Upisode 29: Designer and Amplifier Deputy Director Cleo Barnett talks with Ian about the difference between New Zealand and the US. Cleo then recounts the story of the “We the People” campaign’s origins during the inauguration of January 2017. She then explains Amplifier’s business and educational model and plugs its latest campaign, “We the Future.”
About Cleo Barnett
A native New Zealander and longtime Washingtonian who recently returned to Seattle, Cleo Barnett is a curator, campaign strategist, and designer. Her work at the intersections of public art and cultural organizing has been featured at the Brooklyn Museum, on CNN, VICE, Refinery29, Radio New Zealand, the New York Times, and elsewhere. Cleo holds an M.A. in Art and Public Policy from New York University, and a double B.A. in Political Science and International Business from the University of Auckland.
Since 2015 Cleo has been a core part of the Amplifier team, a non-profit organization which builds visual media experiments in collaboration with contemporary artists, educators and community engagement, to amplify the voices of social movements. As the Deputy Director, Cleo co-produces and co-curates multiple global public art campaigns including the iconic We The People campaign, the Women’s March on Washington, and the March For Our Lives. The result has been millions of iconic posters distributed and downloaded across the country and building the non-profit into a globally recognized art and social justice organization.
The We the Future campaign showcases ten young leaders representing ten diverse movements, each already building us a better world. They are drafting and passing legislation. They are working on climate justice, criminal justice reform, voting rights, immigration rights, disability justice, gun reform, queer rights, and literacy. Their work is nonpartisan, and it carries the energy of countless communities from every background. In a time of uncertainty, these icons show us a path forward, and they show us that the Future is already here. Listeners can support the campaign’s Kickstarter today through October 9, 2018 for a variety of gifts and rewards.
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