mentions People • Lonnie G. Bunch III — 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; responded to the White House report by defending the museum's commitment to "scholarship, accuracy" and telling the fullness of America's story. • Bryan Stevenson — Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative; led the creation of the Legacy Museum, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, and Montgomery Square in Montgomery, Alabama. • Ken Grossinger — Labor and social-justice strategist, author of Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together, and guest on a prior Art Is Change episode discussing the EJI Legacy Sites. • Alice Lovelace — Atlanta-based poet, performer, and cultural organizer; a recurring voice on the podcast, quoted here on how every generation believes it's living through unprecedented times. Organizations & Institutions • The Charles F. Kettering Foundation — The Charles F. Kettering Foundation, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, operating foundation with a mission to advance inclusive democracies worldwide by fostering citizen engagement, promoting government accountability, and countering authoritarianism. • Democracy and the Arts — The Kettering Foundation’s focus area for integrating the power of the arts into democratic life locally, nationally, and globally. • Center for the Study of Art and Community — The producing organization behind Art Is Change, founded by Bill Cleveland in 1991 to build partnerships between artists and communities. • Smithsonian Institution / National Museum of American History — The federal museum complex, and specifically the history museum, at the center of the report and executive orders discussed in this episode. • Smithsonian Board of Regents — The 17-member body that governs the Smithsonian, including the Vice President and the Chief Justice; currently has unfilled seats amid an unusually slow confirmation process. • White House Domestic Policy Council — The office that produced the "Saving America's Story" report and is directed, under the July 24 order, to help enforce its recommendations. • Charles F. Kettering Foundation — Nonpartisan foundation whose Democracy and the Arts program partnered with Art Is Change to produce this Art in Action series. • Equal Justice Initiative — Montgomery, Alabama-based human rights organization founded by Bryan Stevenson; operates the Legacy Sites referenced in Part Two. Publications, Exhibits & Curricula • "Saving America's Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage" — The 162-page White House Domestic Policy Council report released July 4, 2026, that touched off the events discussed in this episode. • Executive Order 14253, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" — Signed March 27, 2025; ordered the review of the Smithsonian that produced the July 2026 report. • "Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution" — The second executive order, signed July 24, 2026, directing federal agencies to act on the report's findings. • "Many Voices, One Nation" — Permanent NMAH exhibition exploring how many communities have shaped the nation; named in the White House report as an example of the museum's approach. • "Upending 1620: Where Do We Begin?" — NMAH exhibit examining early encounters between Wampanoag peoples and English colonists, also cited in the report. • "American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith" — NMAH exhibition on the evolving American experiment in self-government. • "Becoming US" — NMAH's national education curriculum teaching U.S. history through the lens of migration; criticized in the White House report. • "Block Bridge Build: Stories of Activist Artists and Cultural Organizers Making a Difference in These Tumultuous Times" — A collection of ART IS CHANGE episodes that explore how arts activism and cultural organizing function as pro-democracy infrastructure. Historical Events & Movements • The Milošević era in Serbia (1989–2000) — The period of authoritarian rule in Serbia during which Cleveland worked with Belgrade theater artists engaged in public, improvisational protest. • a...

    190: Who Tells America's Story?

  6. Aug 5

    189: Why Are Dopamine, Synapsis', & the Prefrontal Cortex Critical to Art & Social Change?

