ART & CULTURE
Throughout history, we’ve seen various examples of how social justice movements have integrated art and culture as part of their overall strategy. Whether it’s songs of the Civil Rights Movement, the use of political art by the Black Panthers, or theater of the oppressed in the Farmworkers Movement, art has been leveraged as a vehicle to educate, agitate, and accelerate change.
It’s with this theory in mind, that CoCo has implemented its art and culture mass-based events to complement our organizing and communications strategies which include:
- Power Fest — A music concert with installations focused on education, empowerment, and civic engagement.
- People Power Conventions — Gatherings of community residents with plenaries, workshops and strategy sessions to discuss primary issues impacting South Los Angeles residents
- Art Activations and Community Exhibits — Our activations and exhibits are intended to leverage visual art to convey issues and aspirations of South Los Angeles residents
- South LA Art Walks
- We Are Trayvon Martin Collage
- The Re-imagine Justice Art Exhibit
- We Are South LA Exhibit
- Alters and Stories
- Culture Cures
- South LA Is Still Home Exhibit
An effective art and cultural strategy grounded in the values of social justice and the stories of everyday residents help create moments that inspire people to take action on their own behalf. These cultural events and strategies have contributed to successful policy wins and electoral turnout for South LA residents, e.g., ACA enrollment, Prop. 47, Prop. 57, Measures HHH, JJJ, and ULA.
Unlike traditional communications and grassroots organizing strategies that rely on statistics and data to shape individuals’ understanding of systems;
Art has the unique ability to heal, inspire, and communicate complex ideas that speak to a wide range of values and emotions. Our art and cultural strategy is integral to raising awareness of key community conditions and instigating civic participation in the following ways:
- Mobilizing people to the polls during an election;
- Inspiring people to take action on policy campaigns; and
- Impacting people’s world views.