Nourishing Change:
Arts, Culture & Community in the Fight for Food and Housing Justice

How can creativity help us survive—and reimagine—systems that fail to meet our most basic needs?

Inspired by Kristina Wong: #FoodBankInfluencer, this dynamic panel discussion moderated by Director of Artistic Programming and Interim Executive Director of Emerson’s Office of the Arts Ronee Penoi, explores how artists, cultural organizers, and communities are responding to the intertwined food and housing crises with ingenuity and solidarity. From pandemic-era mutual aid kitchens to grassroots rent parties that kept the lights on and the music playing, we’ll examine how cultural expression has long been a lifeline in times of precarity.

Panelists will discuss the radical potential of the arts to foster collective care, build community resilience, and galvanize action around economic justice. Together, we’ll reflect on how performance, storytelling, and creative organizing can disrupt narratives of scarcity and shame—and instead amplify voices, strategies, and solutions rooted in abundance and mutual support.

Join us for a timely conversation that lives at the intersection of art and activism.