    A while back we shared the story of how Breaking Ice, a theater company working out of an arts based social service agency called Pillsbury House and Theater in Minneapolis, joined up with a large health care system in St. Louis to provide a powerful boost to their diversity, equity and inclusion program. That led to a and exploration of what neuroscience can contribute to understanding and dealing with the human struggle with difference. Dopamine, synapses, and the prefrontal cortex might sound like a science fair project gone wild, but trust me, they're crucial when we dive into the colorful world of art and social change! In this episode, we’re unpacking how the brain's wiring and our creative expressions are intertwined, and how that connection can help us tackle the ever-pressing issues of diversity and social justice. We’ll explore the magic of storytelling and empathy, revealing how art can literally change the way our brains perceive and react to the world around us. Buckle up, because we’re taking a wild ride through neuroscience, creativity, and the transformative power of community art—a journey that’s not just enlightening but also a whole lot of fun. So grab your thinking caps and get ready to dance with some brainy ideas! In this episode we explore: The intersection of neuroscience and creativity can help us understand the human struggle with difference.Empathy is not just a buzzword; it’s a fundamental part of our humanity that artists can harness to create impactful work that can change the way people think about each other.Art is not just about aesthetics; it’s a powerful tool for social change that can rewire how we think about ourselves and each other, ultimately driving cooperation. Spending time with the Breaking Ice theater based diversity, equity, and inclusion program gave rise to a question: How might new insights about how the brain works might help us better understand the how and why of our continuing struggle with difference? Here is what ensued. LISTEN TO Breaking Ice Chapter 1 LISTEN TO Breaking Ice Chapter 2 ART IS CHANGE / All Episodes ART IS CHANGE Collections - Our full catalogue of Episodes in 12 Collections: Justice Arts, Art & Healing, Cultural Organizing, Arts Ed./Children & Youth, Community Arts Training, Music for Change, Theater for Change, Change Making Media, Creative Climate Action, Art of the Rural Notable MentionsBreaking Ice is the award-winning program of Pillsbury House Theatre that for over 20 years has been “breaking the ice” for courageous and productive dialogue around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. A diverse company of professional actors portrays real-life situations that are customized to meet the goals, needs and culture of each unique organization we serve. Pillsbury House and Theater is a groundbreaking “new model for human service work that recognizes the power of the arts and culture to stimulate community participation, investment and ownership.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow", a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity.[1][2] He was the Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. He was also the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.[3] SourcesQuestion 2: How does our environment influence what we think and believe? 1.Lobel, T. (2014) Sensations: The New Science of Physical Intelligence, Simon & Schuster. 2 Eagleman, David. The Brain: The Story of You. Pg., 105, Vintage Books, 2017 Question 4: Why are stories important? 3.Hamlin, JK, Wynn, K & Bloom, P (2007) “Social evaluation by preverbal infants.” Nature, 450(7169), 557-59. Question 5: What is empathy and what does it have to do with artmaking? 4 Eagleman, David. The Brain: The Story of You. Pg., 143, Vintage Books, 2017 5 Ibid. Question 11: If human cooperation and connection are so important, why do we struggle so with difference? 6. How do children develop a sense of self? - The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/how-do-children- develop-a-sense-of-self-5611 7. Toddler | Preschool & Daycare | The Montessori Centre St Lucia. http://www.themontessoricentre.com/toddlers/ 8. Eagleman, David. The Brain: The Story of You. Pg., 143, Vintage Books, 2017 Question 13: Why is play so important to human development? 9 Asma, Steven The History of Imagination, pg., 84, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2017 10 Asma, Stephen, The Evolution of Imagination, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2017 Question 15: How Can human creativity help us out of this mess? 11 Boyd, Brian, On the Origin of Stories, Harvard University Press, Boston, 2010 ******* Change the Story / Change the World is a podcast that chronicles the power of art and community transformation, providing a platform for activist artists to share their experiences and gain the skills and strategies they need to thrive as agents of social change. Through compelling conversations with artist activists, artivists, and cultural organizers, the podcast explores how art and activism intersect to fuel cultural transformation and drive meaningful change. Guests discuss the challenges and triumphs of community arts, socially engaged art, and creative placemaking, offering insights into artist mentorship, building credibility, and communicating impact. Episodes delve into the realities of artist isolation, burnout, and funding for artists, while celebrating the role of artists in residence and creative leadership in shaping a more just and inclusive world. Whether you’re an emerging or established artist for social justice, this podcast offers inspiration, practical advice, and a sense of solidarity in the journey toward art and social change.

  7. Jul 29

    188: Can Outside Activist Artists Make a Difference in Your Community?

