Who We Are
StoryShop is a growing collective of nonprofit professionals and formerly incarcerated artists and advocates working together. Our aim is to assist system-impacted artists in all media gain the professional development and financial education necessary to achieve personal agency and entrepreneurial empowerment.
The StoryShop planning team currently includes:
Wendy Jason, Founder/ED, Justice Arts Coalition
Gabrielle Lyon, Executive Director, Illinois Humanities
Faylita Hicks, Writer and Artist, Right of Return USA/Center for Art & Advocacy
Blanche L. Norman, Senior Development Officer, The New Press
Ricki Gold, Deputy Director, Rehabilitation Through the Arts
Morgan Mandalay, Program Manager – Designing Creative Futures, California Lawyers for the Arts
Ava Dennis, Programs Coordinator, Justice Arts Coalition
Robin McNulty, Development & Communications Director, Justice Arts Coalition
What’s Next?
StoryShop will be an accessible free, online initiative for directly-impacted artists and writers offering fundraising, grant writing, and business management workshops that help creatives prepare for, and manage, their professional lives. These sessions will be conducted virtually so that we can gather a diverse group of facilitators, subject matter experts and participants. 1:1 mentoring will also be available to provide more in-depth support to participants who are actively applying to funding opportunities.
If you’re interested in participating in these workshops, please fill out the form below. We will stay in touch with you once we have more information about dates and workshop content.
StoryShop workshops will launch in Spring 2024. Please keep an eye on this page for future updates on how to register as they become available. If you have questions or are interested in either attending the workshops, or facilitating one, please let us know by filling out the interest form!
StoryShop was made possible through a generous grant from the Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.
