Simple, Loud & Colorful ~ Art, Public Actions & Activism for the Mid-Terms

Facilitated by the Center for Artistic Activism's programs director, Rachel Gita Karp, Simple, Loud & Colorful is a live, in-person idea-sharing and training session for performing arts professionals, practitioners and their friends gathered in New York City during JanArtsNYC 2026.

With panelists including Peter Alfred Elizalde, Anjali Deshmukh, Bryony Romer and moderator Gavin Lodge, the gathering demonstrates how to utilize our particular talents and skills as artists and organizers of public events to join with the activist community to create colorful and creative artistic dimensions to public rallies, protests and other types of actions in the run up to the 2026 mid-term elections.

Join a growing national network of arts activists as we share strategies, ideas and tips on how to get involved in social activism in our respective villages, towns, cities throughout the country. Learn how to work with organizers such as Indivisible and 50501 to use public performance and actions to support and amplify the messages and most pressing needs of your communities. 

The gathering is aimed at performing artists, arts presenters, cultural workers and artist managers. There are roles to play and ways to get involved for all. Attendees are welcome as representatives of their organizations or in a private capacity as individuals.

Biographies

Facilitator
Rachel Gita Karp (Center for Artistic Activism)
Rachel Gita Karp writes and directs activist performances to advance US politics and public policy. In particular she focuses on protecting reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, supporting voting and voters, and increasing gender representation in government.

Panel Moderator
Gavin Lodge (American Alliance of Artists and Audiences)
Actor, entrepreneur, political strategist, local board of education elected official, and father of two, Gavin Lodge is a 20-year veteran of stage, screen and politics. He has traversed the country in his work with political campaigns, Broadway shows and other theatrical performances.

Speakers, Panelists & Breakout Group Facilitators

Anjali Deshmukh (Street Works and Make Justice Normal)
Anjali is a Street Works and MJN co-founder and artist, game designer, and writer dedicated
to creating for, with, and in community in public spaces and designing systems that strive to make justice normal.

Alisha Tonsic (Theatre Communications Group)
Alisha graduated from Barnard College. Prior to becoming a co-director at TCG, Alisha was director of the Network of Ensemble Theaters where she championed shared leadership structures and collaborative artmaking practices throughout the field.

Bryony Romer (Indivisible, Brooklyn)
Bryony is a strategist and leader with 30 years experience in fundraising, organizational development, strategic planning, and project management. She works with mid-sized arts organizations to build resources and strategize their futures.

Milena Dileva (Association of Arts Administration Educators)
Milena holds an MA in Arts Administration from Baruch College in New York. Prior to AAAE, she was the executive director of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation overseeing the organization’s offices in Bulgaria and the United States.

Peter Alfred Elizalde (New Yorkers for Culture & Arts)
Peter (they/them/theirs) is a nonbinary dancer, choreographer, DJ and nightlife professional based in Brooklyn. Their work is rooted in mutual aid and opening portals towards collective liberation via nightlife.

Andrew Wood (San Francisco International Arts Festival)
Andrew is an arts administrator who has combined over three decades experience working in the performing arts with social and political activism. He has been both a presenter and an artist manager.

The People vs. Project 2025

The People vs. Project 2025 is a national organizing campaign designed to connect, amplify, and mobilize artists and cultural workers that are confronting — or are ready to confront — Project 2025, a coordinated authoritarian agenda threatening democracy, civil rights, and cultural freedom in the United States. The People vs. Project 2025 was formed on Friday June 13, 2025 at the Americans for the Arts Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Center for Artistic Activism

The Center for Artistic Activism (C4AA) is a small (but scrappy) 501c3 non-profit organization that undertakes research, conducts in-depth workshops and provides free resources to help build, sustain, and develop the field of artistic activism. C4AA works with artists, activists, and organizations to deploy creativity with precision, skill, and expertise resulting in artistic activism that works. Since 2009, the organization has worked in 23 countries on 6 continents.

Theatre Communications Group

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is the national organization for theatre, with a membership network of 500+ member theatres and over 250 university, funder, trustee, and business affiliates, and over 7,000 individuals. TCG reaches over 1 million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year through its programs and services.