    Can an artist from outside a community become an effective force for change—or does arriving with good intentions risk repeating the very patterns the work is meant to challenge? Bill Cleveland joins Alice Lovelace and Barbara Schaffer Bacon to examine one of community arts practice’s most persistent questions: when outsiders enter a community, what allows their work to take root, and what turns a promising intervention into a brief visit—or even a source of harm? Through stories from Serbia, Atlanta, Ohio, and rural Georgia, the conversation moves beyond simple answers and into the practical ethics of entering another community’s living room. Listen for three ideas that can change how artists, hosts, and funders approach community-based work: Why local knowledge and leadership must shape the work from the beginning—not merely approve it afterward.How an outside artist can sometimes become a catalyst, witness, or lightning rod when local people cannot safely raise a difficult issue themselves.Why the deepest measure of success is not the artwork left behind, but the relationships, skills, confidence, and community power that remain after the artist leaves. Join us for a candid exploration of what it means to enter with humility, listen for the truth of a place, share leadership, and leave a community more able to tell—and act upon—its own story. Notable MentionsPeople Alice Lovelace: Poet, educator, performer, and Executive Director of ArtsXchange whose decades of community-based practice inform the episode’s most vivid stories about the opportunities and risks faced by visiting artists.Barbara Schaffer Bacon: Cultural policy leader and co-founder of Animating Democracy, known for advancing ethical, reciprocal, and civically engaged arts practice.Bill Cleveland: Host of ART IS CHANGE and longtime community arts practitioner whose book Art and Upheaval examined artists working amid war, oppression, displacement, and social crisis.Dijana Milošević: Serbian theater director, activist, and co-founder of DAH Theatre, cited for describing artists resisting tyranny as citizens acting inside their own community.Slobodan Milošević: Serbian and Yugoslav political leader whose authoritarian rule and the wars surrounding Yugoslavia’s breakup form the historical setting for the discussion of DAH Theatre.John O’Neal: Civil rights activist, playwright, co-founder of the Free Southern Theater, and a major developer of story-circle practice in community cultural work.Liz Lerman: Choreographer, educator, and civic arts pioneer whose residencies model inquiry, participation, and shared creative leadership.Michael Rohd: Theater-maker, facilitator, and civic-practice leader whose community residencies use creative process to support public dialogue and local problem-solving. Organizations & Initiatives Center for the Study of Art & Community: Producer of ART IS CHANGE and a resource for arts-based community development and cultural organizing.ArtsXchange: Atlanta-area interdisciplinary arts center connecting artistic practice, community development, environmental work, and social justice.DAH Theatre Research Center: Belgrade-based theater laboratory founded during the breakup of Yugoslavia, using performance as a form of resistance, memory, and civic engagement.Urban Bush Women: Black women-led dance company and social-change organization that combines performance, artist development, education, and deep community engagement.Animating Democracy: National initiative documenting and strengthening the role of arts and culture in civic dialogue, community change, and democracy.Appalshop: Appalachian media, arts, and education organization dedicated to telling stories from within the region and challenging stereotypes through locally rooted cultural work.CETA Arts Legacy Project: Project preserving the history of federally supported artist employment under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, referenced through artists who worked in communities with unusually open-ended assignments. Events & Programs Hurricane Katrina: The devastating 2005 Gulf Coast hurricane whose aftermath prompted many artists to seek ways to enter affected communities and help—raising difficult questions about urgency, expertise, and the impulse to parachute in.Story Circle: A structured method for sharing personal experience, discovering common ground, and grounding community work in local voices; used in the Lima, Ohio residencies discussed in the episode. (See also, John O'Neal above)Building Blocks of Effective Community Arts Practice: ART IS CHANGE conversation series examining the skills, ethics, and strategies required for effective arts-based community work.Alice Lovelace — Episode 23: Earlier podcast conversation in which Lovelace recounts in greater depth the controversy, community response, and lasting impact of her work as an outside artist in Georgia. Publications & Learning Resources Art and Upheaval: Artists on the World’s Frontlines: Bill Cleveland’s examination of artists responding to war, oppression, cultural dislocation, and community crisis in places including Serbia and Cambodia.Literature Is History: The course Alice Lovelace created for young people in rural Georgia, grounding literature in lived experience and restoring the history, skills, and cultural gifts of enslaved Africans to the community narrative.Story Circle Facilitation: A Quick Guide: Practical guide to the community story-circle method developed through Roadside Theater and Junebug Productions. Places & Institutions Atlanta, Georgia: Home ground for Alice Lovelace’s community arts practice and a central reference point for considering the difference between working inside one’s own community and entering another.Evans, Georgia: Community associated with one of Lovelace’s experiences of becoming a politically targeted outside artist whose resistance helped provoke local solidarity and institutional change.Lima, Ohio: Site of artist residencies where story-circle skills remained available to the community and were reactivated years later during a local crisis.Serbia: Major case study in Cleveland’s work on artists responding from within communities experiencing authoritarianism and war.Cambodia: Referenced as another setting where local artists’ long-term...

