Why we need cultural strategies to build toward progress
<[link removed]>
Message from the president<[link removed]>
Reflections from the NIL
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Last month, I experienced our
Narrative Innovators Lab <[link removed]>
(NIL)<[link removed]> for the first time at TOA's closing event in Brooklyn, and I still feel energized by what I saw. There's something truly special that happens when advocates and artists work together in the same room. Meeting our NIL Fellows touched me deeply. Their stories and ideas resonated with all of us at TOA in a way that went beyond impressive skills—these folks have a genuine commitment to social justice that comes through in everything they create. At a time when honest storytelling is under threat, they're building bridges and showing us practical paths forward that give me real hope.
Looking to the future, I want NIL to grow and thrive. I hope we can support even more changemakers who are making a difference where it matters most. As we fight for a multiracial democracy, we need programs like NIL that lift up diverse voices and narrative strategies now more than ever.
I hope you'll take some time to learn about these remarkable leaders who are shifting narratives toward justice in their communities and beyond.
With gratitude and determination,
Traci Lester
President, The Opportunity Agenda
Now in Narrative: Cultural Strategies<[link removed]>
Harmful Narrative
The Trump Administration is erasing arts, culture, and storytelling that doesn’t fit their narrative about our nation’s history or what makes it “great.” And they’re justifying their actions that target cultural institutions by falsely claiming artworks that critique our nation’s history "distort" the truth and run counter to “American values.”
Counter Narrative
This erasure directly threatens our country’s great tradition of creative freedom of expression. Cultural institutions are a crucial vessel for preserving and sharing democratic ideas, offering unique spaces for audiences to think critically about society and history, and understand both through diverse perspectives.
We must voice our support for spaces that champion inclusive storytelling by artists from all backgrounds who have always been—and will always be—integral to democracy. Our latest
blog<[link removed]> by Sughey Ramirez, our Director of Cultural Strategies and Networks, dives into why supporting diverse storytelling in cultural institutions is American AF.
Read More<[link removed]>
Fellow Spotlight: Culture and Narrative Fellowship<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Sarah Harris
Sarah Harris is Director of Media Engagement at
Stand Up America<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>and an alum of TOA’s Narrative Innovators Lab. She works to ensure that all of us have access to a democracy that functions for everyone in the country. Hear what she had to say about the lasting impact of the NIL in our
Reel<[link removed]>.
Watch<[link removed]>
"Narrative change is the foundation for actually creating an equitable society." - Sarah Harris<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
The Latest Cultural Interventions
From using comedy to bridge cultural divides to distributing paletas to inform immigrants of their rights, our latest cohort of Culture & Narrative fellows are innovating new and exciting ways to utilize art for social justice.
We rely on cultural strategies to help us reach audiences on a deeper, more emotional level. Through our
Narrative Innovators Lab<[link removed]>, these fellows were given the tools, training, and community support to strengthen their cultural projects and more effectively shift hearts and minds in creative ways.
Dive into the incredible projects that our
2024-2025 Culture & Narrative Fellows<[link removed]> developed in the Lab, which wrapped up in March.
Ali Sultan<[link removed]> is producing a documentary series which features marginalized comedians performing in small towns in Middle America, showing how humor can build bridges that go beyond stereotypes.
Christine Hoang<[link removed]> is making a short, animated film about her mom’s immigration from Vietnam to New Orleans through the lens of food. Christine incubated this idea at our 2024 Creative Change Retreat before bringing it to the NIL to fully develop.
Nasir Anthony Montalvo<[link removed]> is using the historical archives of Kansas City’s Black queer community to highlight how wealth and racism affect a community’s ability to achieve the American dream.
hazel batrezchavez<[link removed]> is mobilizing the symbolic power of the paletero (popsicle man) in Latinx/Chicanx communities to distribute free paletas and Know Your Rights information printed on napkins.
Rebecca Marimutu<[link removed]> is creating a participatory photography project that empowers the community of Harlem to tell their own story as a beacon of cultural resilience, challenging the dominant narrative of gentrification as progress.
Miriam Alarcón Avila<[link removed]> is developing an interactive photo and video documentary that seeks to reveal why Iowa, historically recognized as a friendly and welcoming state, especially towards newcomers, is becoming an increasingly cold environment.
Amalia Oliva Rojas<[link removed]> is writing a one-woman show about a relationship advice writer as she struggles to finish her naturalization application, using love and heartbreak to challenge stereotypical immigrant narratives.
Image credits: Annie del Hierro-Jost, The Opportunity Agenda
Support The Opportunity Agenda with a contribution today.
Donate Now<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Privacy Policy<[link removed]> |
Unsubscribe<[link removed]>
The Opportunity Agenda<[link removed]>
575 Eighth Avenue, Suite 701, New York, NY 10018
<[link removed]>
