Paul S. Flores, Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee

Catalyst for Change Award

Supporting US and Puerto Rico-based Latinx artists in the advancement of racial justice through community-centered, artistic solutions.

Paul S. Flores, Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee

Overview.

With major support from the Surdna Foundation, NALAC is supporting Latinx artists working to dismantle systems of racial injustice in their local communities. NALAC believes that artists and cultural workers have always been at the forefront of change. The Catalyst for Change Award intends to strategically invest in projects that identify a community challenge and its root causes and imagine a community-based, collaborative solution for a more racially just world. Grounded in the concepts of radical hope and imagination, the program aims to catalyze the development and implementation of creative ideas that bring the futures we desire and imagine into the present.

How to Apply.

Year 1 of the Catalyst for Change program was an invitation-based process. We anticipate launching an open call for the second iteration of the program in summer of 2021.

Anel I Flores, 2020 Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee
Anel I Flores, 2020 Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee

Meet our Year 1 artists.

In year one of the Catalyst for Change grant, NALAC worked with past grantees and alumni with experience in community arts practice to build out and model the new Catalyst for Change grant program. Eleven artists, representing seven different states artistic disciplines, are working with NALAC in this model year with projects addressing systems of injustice within their own communities.

Browse Grant Projects

Michelle Angela Ortiz, 2020 Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee
Michelle Angela Ortiz, 2020 Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee

Meet our Year 1 Collaborators.

In the first iteration of the Catalyst for Change program, NALAC collaborated with peers in the arts field with deep expertise in cultural strategy, community-engaged artistic practice and racial justice work to provide additional support for artists.
Ebony Noelle Golden

Ebony Noelle Golden

Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative

Ebony Noelle Golden is the principal consultant of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative, cultural strategist, performance artist and scholar who is serving as the program’s education and evaluation strategist. bettysdaughterarts.com
Lisa Yancey

Lisa Yancey

Yancey Consulting

Lisa Yancey is the president of Yancy Consulting (YC) and served as a Year 1 program coach. She is a strategist, social impact entrepreneur, community builder and visionary that specializes in organizational development, economic modeling, evaluation and assessments and leadership coaching. yanceyconsulting.com
Lauren Ruffin

Lauren Olivia Ruffin

Fractured Atlas/Crux

Lauren Ruffin is the co-founder of Crux and co-CEO of Fractured Atlas and served as a Year 1 program coach. She is a thinker, designer, & leader interested in building strong, sustainable, anti-racist systems and organizations. fracturedatlas.org, crux.black
Joel Garcia

Joel Garcia (Huichol)

Meztli Projects

Joel Garcia (Huichol) is an artist, arts administrator and cultural organizer with 20+ years of working transnationally focusing on community-centered strategies. He served as a Year 1 program coach. He’s the co-founder of Meztli Projects, an Indigenous based arts & culture collaborative centering indigeneity into the creative practice of Los Angeles. rageone.squarespace.com, meztliprojects.org
Selina Morales

Selina Morales

Southwest Folklife Alliance

Selina Morales is the lead folklorist for the Radical Imagination for Racial Justice program strategy and the Participatory Action Research partner for NALAC and Year 1 artists. southwestfolklife.org

Driving Values & Definitions.

Equity – the fair treatment, access, opportunity and advancement for all people that also identifies and eliminates barriers that have limited the full participation or inclusion of some groups. Addressing issues of equity requires an understanding of the root causes of oppression and disparities within our society.

Community – a group of people who are connected by geographic place, identify with historical or
ethnic traditions, beliefs or spirit. This definition is provided by our partners at Alternate ROOTS.

Racial justice is the systematic fair treatment of people of all races, with equitable outcomes for all. This definition is sourced from the article “Origin of the Idea of Race” by Audrey Smedley.

Radical – the term radical inherits its most powerful meaning from the Latin radix or “root.” For the purposes of this grant, we believe that radical imagination of new solutions or approaches are informed by the deeply rooted tensions, contradictions, power imbalances and forms of oppression and exploitation that exist in our society, politics, economy and culture.

Read the Surdna Foundation’s original press release here. https://surdna.org…

 

Read the Press Release

Jesus CIMI Alvarado, 2020 Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee
Jesus CIMI Alvarado, 2020 Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee