Our Roadshows take the 4 Rs of social transformation to the people. 

One example of this is The Good Fire, an interactive multimedia performance that is an allegory for renewable energy. Through the performance, we engaged communities in re-imagining a just energy future, discussed reforming the broken energy system, learned about new models for distributed solar, and resisted the utility monopoly. “The Good Fire” toured with local artists, musicians, activists, and youth puppeteers.

Another example is Finding Our Balance, an interactive performance that calls on all of us to find balance in the world by aligning with the elements of nature within and without. Our immersive multimedia approach highlights the connections between social and ecological harms and the inspiring ways communities work to mend life's web. 

These roadshows were envisioned and created by Jodi Lasseter and Connie Leeper, the Co-Founders and Co-Directors of NC Climate Justice Collective. Each show combines original spoken word by Dasan Ahanu, live music, and portable murals and puppets crafted by Jan Burger and Sophie Joy of Paperhand Puppet Intervention. They also feature deep engagement with a teach-in on NCCJC's four frontline issues. The aim is to use popular education and cultural organizing to align our frontlines and address the root causes of climate change.

NCCJC brings cultural work to actions across North Carolina and the Southeast, elevating other organizations’ events to advance shared movement goals. Our creative offerings often combine original music, drumming, puppets, spoken word, and visual art. 

On April 29, 2017, NCCJC led a contingent at the People’s Climate March in DC, joining an estimated 200,000 people to call for action on climate change. In collaboration with David Solnit of 350 [https://350.org/] and Jan Berger of Paperhand Puppet Intervention, NCCJC created a massive street theatre performance to support the march's aims. Leading up to the action, we produced over 500 pieces of art. During the march, we coordinated with eight busloads of protestors from North Carolina to get over 500 people to dance, sing, and join in a performance at the beginning and end of the march.  

As a part of the September 2019 week of climate action, our drummers led the march during the Triangle Climate Strike and later disrupted Governor Cooper’s meeting with the Interagency Climate Council to call for truly clean energy with our original song.

These are some examples of bringing vital, persuasive, and engaging cultural elements to a major action.

The NCCJC TapRoot Arts Residency is an immersive creative experience dedicated to cultural organizing, political education, and artivism for climate and social justice! This residency will provide a participatory space for artists, cultural workers, and creatives to explore the intersection of art, climate justice, and community engagement. NCCJC’s interactive performance, Finding Our Balance, provides the educational foundation for the residency. 

This residency offers artists committed to environmental activism and social justice a space to explore creating art that builds movements. Participants will harness their creativity to raise awareness, inspire action, and amplify the voices of communities most affected by climate change. The residency includes discussions, creative and performance activities, and presentations. Participants will address pressing climate issues, advocate for equitable solutions, and build meaningful connections with partners and stakeholders.

We invite applications from artists of all disciplines, including but not limited to visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and multimedia. We particularly welcome applications from artists who identify as members of communities first and worst impacted by climate change and injustice, including Indigenous peoples, people of color, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Artists should demonstrate a strong commitment to climate and social justice.

Our poetry workshops are a powerful exploration of what words can do. Writing poetry allows us to engage with the broader world, interrogate conditions and circumstances, and celebrate our will and courage. It can be emotional, inspirational, educational, and as creative and expressive as our imagination. It can also be a catalyst for change and documentation of our resilience. Each session provides participants with tools to put thoughts and ideas down on paper and to make them come alive. 

Our workshops are based on the Re-imagine aspect of our Four R’s framework. To build a just world, we must be able to imagine and communicate what a society based on partnership, inclusion, and interdependence looks like. In our workshops, participants will use the artwork to reimagine our world as we consider all that we face and must navigate.

The 4 R’s Indie Film Fest (4RIFF) is a virtual festival based on the NC Climate Justice Collective’s 4 R’s framework, featuring content shot on a mobile phone. Our aim is not only to spark interest and creativity but also to provide an accessible storytelling platform for a broad spectrum of creators.

We look for submissions that feature performed text, image slideshows, or captured video that reflect each year’s festival theme. Submissions must be between 1 and 10 minutes in length. The work by finalists in each category will be featured at our festival, and winners will receive cash prizes.

The 4RIFF showcases, nurtures, and supports the immense creativity of our communities using a tool so simple and readily available that it’s often overlooked: the mobile phone. This festival is curated and produced by Dasan Ahanu, the Cultural Organizing Director for the NC Climate Justice Collective. Dasan is an award-winning artist and a seasoned curator and cultural organizer with over 25 years of experience.

This is where we help partners envision arts projects and events that can push transformation, awareness, or social engagement in their community. Participants will be led through activities that will help them plan and coordinate a multi-genre artistic agitation intended to exert influence and inspire change. Art can be an amazing catalyst for shifting culture, highlighting a necessary issue, or organizing a response. Our aim is to empower our partners to plan and execute cultural arts events that involve diverse artists, address issues of interest to their communities, and/or foster engagement in ongoing activities and initiatives.