Over my years at C4AA, one of the wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure of working with is Arian Kajtezović, a trans rights activist from the Balkans. In talking to Arian recently, they said that C4AA’s approach allowed them to imagine “little worlds of our own that are magical, where you are allowed to dream.”
Arian says they took away not only a new vision of the world from our training but also creative strategies and tools for how to achieve it. They began reshaping how trans and intersex communities organized in the Balkans. Arian reimagined the Trans Day of Remembrance, evolving it from a space of mourning into one of resilience, solidarity, and visionary joy. Their work with Transgender Europe has contributed to improving EU laws tackling violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people in Europe, especially in repressive regimes.
I’m so grateful that C4AA is able to provide activists like Arian with space to dream, and the tools to turn those dreams into reality. One of my goals is to provide these things to as many people as possible.
Maybe you’ve also been hearing people say, “I want to do something but I’m not sure how to start, or how to be effective.” There are hundreds of thousands of the activists and would-be activists who want to fight for democracy and justice right now but aren’t sure what to do next.
That’s why we have decided to launch the Action Energizer Lab. It will be a training and support program for hundreds of activists at no cost to them. It will be open to everyone — we invite you to join! Our goal is to provoke a slew of effective, unexpected activations across the U.S. this summer. Let’s get things really shaking.
We want to launch the Action Energizer Lab in June. But we can’t offer it at all without help.
The great news is that we need to raise just $3750 to launch it. The even better news is that when you contribute to help launch the Lab, your donation will be DOUBLED. That’s thanks to a generous matching gift from one of our donors who knows that it’s critical to spark activations right now.
We want to help hundreds of people like Arian to create community-rooted, emotionally resonant, and strategically creative efforts that lead to wins.
I’m personally so excited about this program because I think that building power from the ground up, with wins small and large at the local level, is what’s needed right now in the U.S. and around the world. If you agree, I hope you can help us make the Lab happen. Let’s shake things up!
In Solidarity,
Rebecca Bray
Executive Director
Center for Artistic Activism
