2015 Fellow

Bridgit Antoinette Evans

Project Description

“Culture Changes Us” is a portfolio of knowledge-building tools and learning experiences – including a widely accessible social justice sector education campaign, an immersive learning retreat for movement leaders, and a ‘Next Gen’ culture change writers’ room focused on developing a new TV series – designed to dramatically accelerate the understanding and use of culture change strategy within the arts and social justice sector.

Modern science has now proven beyond doubt that narrative stories move people to places of greater openness, curiosity and bravery. Inside the ‘neverland’ of books, films, songs and other immersive spaces, individuals are more willing to engage with new people and environments, grapple with hard truths, and imagine fresh solutions. Society is more open to change. The social justice sector, however, generally focuses on analyzing problems, setting policy agendas, constructing forceful arguments and organizing people at the grassroots level.

As society faces some of the most challenging social justice battles in history, we must scale up our ability to distribute new narratives, transportive stories and immersive experiences that speak to people on the deepest emotional level. Through the design and implementation of long-term, multi-layered culture change strategies rooted in an understanding of how story (verbal storytelling, film, television, music, publishing, etc.) moves people and shapes meaning in our society, social justice movements can achieve greater narrative power and cultural relevance.