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

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

Bill Cleveland
Art
Democracy
Social Justice
Social Change
Community Engagement
Storytelling
Imagination
Breaking Ice
Creativity
Authoritarianism
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Prison System
Public Art
Morals and Ethics
Bighart
Minneapolis
National Endowment For the Arts
Animating Democracy
Activism
Community

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 res... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes196Founded6 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
ArtsSociety & Culture

Listen to this Podcast

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

Latest Episodes

An outside artist does not become effective by knowing everything about a place.

Effectiveness begins with recognizing how much they do not know.

That idea has followed us from our Building Blocks episode on outside artists, through Eric Gottesman’... more

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 conversati... more

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 convers... more

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 ... more

Key Facts

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Contact Information
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Recent Guests

Liz Lerman
Choreographer, performer, writer, teacher, and speaker
Dance Exchange; Sandy Spring Friends School
Episode: 194: Liz Lerman: The Horizontal, the Critical, and the Heretic's Path
Eric Gottesman
Artist, photographer, founder of the civic art project Four Freedoms
Four Freedoms; Duke Center for Documentary Studies (former)
Episode: 193: Eric Gottesman Asks: Whose Questions Get Asked -Whose Story is Told?
Kathi Bentley
Actor, director, dancer, and educator; central figure in Love at the River's Edge project
Shakespeare in the Streets / Shakespeare in the Streets – Love at the River's Edge
Episode: 192: Can Art Build Trust & Love Between Separated Communities?
Tricia Rose Burt
Artist, storyteller, host of No Time to Be Timid
No Time to Be Timid; former Corporate Communications Director
Episode: 191: Tricia Rose Burt - This Is No Time For Artists to Be Timid!
Sarah Weichsel
Director of the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
Episode: 190: Who Tells America's Story?
Ken Grossinger
Labor strategist turned advocate for the arts in organizing
Former strategist with SEIU, AFL-CIO, and Democracy Partners
Episode: 187: Ken Grossinger Believes Art is Essential to Effective Organizing
Loc Tran Vu
1.5 Vietnamese-American multimedia artist and cultural organizer
Boston-based artist and community organizer
Episode: 186: Effective Community Arts Practice - Should Activist Artists Prioritize Safety or Bravery
Alice Lovelace
Educator, author, art and democracy animator
Episode: 185: What Makes a Healthy Art and Social Change Ecosystem?
Ariel Fristoe
Founder and artistic director of Out of Hand Theater, Atlanta
Out of Hand Theater
Episode: 184: Ariel Fristoe: -Theater as a Civic Commons

Host

Bill Cleveland
Host and interviewer guiding interviews with activist artists and cultural organizers, with a focus on strategies and ethics of art-driven social change.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 28 ratings
  • Well produced, good content and interdisciplinary.

    Podchaser
    5
    spindler.steph
    a month ago
  • Thoughtful and insightful and timely

    Podchaser
    5
    etedtaylor28
    6 months ago
  • A resounding yes!

    When I was in my 20s I used to read this magazine called Yes! as an antidote to all the bad news that was “The News. “ Art is Change is another antidote in a time it’s especially needed…full of inspiration, hope, courage and pragmatism!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sofia114
    United Statesa year ago
  • Art is Change!

    This podcast is inspiring and useful. A rare and great combo.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    LoomerPas
    United Statesa year ago
  • What a gem, what a resource!

    Wholehearted thank you to Mr. Cleveland for this archive of transformative practices.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    qqqqqqqzzzzzzzzeee
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The show is often congratulated for archive-like depth and helpful frameworks for partnerships.
The content is praised for being hopeful, pragmatic, and deeply relevant to social justice work.
Listeners view the show as an inspiring, practical resource for activist art and civic engagement.
The community is encouraged by stories of healing, resilience, and democratic participation.
Guests and hosts are described as thoughtful and impactful, offering real-world approaches.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

192: Can Art Build Trust & Love Between Separated Communities?
Q: What did you learn from directing Love at the River's Edge about building trust across divides?
She emphasizes creating a space where every voice matters, choosing to put love at the center, and allowing the natural collaboration to unfold, which in turn sustains the community beyond the production and fosters long-term relationships.
192: Can Art Build Trust & Love Between Separated Communities?
Q: What was the path that led you to that mission?
Kathi describes a lifelong involvement with the arts, a move from St. Louis to New York to work with Harlem-based organizations, and a return home that connected her to community-focused theater and a mentor who helped her finish her degree and join SIUE—leading to educational and directorial opportunities that center community building through storytelling.
189: Why Are Dopamine, Synapsis', & the Prefrontal Cortex Critical to Art & Social Change?
Q: Question 15: How can human creativity help us out of this mess?
Creativity and the evolutionary process generate recurring cycles of novelty; art-making is framed as a Darwin Machine that releases new stories and beliefs capable of altering behavior toward more constructive futures.
189: Why Are Dopamine, Synapsis', & the Prefrontal Cortex Critical to Art & Social Change?
Q: Question 14: How does fear impact the stories we create to make sense of our rapidly changing world?
Fear activates fight-or-flight and can distort critical thinking; in modern contexts, propaganda and fear-driven narratives reshape perceptions of the 'Other' and influence collective behavior.
189: Why Are Dopamine, Synapsis', & the Prefrontal Cortex Critical to Art & Social Change?
Q: Question 13: Why is play important to human development?
Play supports emotional intelligence, imitation, and social skill development, creating a safe space for experimentation and collective action that underpins culture and collaboration.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A pointed exploration of how artists and cultural organizers apply strategy and practice to social change, governance, and healing in communities. Episodes frequently connect art to activism, policy, and democratic process, with deep dives into narrative change, cross-sector collaboration, and civic engagement. Notable is the consistent emphasis on ethical partnership, humility, and long-term community impact, often illustrated through case studies from museums, public memory projects, and grassroots interventions. The show is likely to appeal to practitioners who want concrete methods, real-world partnerships, and thought-provoking conversations about art as a vehicle for justice and resilience, rather than purely theoretical discussions.

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1. No Time to be Timid

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this podcast launched 6 years ago and published 196 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Liz Lerman
2. Eric Gottesman
3. Kathi Bentley
4. Tricia Rose Burt
5. Sarah Weichsel
6. Ken Grossinger
7. Loc Tran Vu
8. Alice Lovelace

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