Rewriting the Script: Arts, Media Narratives, and Democratic Belonging

Join us to explore how portrayals of Muslims in scripted TV affect public attitudes and policy preferences.

Join the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and the Arts Administrators of Color Network for a powerful in-person gathering in New York City.

This program will spotlight ISPU’s groundbreaking study, Stereotypes on Screen: The Effects of Muslim Portrayals in Entertainment Media on Attitudes Toward Democracy and Policy, the first of its kind to test how portrayals of Muslims in scripted TV affect public attitudes and policy preferences.

Blending research, storytelling, and creative practice, our time together will include a research presentation, a moderated panel with artists and cultural leaders, interactive dialogue, and a pop-up installation of the Native American and Indigenous Muslim Stories: Reclaiming the Narrative project (NAIMS) exhibit.

We’ll also create space to connect through a networking mixer with refreshments provided, along with time to explore the museum and engage with the exhibit.

Together, we’ll examine how narrative harms aimed at Muslim communities ripple across communities of color—and how arts and culture can help shift public narratives toward equity, belonging, and collective liberation.

This gathering is designed for artists, cultural workers, arts administrators, educators, advocates, and anyone invested in the power of storytelling to advance solidarity and strengthen democracy. Come learn, reflect, and imagine new possibilities for narrative justice together.