Art for Change
The idea is to facilitate the leadership development and organizing process of a diverse group of people who come together to develop art and media programs that address the challenges faced by their community while also inspiring others to take an active role in social justice. Art for Change, a volunteer based organization, enacts this idea by drawing on the skills an efforts of more than forty volunteers from different ages, ethnicities, economic & religious backgrounds.
About You
About You
First Name
Eliana
Last Name
Godoy
Organization
Art for Change
Country
United States, NY, New York County
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Art for Change
Organization Website
Organization Phone
212 3487044
Organization Address
1699 lexington ave, basement south
Organization Country
United States, NY, New York County
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Your idea
Name Your Project
Art for Change
Country your work focuses on
United States, NY, New York County
Describe Your Idea
The idea is to facilitate the leadership development and organizing process of a diverse group of people who come together to develop art and media programs that address the challenges faced by their community while also inspiring others to take an active role in social justice. Art for Change, a volunteer based organization, enacts this idea by drawing on the skills an efforts of more than forty volunteers from different ages, ethnicities, economic & religious backgrounds.
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
The idea behind Art for Change (AFC) is unique because it provides ample opportunities for citizens (at various stages in their social justice trajectory and with no prior knowledge of arts programming) to become actively involved in the affairs of their community, while also facilitating learning and leadership development. Our horizontal leadership development model prepares people to take an active role in social justice even after their involvement with AFC. One of our goals is to inspire and develop life-long changemakers. All the programs of AFC are created and executed by a body of volunteers from different fields and representing diverse identities. This helps to create an environment of peer led stimulation, learning, challenging and sharing. It also serves as a demonstration that people can transcend the borders of "isms" by working towards a common goal. The meetings resemble something of a town meeting, following a democratic process where everyone voices their opinions and participates in decision making. The volunteers are managed by a Founders' Circle comprised of 15 of the most dedicated volunteers. The Founders' Circle is accessible to all. Any volunteer can be nominated to become part of the Founders' Circle, which works in collaboration with the Board. The Board provides fiduciary responsibility and governance while the Founders' Circle and volunteers manage and execute the programs of the organization. The Founders' Circle members are divided among four committees: programs, administration, finance, development. Each committee recruits its own volunteers through our many programs; thus most volunteers are from within the community. Following this model, citizens, drawing from their own knowledge and skills, have started art and media programs for children and adults, which have addressed community and gender violence, gentrification, globalization, racism, immigration, among other issues affecting our community.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
No
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
Art for Change has played a vital role in the development of artists, activists and the cultural ecology of New York City and beyond. Since its inception, it has worked with over 800 artists and activists. In some cases, it has helped to launch their careers. Artists have connected in meaningful ways to their communities and have started new projects based on this interaction. AFC has challenged artists to be more critical of their process and approach. People who perhaps didn't care about their community or didn't find their place in it have been able to claim their space, their role, and have felt empowered to take action on a myriad of social issues. Those who have volunteered for AFC have found other opportunities, fellowships, higher degrees, have started a career or switched to careers in public service. Art for Change has also played a vital role in the economic development of East Harlem. The programs, exhibits and public art works have generated traffic from visitors who patronize surrounding businesses. The local impact in our community is visible. Five participatory murals have been painted and one sculpture has been built through volunteer and resident led efforts. Through ExplorArte, a youth empowerment international exchange program, young people learned video production, mural making and popular theater skills; some traveled to Bolivia, NYC, and Vermont in artistic exchanges with Teatro Compa and Bread & Puppet Theater. This program led to the production of more than 30 art works created by young people and led to new collaborations among young people in Bolivia. The program is being replicated in Bolivia. AFC programs have also served as a mechanism to ease ethnic tensions among newly arrived immigrants and the Puerto Rican and African American communities. AFC has also provided a safe space for the most vulnerable low income women in the community, who organized around issues of gender violence.
Problem
As the organization is managed by volunteers who create programming that address issues relevant to our community, AFC has tackled a number of social problems. For the purpose of this application, i will state only one example, which I feel captured the very essence of the organization.
Through English as a Second Language Classes Through Theater program, AFC identified that nearly everyone in attendance had been a victim of gender violence. Away from their countries and in a new environment, immigrant women often lack the support system to cope with their experience of violence. Through the class, the immigrant women developed strong relationships with each other and with the instructors. Gradually women started to voice their struggles in private conversation. Since some of the perpetrators were also taking the workshops, a few of the immigrant women who became volunteers of AFC and helped to facilitate this volunteer led program, thought this was an issue that needed to be addressed with urgency. The immigrant women organized a separate meeting only for women under the disguise of starting a kitting and nutrition group.
