RISE UP!
AN OPEN CALL FOR GIFS TO FIGHT WHITE SUPREMACY,
RACISM, AND ANTI-BLACKNESS
People around the world are standing up for equality and taking on the social and political systems that have long perpetuated systems of oppression. Artists have a unique role to play in driving a narrative of change and supporting the work of activists in our collective fight to address racism.
RISE UP: Taking on White Supremacy, Racism and Anti-Blackness is an open call for GIFs that invites artists to share stories of how they’ve been impacted, shine a light upon the problem itself, honor active work to repair the damage, or encourage people to keep up the momentum towards a society where everyone can thrive. This open call is an opportunity to create and share art that illuminates the work each of us can do to end bigotry, and build justice. This is what democracy looks like.
“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”
- Toni Morrison
How it works
CREATE.
Design an original GIF that responds to the open call theme of rejecting and/or responding to white supremacy, racism, xenophobia, or anti-blackness.
SUBMIT.
Upload your work to our submission portal using this form.
SHARE.
Spread your message of strength and resilience as widely as you can on your own social media and design platforms.
Spread the word.
Invite other designers, animators, artists and creators to participate and help make an even bigger impact.
View the Official Rules
Timeline
June 19
RISE UP: Taking on White Supremacy, Racism and Anti-Blackness launches and opens for entries.
July 5
Submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET.
July 6
Jury begins reviewing submissions to make their final selections.
July 15
Winning selections announced.
Meet The Judges
Gina Belafonte
Gina Belafonte is Executive Director of Sankofa.org, which educates, motivates, and activates artists and allies in service of grassroots movements and equitable change.
Rashad Robinson
Rashad Robinson is Executive Director of Color of Change, the nation’s largest racial justice organization, which leads campaigns that build real power for Black communities.
Ianne Fields Stewart
Ianne Fields Stewart is a Black queer nonbinary transfeminine New York-based storyteller working at the intersection of theatre and activism, and a founder of The Okra Project.
Hank Willis Thomas
Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture.
Open Call ThemeS
TAKING ON WHITE SUPREMACY, RACISM, AND ANTI-BLACKNESS
In order to move to a more just society, we must recognize our deeply held implicit and explicit biases.
Racism (and anti-blackness), xenophobia and bigotry are rampant in society and are all but foundational to many of the systems that we all live in each day. Each of us experiences different impacts from each of these systems of oppression, and so each of us has different roles to play in uprooting them as well.
Getting past racism takes more than acknowledging the problem: it takes active effort to identify its harms and understand our own roles in racism and bias we all harbor, reimagining our systemic racist systems, ongoing action to repair the damage done, and shared work to move forward with new paths towards a truly pluralistic society where all are created equal and all have equal opportunity to live to their fullest capacity.
Whether by sharing stories of how we’ve been impacted, shining a light upon the problem itself, honoring active work to repair the damage, or encouraging people to keep up the momentum towards a society where everyone can thrive, this open call is an opportunity to create and share art that illuminates the work each of us can do to end bigotry, and build justice. This is what democracy looks like.
RISE UP IS SPONSORED BY TENOR
More than 300 million people use Tenor every month to communicate with an animated GIF that expresses their exact thoughts or feelings.
ABOUT US
We believe that artists help us make sense of the world around us. They help us challenge injustice, question what we accept as normal, manifest new futures and inspire us into action. When artists and activists come together, when creativity and organizing combine, lasting answers emerge.
At Into Action, that’s where we come in: creating spaces, moments, and opportunities for arts, culture, and organizing to intersect and create lasting social change. Through in-person activations, open calls, and the ongoing creation of new and innovative art, we help make the world a better place.
