Narrative Arts

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Narrative Arts We work with movements to tell great stories that inspire, activate and enliven our democracy. From slave narratives during U.S. South and beyond.

We believe that social movements thrive and win when they draw on participants’ personal experiences and local cultures. By telling stories—whether in the form of performance, radio, video, or other media—movements build power, envision new democratic possibilities, and change culture and policy. slavery, to popular theater for immigrant laborers, to video stories for LGBT community health, stories large and small form the very core around which social justice movements cohere. Our work is located at the intersection of arts, technology, and policy. We work with nonprofits, foundations, activists, media-makers and journalists in the U.S.

10/14/2026

Yvette Brooks began her work in digital equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, she was working with domestic violence survivors in Transylvania County. When the phone stopped ringing, she became concerned for the families she was working with. It was then she realized how lack of internet could deepen the challenges families were already facing.

Yvette is the founder of Through The Trees in Brevard, North Carolina. It's a non-profit organization working to bridge the digital divide in Transylvania County.

We visited Through The Trees in the first episode of our two-part series on digital equity in western North Carolina for Rural Narratives.

On this episode, Yvette and Through The Trees' story shows that digital equity is connected not only to technology, but also to trust, relationships, opportunity, and the conditions that help rural communities thrive.

Rural Narratives comes out every other Wednesday.

Listen to our two-part series on digital equity in western North Carolina here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://narrativearts.org/podcast/bridging-the-digital-divide-in-rural-north-carolina-through-the-trees/

Public conversation is infrastructure. Communities solve problems more effectively when people have places where experie...
10/13/2026

Public conversation is infrastructure. Communities solve problems more effectively when people have places where experience can become shared knowledge.

10/07/2026

Across western North Carolina, residents are working alongside local government, churches and other organizations to identify where people are being left offline and find ways to connect them.

In the second part of our series on digital equity in western NC, we look at what it takes to build that kind of community infrastructure — and what becomes possible when people have access to it.

One of our guests is Buncombe County Commissioner Terri Wells. Digital equity is one of the issues that pushed her to run for public office. Her story shows how technology isn’t just important for everyday life, but also for building community and sharing vital information in times of crisis.

Rural Narratives comes out every other Wednesday.

Listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://narrativearts.org/podcast/the-community-efforts-behind-bridging-western-ncs-digital-divide/

Listening is not a passive act. It is one of the oldest forms of civic participation. Communities become stronger when p...
10/06/2026

Listening is not a passive act. It is one of the oldest forms of civic participation. Communities become stronger when people learn to hear one another with care.
(Bertie County, North Carolina · 2026)

Community journalism is not simply reporting events. It is the daily practice of noticing what others overlook and prese...
09/29/2026

Community journalism is not simply reporting events. It is the daily practice of noticing what others overlook and preserving what might otherwise disappear.

09/23/2026

Digital equity is about more than whether broadband reaches your home. It’s also about having a connection you can afford, a device you can use, and the skills and support to use them.

In this week’s episode, we head to the town of Brevard in western North Carolina to visit Through The Trees, a non-profit organization working to bridge the digital divide in Transylvania County.

Founder Yvette Brooks began the work during the COVID-19 pandemic, after seeing how lack of internet access could deepen challenges families were already facing. Her story shows how digital equity is connected not only to technology, but also to trust, relationships, opportunity, and the conditions that help rural communities thrive.

Rural Narratives comes out every other Wednesday.

Listen to the episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://narrativearts.org/podcast/bridging-the-digital-divide-in-rural-north-carolina-through-the-trees/

Media is not complete when it is published. It becomes civic practice when communities gather, reflect, and recognize th...
09/22/2026

Media is not complete when it is published. It becomes civic practice when communities gather, reflect, and recognize themselves—and one another—in the stories they share.
(Hertford County, North Carolina · 2026)

Storytelling is not simply about producing media. It is a practice of paying attention, asking thoughtful questions, and...
09/15/2026

Storytelling is not simply about producing media. It is a practice of paying attention, asking thoughtful questions, and helping communities make meaning from their own experiences.

09/10/2026

This week on Rural Narratives, we share the story of Lisa Richey. Lisa came to Columbus County as a banker nearly 40 years ago and made Lake Waccamaw her home. Nowadays, she makes and sells handmade paper art, and is active in her community.

During the pandemic, she began to see public health differently — not as something meant for other people, but as something that belongs to everyone.

Rural Narratives comes out every other Wednesday.

Listen here: https://narrativearts.org/podcast/public-health-is-human-health-a-story-from-columbus-county-nc/

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Yesterday, Rural Narratives was in Brevard, North Carolina, talking with the team at Through the Trees about what it tak...
09/10/2026

Yesterday, Rural Narratives was in Brevard, North Carolina, talking with the team at Through the Trees about what it takes to build connection in rural communities.

Their work starts with the digital divide, but it reaches much further: access to information, relationships, opportunity, and the ability to participate fully in community life.

It’s a reminder that the infrastructure of a healthy community isn’t only roads, clinics, and broadband. It’s also whether people can connect—to resources, to institutions, and to one another.

Episode coming soon on Rural Narratives.

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Wilmington, NC
28401

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