LoudLight is a scrappy advocacy group in Kansas. A few years ago, they asked for our help because a vote was coming up that threatened Kansan’s right to abortion. LoudLight wanted to encourage young people to get involved, and the stakes were high. The vote was happening right after the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade, which made winning in a state like Kansas seem almost impossible.
We did trainings for LoudLight’s advocacy staff, including showing them new ways to leverage popular culture. They were inspired, and decided to use Kansan culture to their advantage — specifically cowgirl culture.
Their campaign? Vote Neigh, a series of fantastic events, gatherings and memes that leaned into horse culture. It was fun, young and totally Kansas.
And it was successful. Thousands of young people engaged online and in-person and were encouraged to vote against the referendum that threatened reproductive rights. Because Vote Neigh was fun, but it was also strategic in how it mobilized people to take action.
They won: the referendum was struck down by a HUGE margin of 18 points with record-breaking voter turnout.
By getting creative, and bringing joy, hope and strategy to serious issues, we can get BIG wins.
Unfortunately there have been setbacks since the win. So it’s more important than ever to continue with creative strategies. This is exactly what our Creative Advocacy Boot Camps are built to do: help organizers become creative strategists so they can lead campaigns that don’t just respond to crises… but win hearts, shift narratives, and drive change.
But we need your help to make the Creative Advocacy Boot Camps a reality. We believe that state and local wins like LoudLight’s are critical right now. We are contacted by advocacy groups small and large who are working to win on reproductive freedom, LGBTQia+ rights, access to affordable health care, and so many other issues that are urgent, and they need support to be innovative and successful.
If you’ve never given to the Center for Artistic Activism before, this is a powerful moment to start. Your first donation helps fuel creative trainings like our Creative Advocacy Bootcamp programs that shift how people organize, protest, and win. It only takes one gift to become part of something bigger. Even $10 or $20 will help.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Krystal Barrett
Programs Manager
Center for Artistic Activism
P.S. Got a tax refund this year? That’s awesome — congrats! If you’re up for it, we’d love if you considered putting a bit of it toward supporting creative activism.
