FIND RESOURCES.
JOIN OTHER ARTISTS.
TAKE ACTION.

SUSTAIN THE MOVEMENT!

Call to Action and Toolkit

If authoritarians come for our elections, we'll be ready to ignite freedom and stir the soul of the movement. 

Here's how to build your crew and prepare for courageous, creative action to sustain civil resistance.

REACH OUT TO YOUR PEOPLE

Take a moment and think about the artists in your life that you love, respect, and trust. Think of your friends, those folks you’ve met in community, even the people you want to know a little more. Include people whose practice is their priority – they don’t have to be activists or organizers, just people you could imagine being creative with and being in motion with. 

Once you have at least 3 or 4 people in mind, start reaching out. Send a text with a quick invitation to connect about an idea you have, and once you’re chatting, pitch gathering to brainstorm together.

FIND A TIME AND PLACE

As you talk to your people, move quickly to find a time that works for as many people as possible. We recommend finding at least 90 minutes to two hours within the next week or two.

Meeting in person is ideal. Your space could be a studio, a living room, a meeting room at a library, a community center, a place of worship, a school, or other place that you’re connected to. As long as there’s enough room for your crew and it feels safe, it’s the right place.

RUN YOUR MEETING

Start with connection and a provocation: 

Imagine that the election has been stolen. It doesn’t matter how or in how many places. We just know that it has been, and people are mobilizing in response and solidarity. Our goal is to create artistic interventions that can support and sustain 2 weeks of action by getting people into the streets and keeping the movement message in the media: “Authoritarians are obstructing the elections so they can stay in power, and we won’t let them.”

You know best how to create with your people, to draw out great ideas, and to get people building off of one another, so trust yourself and the processes you love. If you need a full sample agenda, there’s one here. Feel free to use this sample deck of creative interventions from around the world and this toolbox for inspiration.

REFINE, FOLLOW UP, AND BUILD

You’ll probably come up with many great ideas. Some will feel more possible than others, some will be more strategic than others. All of it might feel incomplete, and you’ll want to keep it going, so make a plan for a next step together so you can narrow down to the best 2-5 ideas you can move. Some of your people might not have been able to make it, so invite them to the next one.

Our work is to support and sustain action in our communities, so we recommend that you invite at least one artist that’s connected to a local organization working on election defense, safety, and/or integrity if possible. If you’re not already connected to a local organization, check out this resource, and let us know — we’re connected to organizations all over the country so may be able to make an introduction!

Connect and sharE

We want to hear your ideas! Let us know what you’re up to and share the ideas from your brainstorm. We’re also hosting calls before the election where you can meet artists in other places organizing these gatherings, so please join us.