Culture Surge was created in 2019 with the intention to create a strong coalition of artists, cultural thought-leaders and organizers leading up to the 2020 election. Since its launch, Culture Surge continues to engage,connect and build this community with the goal of strengthening our collective power and harnessing creativity for the greater good.
Our Journey
* 2019: Culture Surge was born out of a shared desire by members of the culture and narrative change field to build cultural strategies and storytelling into existing movements both in the 2020 election and beyond.
* 2020: Led by anchor organizations, (The League, The Center for Cultural Power, Illuminative and Harness) Culture Surge organized a large network of narrative and culture change practitioners, artists, and organizers, through resources, tools, and trainings. This included developing Culture Surge’s hallmark resource, The Storytellers’ Guide to Changing the World, and commissioning content from hundreds of artists, reaching millions of people.
* 2021-2022: After completing more research, Culture Surge released an updated Storytellers’ Guide to Changing the World with a companion field guide to help organizers integrate narrative strategy into their civic engagement work. We also provided re-grants for field members, and additional resources for both creators and organizers. These resources included--a series of diverse workshops to support organizers activating BIPOC communities during the midterms, as well as convenings that dug into impact measurement, digital tools, and audience insights.
* 2023 - Present Day: Culture Surge transitioned to become a core project within The League ,with goals still rooted in the intersection of cultural strategy and collective power. Culture Surge is currently rolling out a variety of new programming, spaces for community and connection, and opportunities for shared learning across the culture and narrative change field.
In 2024, Culture Surge will reignite our community's collective power to spark fresh ideas through dynamic dialogue, shared spaces, and collective campaigning that amplifies our impact.