Solidarity Stories Residency

Across the United States and around the world, some people are doing economics differently to make it work for more of us. They are reclaiming the economy by building systems grounded in cooperation, care, and justice. Things like worker-owned businesses, community loan funds, and regenerative farms.

These kinds of solutions – examples of the solidarity economy – are powerful, but often they are invisible or unfamiliar. What if we could change that? What if more people could see what’s working and be inspired to join?

One way— we show them.

Photography has long revealed what’s wrong, what’s possible, and how to be part of movements for change. The abolition of slavery. Indian independence. The Civil Rights Movement. Across time and place, visual stories helped leaders bring more people into the fold.

The role of movement photographers is as vital as ever - not just to expose what’s broken, but to highlight what’s being built. To help people see real estate cooperatives, credit unions, tool libraries, community gardens, and mutual aid networks. To see economic justice in action.

That’s why we’re creating the Solidarity Stories Residency - a project of The Marigold Effect to support the next generation of movement photographers. We’ll pair photographers in the Washington, DC, area with grassroots groups building economic alternatives. Together, they’ll co-create images and stories that make the solidarity economy visible so more people can imagine themselves as part of the movement.

Donors can help promote the solidarity economy by supporting the Solidarity Stories Residency.