  8. Jul 22

    187: Ken Grossinger Believes Art is Essential to Effective Organizing

    Can the right song, painting, or museum exhibit spark real political change? What if culture is the missing strategy in today’s social movements?If you’ve ever felt like your efforts for justice aren’t hitting deep enough, it might be because the culture hasn’t caught up with your message. In this episode, labor organizer and social change strategist Ken Grossinger shares how his journey from labor organizing to cultural advocacy revealed a truth many overlook: policy changes fade, but stories—and the art that tells them—have staying power. In this episode: Discover how blending power analysis with artistic expression can amplify grassroots campaigns and drive long-term social change.Hear powerful case studies—from a revolutionary museum exhibit in Louisville to a musical uprising in Alaska—that reveal how art can expose injustice and build movements.Learn from real-world collaborations between artists and organizers that shift narratives, challenge power, and activate communities in ways no policy paper ever could. Tune in now to hear how Ken Grossinger’s book ART WORKS and his work in communities across the U.S. show us why art isn’t just a reflection of justice—it’s how we get there. Notable MentionsPeople Ken Grossinger — Longtime movement strategist and author of Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together, which explores the strategic partnership between artists and organizers across decades of social-justice campaigns. Richard Cloward — Columbia University sociologist and organizer whose power-analysis framework shaped generations of strategists; co-founder of the National Welfare Rights Organization and a chief architect of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act ("Motor Voter" law). Bernice Johnson Reagon — Civil rights song leader who co-founded the Freedom Singers with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later founded the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. Si Kahn — Veteran folk musician, author, and organizer who has spent decades writing songs in direct collaboration with the communities he serves, including the fishermen and Alaska Native communities fighting the Pebble Mine. Harry Belafonte — Singer and actor who became one of the civil rights movement's most trusted strategists and financiers, sitting at the strategy tables of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Bryan Stevenson — Founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy; created the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Amy Sherald — Painter whose 2020 Vanity Fair portrait of Breonna Taylor became the centerpiece of the Speed Art Museum's "Promise, Witness, Remembrance" exhibition. Stephen Reily — Director of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville at the time of Breonna Taylor's killing, who reorganized the museum's programming around community-led advisory boards. Norman Lear — Legendary TV producer and creator of All in the Family, who used Archie Bunker's bigotry to bring racism and homophobia into American living rooms as everyday conversation. Frances Stonor Saunders — British historian and author of The Cultural Cold War, which documents the CIA's covert promotion of Abstract Expressionist artists like Jackson Pollock as ideological counters to Soviet Social Realism. Jane Fonda, Karen Nussbaum & Ellen Cassedy — Actress-activist Jane Fonda partnered with 9to5 co-founders Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy to turn the working women's organizing movement into the hit 1980 comedy 9 to 5. Organizations & Institutions Center for the Study of Art and Community — Producer of Art is Change and host organization for the Art in Action series exploring arts-based civic engagement. Charles F. Kettering Foundation — Nonprofit research foundation focused on deliberative democracy; partner for the Art in Action series through its Democracy and the Arts program. Equal Justice Initiative — Montgomery, Alabama human-rights organization founded by Bryan Stevenson; operates the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Speed Art Museum — Louisville, Kentucky museum whose 2021 exhibition "Promise, Witness, Remembrance," built around Amy Sherald's portrait, became a national model for community-driven museum programming. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) — New York institution whose mid-century ties to CIA-backed cultural promotion of Abstract Expressionism are documented in Frances Stonor Saunders's The Cultural Cold War. American Museum of Natural History & Smithsonian — Both institutions faced public pressure after climate scientists and advocacy groups called on them to sever ties with board member and fossil-fuel financier David Koch. Highlander Research and Education Center — Tennessee-based center for labor and civil-rights organizing, where staff such as Zilphia Horton adapted "We Shall Overcome" and other freedom songs used across the movement. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) — Student-led civil rights organization that carried freedom songs into direct-action campaigns across the South and gave rise to groups like the Freedom Singers. International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) — Union whose cultural department trained its own members to write, sing, and perform, producing the Broadway hit Pins and Needles. 9to5, National Association of Working Women — Organization founded by Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy to fight for office workers' rights, later dramatized in the film 9 to 5. Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay — Network of musicians, co-organized by Si Kahn, that used songwriting and touring to build public opposition to Alaska's proposed Pebble Mine. Books, Films & Recordings Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together — Ken Grossinger's book on the strategic collaborations between artists and organizers, discussed throughout this episode. Just Mercy — Bryan Stevenson's memoir recounting...

    187: Ken Grossinger Believes Art is Essential to Effective Organizing
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Can your art help dismantle injustice, shift systems, or spark healing in places like homeless shelters, emergency rooms, or city planning meetings? If you’re passionate about making a real difference through creativity, ART IS CHANGE (formerly known as Change the Story / Change the World) is your front-row seat to the real-world impact of art and social change. Hosted by author, musician, and researcher Bill Cleveland, each episode brings you deep into the lives and work of activist artists and cultural organizers who are doing more than dreaming—they’re transforming communities around the world. You’ll discover: • Proven strategies for thriving as an artist for change in complex, real-world settings • How to build meaningful, lasting partnerships that support your mission and your art • Lessons from global leaders creating cultural blueprints for justice, empathy, and resilience ▶️ Start with fan-favorite Episodes 86 and 87: Lessons From an Art and Change Pioneer—a double-dose of inspiration and practical insight.- https://change-the-story-chan.captivate.fm/episode/bighart-bigstory-redux/

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