THE CULTURE GROUP

THE CULTURE GROUP

"CULTURE CHANGE PRECEDES POLICY CHANGE"

If we want to change our political reality, we can't just change laws and switch out old politicians for new ones, we need to generate deep waves of cultural transformation. Artists, Musicians, and Media-makers play a critical role in making these waves happen. As part of the Culture Group, along with Jeff Chang, Favianna Rodriguez and other great thinkers, we produced Making Waves: A Guide to Cultural Strategy.

The guidebook chronicles several case studies where culture played a critical role in social change, from the Civil Rights Movement to the  fight for Marriage Equality, from the Anti-Vietnam War Movement to Occupy Wall St. and more. Along with several tools, we propose 13 Key principles of working with artists that should be of use to anyone within an organization who wants to invest in cultural strategy, and any artist trying to survive in the field. 

(Click on the image above to download the guide). 

DOWNLOAD MAKING WAVES | TCG WEBSITE

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Listen: ART IS A HAMMER:  Reshaping the Narrative Through Cultural Interventions

(Gan Golan, Favianna Rodriguez and Liz Manne at Netroots Nation)

How do you create powerful works of art and culture that can reach new audiences, ignite the public imagination and shift the debate? How do you collaborate on innovative design and media projects with artists, performers and creators of all kinds? Together, we have reverse-engineered some great cultural interventions on issues from Immigrant Rights to Economic Justice. The Culture Group’s Liz Manne will discuss cultural strateges 101. Favianna Rodriguez will explore web-based art interventions using the Art/Strike and Artists vs Walmart projects. Gan Golan will discuss satire and public spectacle, using the Tax Evaders video game project: www.taxevaders.net. Finally, we will present best practices guide for social justice organizations working with artists and culture makers.