Woven Identities Digital Storytelling Workshop is a workshop that focuses on the technical side of content creation by pairing digital media with different forms of storytelling. We will host a two-day digital storytelling workshop for LGBTQ+, Two-Spirit, and gender-expansive Indigenous youth at the UIC Community Center in Midtown Manhattan.
The workshop will take place April 24th-25th, from 11AM–6 PM, to support accessibility for youth with weekday school, work, or caregiving responsibilities.
This workshop will engage 12 youth participants, who will learn the fundamentals of video production, narrative writing, and social media strategy, supported by mentorship from local Indigenous artists, activists, and digital storytellers. Participants will explore identity, culture and healing through storytelling and media-making, building both technical skills and creative confidence.
The workshop will culminate in the co-creation of a multimedia campaign led by the youth themselves, spotlighting the brilliance, resilience, and lived experiences of Indigenous young people at the intersections of gender, sexuality, and culture. The campaign will be launched across UIC’s digital platforms and shared in community spaces, with the goal of reaching at least 100,000 viewers during the grant period.Through this immersive experience, youth will gain tools to tell their own stories, strengthen digital literacy, and build public visibility for Indigenous LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit narratives. The campaign will aim to:
Normalize Indigenous mental health narratives
Challenge stigma around queerness and identity
Celebrate cultural pride, sovereignty, and self-determination
Led by our 3 media experts, this workshop will cover writing, short-form media and long-form media. This includes but is not limited to frame composition, lighting, sound and editing. Participants will also get the chance to break into groups and create their own content with in-person support from our facilitators. After the workshop has concluded, participants will get the chance to further get to know each other during a post-workshop dinner to continue networking and developing industry connections.
Facilitator Workshop Bios
Thomas Lopez Jr.
Thomas Lopez Jr. aka @landbackbaddie is an author, activist and content creator. They are the founder and Executive Director of Indigiqueer Creative Alliance (iQ) as well as a co-founder of the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC.) They have a BA in Technical Communications w/ a minor in Native American Studies. In 2018 Thomas accepted the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award presented by the lateJohn Lewis on behalf of the IIYC. Thomas will be teaching the Short Form Media portion of the curriculum and will be your primary facilitator throughout the workshop.
Paxti Martinez
Paxtī co-runs When One World Ends, a video essay/sci-fi channel that explores climate change, Indigenous philosophy, and the “end of the world”. Paxti wrote their thesis on indigenous climate planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where they also wrote and spoke for the Forge Project (Gentrification is Colonialism: Housing and Colonizing Architecture). They will be teaching the Long Form Media portion of the workshop and will also be leading the multi-media campaign.
Kylie Van Arsdale
Kylie is an independent artist, model and storyteller. She has published campaigns with Glossier, MCM, and ICE Magazine, and recently starred in a music video featuring Baby Keem, Moma Boyd and Kendrick Lamar. She is an experienced writing tutor from her undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Classics as well as designed and piloted a free public workshop for college application essay writing. Kylie will be leading the storytelling curriculum as well as offering one-on-one writing tutoring to workshop participants.