We’ve seen the No Kings marches and other coordinated protests against the current presidential administration and its policies. Now artists and culture workers are getting in on the act with nationwide organizing under the banner of The People vs. Project 2025, billed as a “A Movement to Defeat Trump and the Heritage Foundation and Reclaim the Nation’s Democratic Institutions & Cultural Narrative,” which will stage simultaneous prototype events across the country Sept. 20-21, inviting artists and culture workers to shape the initiative and take local action during the autumnal equinox. Livestreams of the weekend’s events will feed into a central channel and be distributed to audiences across the country. A national organizing campaign, The People Vs. Project 2025 is designed to connect, amplify, and mobilize artists and cultural workers confronting the authoritarianism and targeted state repression that is using the playbook laid out by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and is “threatening democracy, civil rights, and cultural freedom in the United States,” according to a statement.

This nationwide network “captures the spirit of collective action within the dual contexts of artistic freedom and social empowerment,” said Danielle Pender of Chicago’s Harris Theater, who was among the instigators of a meeting in June at which the initiative was born. “It means that when artists, advocates, and communities come together, their shared strength and creativity can overcome oppression, drive meaningful change, and build a more just and equitable society for all.”

Organizers hope the activities will lay the groundwork for sustained collaboration and a cohesive national strategy as the 2026 midterm elections approach. This includes developing demands to rebuild the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), and other arts and arts education services decimated by the administration. Events include: 

• A “We Got the Power” flash dance event kick-off on Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. PT in the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco (livestream here, RSVP for in-person volunteers and artists here, RSVP for in-person spectators here; participating groups include Dance Brigade) and at 12 p.m. ET at the Democratic Town Committee’s parking lot in Old Lyme, Connecticut (contact Gavin Lodge for more details). Folks can participate in the flash dance remotely starting at 10:30 a.m. PT (Zoom link here).
• Also on Sept. 20, at 3 p.m. ET, Homeless Congress and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition will culminate their annual gathering with a participatory performance in response to the recent executive order on homelessness (contact MC Rietz for address and more details). 
• Also on Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. PT, BAM House in Oakland, California, will host an open microphone, featuring a conversation among Black artists regarding how to push back in this political moment within the lineage of the Black Arts movement.
• On Sept. 21, the network will stage a street work festival, “Rising. Curtains.” on 34th Ave. and 78th St. in Queens, New York, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The festival invites passersby to join in the locally loved craft of community beading, an ancient, global tradition, and to reflect on the story of climate change and collectively design the unwritten future. Attendees can register here.

The network coalesced three months ago in Cincinnati at the annual Americans for the Arts conference, when artists, cultural workers, activists, and arts advocates came together at an ad-hoc meeting and decided there had to be a coordinated national artistic initiative to defeat the fundamentalist forces behind Project 2025, reclaim the nation’s cultural imperative, and blend artistic practice and grassroots activism to defend democracy, celebrate collective power, and affirm a pluralistic future.

“Since protests began after the inauguration, I’ve been looking for ways to rally artists to support local activist work,” said AFTACON attendee and Cincinnati community organizer MC Rietz. “This initiative is providing a framework to do just that, in community with a national network of artists doing the same in their local places.”