Resources for Creative Troublemakers

The original function of this page was to share movement-related resources for artists. But right now (Jan/Feb 2026), I’m just using it as a “home base” for anything I want to share relevant to the ongoing occupation of my city. CONTENTS:

  1. Calls-to-Action for Everyone, Not Just Artists – These are the links + info I’d share with anyone looking to get involved and contribute.
  2. Resources for Artists Who Want to Show Up – This section zooms in a bit on what artists are uniquely-positioned to offer. The main point here is the meeting notes from our “What Can Artists Do” event.
  3. A Few MN Voices – A list of poems and essays from friends and peers here in MN, sharing their on-the-ground perspectives.

1. Calls-to-Action for Everyone, Not Just Artists

Because sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is take our artist hats off and find ways to show up as neighbors first. A few links related to that:

  • Attend an “upstander” or legal observer training. Potential resources: MONARCA, MIRAC, the Immigrant Defense Network, or the Immigrant Law Center of MN. You can also follow these groups on social media and/or via email list.
  • Connect to a local rapid response network. Every neighborhood, and many suburbs, have them. Talk to neighbors who might already be connected, and/or check out Defend612.com if you’re in MPLS.
  • Support each other. Plug into local mutual aid networks (these are often neighborhood-specific or based out of schools, churches, etc.) to share resources with impacted families, support immigrant-owned businesses, raise money for legal defense, buy groceries for your neighbors, offer rides, etc. This work is often more informal and relationship-based, but a great resource for people looking to give is standwithminnesota.com.
  • Find your role(s). Frontline rapid response isn’t the only job that needs doing. Some of us are relatively safe, and can plan to always carry a whistle and be ready to show up. Some of us are relatively vulnerable, and can safety-plan with our families and research resources related to our rights, legal aid, etc. And some of us are in the middle, and might help out with data entry, patrol admin, childcare, or a range of other actions.
    • There are also political demands (like an eviction moratorium) to be made. Our local/state leaders are talking the talk, but we need to keep pressuring them to actually act.
    • Another resource here: current calls to action from a coalition of MN immigrant rights groups: ICE OUT OF MN.
  • Stay informed and spread the word: There’s a much longer conversation we could have here, but right now, I’m just going to shout out Racket, Sahan Journal, and MPR for people wanting to learn more about what’s happening here and amplify our work.

Additionally:

2. Resources for Artists Who Want to Show Up

A few specific offerings to my fellow artists; not because artists are special, but because they are often who I find myself in community with—and I believe that we need to both go to the work and take the work to where we already are.

WHAT CAN ARTISTS DO? Virtual Event Notes and Report-Back
The full meeting notes, slides, and resource document from the virtual workshop exploring specific, practical ways artists can support organizing beyond our art + many inspiring, real-world examples. I also summarized the workshop in this piece for Racket.

MEETING THE MOMENT: Political Poetry and the Anthemic Impulse
A virtual, asynchronous class for poets, writers, and creative communicators of all kinds interested in language as a tool for creative resistance, truth-telling, and narrative-shaping. The listed price for access is $20, but it is free for literally anyone who wants in (just share your email address in the scholarship form).

  • For those interested in a live workshop, I’ll be facilitating a virtual one called SALT, WARMTH, AND FORCE: POETRY AGAINST ICE on Thursday, February 5 as part of Button Poetry’s ongoing “Button Up” series. You can register for just mine, or for the full series, here.

LET EVERY WORD BE A WRENCH IN THEIR MACHINE: Writing Prompts
Writing prompts and visioning exercises for poets, songwriters, storytellers, and other creative communicators looking to meet this moment. Because art won’t be enough to win, but we won’t win without it.

SPARK YOUR WRITING: Ideas for Getting Inspired and Starting Your Own Writing Practice
Because it isn’t just about the art we create; it’s about the community we build around that process. This resource is full of ideas and writing prompts for those looking to start a writing circle, creative accountability circle, or other collective effort.

3. A Few MN Voices

A few friends and peers; there is a lot more than this.

I’ve also been quoting Ricardo Levins Morales’ “Hope is the oxygen of rebellion” at various programs lately. That quote is from his book.

a stack of zines (small paper booklets) with the text "for artists, writers, and other creative troublemakers; spring 2026, mpls; find these resources at www.guante.info/try

The zine version of this page is really meant for me – just a quick and easy thing I can edit as needed and share with people at events and appearances. But I will also link the PDF file here, in case it can be useful to you, or you want to adapt it and make your own.