Actions
The first meeting organized by the immigrant women themselves resulted in a new program, "Cafe con Leche", which for four years provided weekly support, healing and training to women facing gender violence. AFC connected the women with artists and a number of service based organizations that provided free weekly workshops. AFC offered technical support and leadership training to facilitate their organizing process. Though AFC provided structure and volunteers through meetings, the women themselves decided their priority areas, thus shaping their own learning process and curriculum development. Organizations such as Violence Intervention Program, Connect, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Coatlicue Theater Co., Mount Sinai and Cornell University provided free workshops. A few of the women trained with Connect on gender violence issues and were paid to provide training and outreach within their community.
Results
The transformation, leadership development and empowering that took place was breathtaking. Some of the women who when we first met were afraid to even make eye contact were able to speak to large audiences about gender violence. The women not only transformed their own lives but also became advocates for women rights in the community. They organized an anti-violence campaign through the presentation of film screenings and discussions in churches, libraries and other local institutions, assuring that people reflected on sexism and gender discrimination and violence. They created a safe environment for women to come together to weekly meetings to learn, exchange information, share and build community. Some of them made meaningful relationships that allowed them to generate income generating possibilities by sharing babysitting or cooking together to then sell on the street. In addition to learning to cope with gender violence, they learned about nutrition, women's health, pubic speaking, video production, and organizing. The group disintegrated as more and more women were forced to leave the neighborhood due to high rent prices and when the main leaders moved out.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
The organization has been sustainable as a volunteer based organization; however, it would be vital to gain additional funding to hire a few administrators. Though the committees are very well structured and work well in collaboration to move the programs forward, the general administration of the office at times is a bit messy. Mail gets lost, emails can easily go for a month without being answered. It would be helpful to have a few people who can handle the day to day operations without undermining the participation of the volunteers and members of the founders' circle. Additional funding will also help the organization to increase its impact and scale of its programs. Focusing on income generating opportunities will also allow us to increase the stipends that are given to artists, and provide a transportation, childcare and meal allowance to those low income volunteers who wish they could do more but can't due to economic barriers.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Power, knowledge and organizational information cannot be retained by a few core participants. Horizontal leadership development is crucial to the organization in order to assure constant fluidity of volunteers. Current and new participants should constantly be trained and engaged in the decision making process. This is what makes the organization thrive over time. A leader can move on but other leaders will always be present to run the organization.
How many people will your project serve annually?
1001‐10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$100 ‐ 1000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
Art for Change
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Art for Change has relied on partnerships in order to maximize outreach and resources. The partnerships with several organizations in the community allow us to continue to build collaboratively while constantly reaching to new people and new areas. The collaborations also provide us with a stronger sense of community and belonging. Lastly, it is through collaborations and partnerships that we can continue to learn about new processes and new visions. This helps us to validate our own values and philosophies and or to question and challenge them.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
1. We need to do a better job at communicating and documenting what we do. Art and Social Change organizations are always expected to quantify their results but with art, it is often difficult to capture our impact.
2. We need to focus on fundraising. Volunteers are attracted to the actual programs and care little about raising money. There is never enough time to write proposals even though it is very important.
3. We need to improve our use of new technology, social media and also develop a stronger social network outside our own microcosm
The Story
What was the defining moment that you led to this innovation?
After migrating from Bolivia, first to Massachusetts and then to New York City, I realized that poverty was not just reserved for developing countries but rather an ill that affected even the most powerful countries. Moving to New York City, the home of Wall Street was evidence of the vast inequality prevalent in the United States. My new home, East Harlem, was to me, a lovely community in the midst of transition. Economic development initiatives were started but those were actually creating displacement and causing increased racial tensions. Though the neighborhood was improving, I often asked myself "But, for whom"
In an effort to understand my surroundings and digest all the various systems of oppression, I was enlightened by the fact that ART is a powerful tool to raise awareness. Art played an intricate role in my ability to develop as a conscious and compassionate person committed to social justice. In this journey, I met others, who like me wanted to make sense of it all while actually playing a role in creating change. We didn't need anything else but each others skills, time and commitment. Art for Change was the product of this process. I started the organization out of my house. My apartment was converted into a gallery that welcomed artists and activists that engaged in conversations about actions that needed to be taken. After talking to people of all sorts of backgrounds and disciplines, it was clear that Art for Change needed to be a collective of ideas and experiments driven by people's passion to create change for everyone.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
I have devoted my life to challenging status quo when necessary. It has not been easy. I started a small social venture to fund Art for Change, where for five years I met low income people and artists with several proposals about how to advance social justice. I see my role as something of a facilitator. My goal is to develop a network of small, locally-owned social businesses joined by cooperation and mutual sustenance, allowing people to stay and build within their communities. It will provide an alternative to the dominant mode of addressing economic development and job creation, which tends to focus on attracting corporations and people from outside. I am interested in exploring ventures that provide opportunities for youth, artists and women.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
Catherine Reynolds Fellowship On Social Entrepreneurship -- New York University
 | 89 weeks agoAngela Linebaugh said: I was excited to see the successful use of a model that provides opportunities for everyday citizens who have no formal training, ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 93 weeks agoEliana Godoy updated this Competition Entry. |
| 93 weeks agoEliana Godoy submitted this idea. |
