How do communities build the relationships, culture, and organizing capacity needed to create lasting democratic change?
Grounded in Memphis and drawing from organizing traditions across the South, this interactive preconference explores cultural organizing as a practice of building collective power. Participants will examine how communities move from shared experience to shared analysis, from political education to collective action, and from local organizing to durable civic infrastructure.
Developed through Grantmakers in the Arts' Cultural Organizing Community of Practice (COCoP), this workshop combines organizing frameworks, historical grounding, case studies, and hands-on exercises to explore how culture strengthens organizing, how organizing builds democratic power, and how grantmakers can better support the ecosystems that sustain this work.
Together, participants will learn from organizers, artists, historians, and cultural leaders working at the intersection of movement-building, cultural stewardship, and democratic participation. Through examples from Memphis and across the South, the workshop invites grantmakers to rethink how they recognize, resource, and partner with the cultural infrastructure that makes collective action possible.
Participants will leave with new frameworks, practical tools, and deeper relationships to inform grantmaking that supports long-term community power and civic life.
Organized by: Grantmakers in the Arts, Midwest Academy, and Highlander Center
Expectations: This workshop will be held at the Halloran Centre in Downtown Memphis. Registration includes snacks on-site.
Cost: $200