The Broadway Advocacy Coalition Announces Second Annual BAC Artivism Fellowship

The Broadway Advocacy Coalition has announced the second annual BAC Artivism Fellowship to support artist activists using their tools to have an impact on the world around them.

This year's theme is Reimagining Justice through Abolition and will support Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other artists of Color focused on criminal justice reform through use of narrative storytelling and artistry.

Embedded with BAC's Theater of Change methodology, the fellowship will enable participants to blend artistry, law, policy, and community engagement, and produce final projects with the potential to create powerful impact in policy spaces where change can happen. Through the process, all the participants will work with community members to amplify the power of their stories informed by legal and policy research.

The fellowship will support eight people over the course of four months and will culminate in a digital presentation of their work. Members of the Nomination Committee include Arianna Afsar (Hamilton), Tony nominee Chalia LaTour (Slave Play), Bianca LaVerne Jones (Ocean's Eight), Rad Pereira ("High Maintenance"), Tony winner Clint Ramos (Eclipsed) and Black Lives Matter founder and activist DeRay Mckesson. Additional members will be announced at a later date.

"By centering the work of artists of color, we are able to look through a mirror and see how limited our freedom is," said Artistic Director Chesray Dolpha "The work of the artivist is to bring art and activism into the same space. Where we can hold our pain and struggle, but also envision the healing and restoration that is possible when our stories and art are held with love. This fellowship welcomes this community of artivists because we at BAC understand that this work allows us all to reimagine what justice looks, sounds and feels like."

Applications are open to any story or narrative centered artist based in the United States.

Applications are due Thursday, November 25th, 2021 and can be found here.

"The BAC Artivism Fellowship is one of our most exciting vehicles for change," said BAC President and Co-Founder Britton Smith, "It provides a sustained amount of time and care that builds the capacity of our fellows to understand how they can marry their vision of their world with their craft. In 5 years from now, we'll witness works in TV, Film, Broadway and beyond that began within this fellowship, no doubt".

"As a former artivism fellow, I'm a witness to the transformative dreaming space this fellowship creates and I'm beyond excited to help grow artists who are committed to making the revolution irresistible." said Artivism Fellowship Mentor and Inaugural Cohort Member Andrea Ambam.

This year's Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of the Broadway musical Wicked.

The work of the Inaugural fellows can be viewed by visiting our website, www.bwayadvocacycoalition.org/fellowship-hall-gallery. The Inaugural class included Faylita Hicks, ChelseaDee Harrison, Kayla Stokes, Andrea Ambam, Nicole Davis, Jasmine Eileen Coles, Dejajoelle, Daniella Carter and Courtney Jamison.

BAC is a Tony Award- winning arts-based advocacy nonprofit dedicated to building the capacity of individuals and organizations to use storytelling to dismantle systemic racism.

For more information, visit www.bwayadvocacycoalition.org/artivismfellowship.