Researching narrative, building power

institute for
movement narratives

 A research and media institute where social movements lead the narrative

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

about the institute

The Institute for Movement Narratives is a collaborative storytelling and research lab. We co-create media with social movements, exploring how narrative can shift power, inspire action, and imagine liberated futures.

Our Work

Our mission

The Institute for Movement Narratives centers the voices of those most impacted by injustice, producing participatory media projects, critical research, and public dialogues. Through partnerships with universities, non-profits, and communities, we explore how narratives shape power—and how collective storytelling can reimagine our futures.

Contact

Art of Exile is a bold, experimental documentary and public dialogue series that explores how exile shapes—and often transforms—the creative work of artists who have fled authoritarian regimes. Co-directed by filmmaker Dara Kell and journalist Veena Rao, the project invites audiences into intimate, transnational conversations with displaced artists, revealing how artistic freedom, memory, and dissent are reshaped in exile. Developed in partnership with Julie Trebault and the Artists at Risk Coalition at PEN America, Art of Exile is both a platform for critical dialogue and a living archive of creative resistance—where new forms of art, connection, and community are forged.