Working in partnership, Art2Action and Houston in Action selected and commissioned 12 ARTISTS, ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, & CULTURAL WORKERS in collaboration with organizers in Harris County, Texas, to motivate youth & people of color  to VOTE in the 2020 U.S. elections.

 

In August 2020, we issued a call for proposals seeking projects in which artists collaborate with organizers and/or community partner organizations to create culturally relevant artistic expressions that inspire & mobilize voter engagement. Houston in Action awarded 12 artists and organizations, in various artistic disciplines. THE GOAL: To activate Youth, Black, Latinx, & Asian American communities to register and turn-out to vote in Houston, TX (and beyond!). Collectively, these artist-led, cultural organizing projects, paired with the #HTownVotes initiative, mobilized the largest BIPOC voter-turnout in Houston's history.

 

Selected artists worked closely with HiA, organizers, and Art2Action participating in bi-monthly cohort meetings for peer exchange, in Houston in Action Academy trainings and Learning Exchanges with Art2Action, including:

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• Voter Registration & Engagement for 501c3 Organizations

• Cultural Organizing: Framework & Values

• Racial Justice & Healing Justice

• Arts & Digital Organizing: Tools & Best Practices

• Arts & Healing Practices

• Evaluation: Planning & Process

 

All projects are shared through digital means, for accessible and safe participation during the pandemic. All funded projects were non-partisan, and compliant with 501c3 tax-exempt status.

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For an in-depth reflection on the 2020 Art Votes experience, watch our discussion with Houston in Action's Executive Director, Frances Valdez, in the Animating Democracy Reflecting Forward series, Session 1:

• animating democracy: Voter Mobilzation & The Arts

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​FOLLOW these exciting artists & projects on social media: #A2AVotes #HTownVotes

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