Financial Lives & Institutional Harm Lab (FLIHL)
Goal: To document, analyze, and publicly mobilize Black mothers’ lived experiences of financial precarity as it intersects with healthcare, housing, education, and legal systems, in order to influence institutional accountability and policy change.
Financial Lives & Institutional Harm Lab (FLIHL)
Goal: To document, analyze, and publicly mobilize Black mothers’ lived experiences of financial precarity as it intersects with healthcare, housing, education, and legal systems, in order to influence institutional accountability and policy change.
The Black Mothers Creative Justice Studio amplifies the voices and lived experiences of Black mothers through artistic expression, storytelling, and public engagement. Through creative labs, mentorship, exhibitions, and publications, the studio creates space for healing, narrative control, cultural expression, and deeper public understanding of Black mothers’ realities.
Inputs
- Program Lead (Arts & Community Engagement)
- Artistic facilitators (visual arts, writing, performance, digital media)
- Honoraria for Black mother participants
- Partnerships with:
- Galleries and cultural institutions
- Community organizations
- Universities and hospitals (exhibition spaces)
- Materials (art supplies, recording equipment, software)
- Digital platform (website, archive, publication tools)
- Funding (arts councils, foundations, grants)
- Communications and design support
Activities
- Artistic Creation Labs
- Facilitate structured creative sessions (in-person/virtual)
- Support participants in developing artistic works across mediums:
- Visual art, writing, audio, performance
B. Themed Cohorts
- Organize cohorts around key themes:
- Chronic illness, comorbidity, and the body
- Institutional harm and spirit injury
- Motherhood and survival
- Joy, resistance, grace, and care
C. Mentorship & Skill Building
- Provide guidance from artists and cultural practitioners
- Offer workshops on:
- Storytelling and narrative control
- Preparing work for public presentation
D. Public Exhibitions & Installations
- Curate exhibitions in:
- Community spaces
- Institutional settings (hospitals, universities)
- Develop pop-up and mobile exhibits
A. Publication Development
- Produce an annual anthology (print + digital)
- Curate and edit submissions
- Design and distribute publication
B. Art for Advocacy Integration
- Collaborate with other Charis-Chara programs to incorporate artwork into:
- Reports
- Policy briefs
- Campaigns
Outputs
- 25–40 Black mothers engaged annually
- 50+ original artistic works created
- 2–3 exhibitions or installations
- 1 annual anthology/publication
- 1 digital archive of curated works
- 3–5 creative workshops or mentorship sessions
Short-Term Outcomes (0–12 months)
- Increased confidence in creative expression
- Strengthened sense of validation and community belonging
- Increased capacity to share lived experiences on participants’ own terms
Intermediate Outcomes (1–3 years)
- Increased public awareness of Black mothers’ lived realities
- Greater engagement from institutions exposed to exhibitions
- Shifts in dominant narratives about Black motherhood
Long-Term Outcomes (3–5+ years)
- Cultural shift in how Black mothers are represented and understood
- Increased empathy influencing institutional practices and policies
- Sustained integration of lived experience into public discourse and systems change work
Target Participants
- Black mothers (including newcomers, refugees, and those reintegrating after institutional involvement)
- Individuals experiencing: chronic illness
- housing instability
- legal system navigation
- educational barriers
- financial impediments
Inputs Resources
- Program facilitator(s) (research + arts-based)
- Participant honoraria
- Partnerships (community organizations (schools), healthcare advocates, legal clinics)
- Creative materials (art supplies, recording tools)
- Space (physical or virtual)
- Research ethics framework
- Documentation tools (audio, visual, written)
Activities
- Financial storytelling workshops (guided narrative + timeline mapping)
- Cost of Survival mapping sessions (participants track real financial experiences)
- Arts-based creation (visual art, writing, mixed media)
- Peer dialogue circles (collective meaning-making)
- Research documentation and thematic analysis
- Public exhibition + knowledge mobilization event
- Report/publication development
Outputs (Direct Products)
- 20–40 participant-created financial narratives
- 20–40 visual/creative works
- 1 public exhibition (The Cost of Survival)
- 1 research-informed report linking financial harm to institutions
- 1 digital archive or publication
- 2–3 stakeholder engagement events (policy, healthcare, housing sectors)
Short-Term Outcomes (0–12 months)
- Participants articulate and document financial experiences linked to institutions
- Increased awareness of systemic financial exclusion among participants
- Strengthened peer connection and validation of lived experiences
- Generation of qualitative and arts-based data
Intermediate Outcomes (1–3 years)
- Increased public and stakeholder awareness of financial barriers across systems
- Integration of lived-experience evidence into advocacy and policy discussions
- Strengthened community capacity for storytelling as resistance
- Partnerships with institutions engaging with findings
Long-Term Outcomes (3–5+ years)
- Shifts in institutional practices (e.g., cost transparency, support mechanisms)
- Recognition of financial precarity as a structural determinant of health and wellbeing
- Increased inclusion of lived-experience research in policy design
- Contribution to systemic change in how institutions account for financial harm
The Impact
A reframing of financial precarity from an individual issue to a systemic condition produced and sustained by social institutions.
Our Impact