story ideas

Artists and social change:
A progressive social agenda goes hand in hand with the lifestyles of many contemporary artists and writers. Artists and writers form organizations or collaborative projects to address certain needs in society, to promote awareness of injustices, or to produce sales that will benefit a particular cause. By the time an artist has begun a professional life, it’s very likely that he or she will have donated work to any number of community and charitable groups, benefit auctions, or anhtologies. What are the specific goals of most concern to artists who are broadly interested in social change? How are these goals achieved? What role should government play in achieving these goals, and what are some of the more effective strategies used by artists to influence the actions taken by our representatives?

New Orleans, three years later:
A search for news articles with these words brings up a number of critical stories about what still needs to be done, as well as a number of hopeful stories about the ongoing progress being made in post-Katrina New Orleans. More recent disasters, including flooding along the Mississippi and fires in California, necessarily become the focus of emergency efforts, while a quiet rebuilding continues in the Louisiana. Since the tragedy of Katrina has become a symbol of national failure, how does New Orleans fit into our nation’s agenda today? How much more needs to be done, and how well are we doing it?

Hair as a marker of social, cultural, and family viewpoints:
Grooming, decisions about personal appearance, hairstyles, makeup, and clothing: all apparently on the surface of existence, these details help shape our experiences and histories, both personal and collective. If we follow hairstyles through history, through a person’s lifetime, and from family to family, we begin to see new ways of understanding the viewpoints and pressures involved for individuals in a certain time and place. There are moments when questions of the economy of style become national news: How much should a politician’s haircut or outfit cost?—And how nice that she bought that dress of the rack during a recession. These stories touch a nerve because they place the reader or viewer in a direct relationship for comparison (or contrast) with the person in the story, as we all have bodies to care for on a daily basis, and a list of structures and traditions that influence the way we do it.