Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation launches Reimagine Arkansas initiative to share pandemic perspectives
by August 5, 2020 7:54 pm 883 views
The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation is helping launch Reimagine Arkansas, a statewide digital media initiative, to amplify underheard voices and shape public understanding and decision-making during COVID-19.
“This partnership is a bold bet on those working the hardest during COVID-19,” said Rev. Shantell Hinton Hill, equity officer at the foundation. “We believe that collecting, curating and sharing these powerful stories will compel us to find better ways to support essential workers, during this pandemic and in the future.”
The foundation will work with Local Voices Network (LVN), an initiative of the nonprofit Cortico, on the project.
Participants will be allowed to submit audio, photography, video and other digital contributions. The aim is to create a forum for content creators, bloggers, artists, researchers, students and journalists to share perspectives on how the pandemic is affecting everyday life.
No recordings or data from the conversations will be sold and participants will remain anonymous, if desired. Once complete, the full collection will be made available to those interested in studying the impact of this historical moment.
“Reimagine Arkansas takes the simple act of listening and pairs it with an artistic activation of the imagination,” said Rev. Cory Anderson, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation chief innovation officer. “We are living in a moment of extreme hardship but also of infinite possibility. This project will help center those closest to the challenges and bring us closer to creating a more just and equitable future.”
Each month, Reimagine Arkansas will release a digital constellation kit with audio highlights from the virtual conversations and images produced by regional artists under Creative Commons licensing.