Making Revolution Irresistible: An Interview with Laura Chow Reeve of Radical Roadmaps
Laura Chow Reeve
Pronouns: she/her
Digital: radicalroadmaps.com, @laurachowfun, @radicalroadmaps
Email: radicalroadmaps@gmail.com
One of your favorite nonprofits that everyone should give to: Survived & Punished
ReproJobs: Your stunning roadmaps and artwork caught our eye on Instagram and through several of your projects, including the Color Out Cash Bail coloring book, as a phenomenal way to educate people about complicated and nuanced issues through narrative illustration and graphic recording. Can you tell us a little bit about how you came to this work?
Laura: Thank you so much for your kind words. While I’ve only been graphic recording for about a year and half, I’ve been doing cultural organizing work for many years. About ten years ago, I got involved with Girls Rock Philly, “a youth-centered music organization dedicated to building an intergenerational community of girls, women, and trans and gender-expansive people. Through the practice of fearless expression, artistic experimentation, and collaboration, we build the confidence and leadership skills needed to transform ourselves and our communities,” and then soon after the Girls Rock Camp Alliance. So, long before jumping into the world of graphic recording or organizing the coloring book, I deeply valued art, creative expression, and cultural work as a part of movement building and organizing.
I actually hired a graphic recorder, the brilliant Emily Simons, for a youth retreat I was organizing for my day job. When she arrived, she very generously talked about her approach, coached me through a practice session, and let me play with her materials and kit. She has done a lot of graphic recording work for movement orgs, particularly Southerners on New Ground, and so we also talked about and shared our values in doing this work. I feel really lucky to have met and connected with her, and we’ve even had the opportunity to collaborate on some projects.
Some of the best advice I got from Emily was to just jump in and try. I had the opportunity to practice graphic recording at my day job during staff meetings and at local SONG Richmond chapter meetings. But what really helped was just drawing every day and taking frameworks and concepts I was excited about or learning about and practicing translating them into a graphic format. My Radical Roadmaps instagram account was actually started as a way to document my practice and to keep myself accountable, I had no idea folks would connect with it in the way that it did.
I should also say that I had a lot of experience as a trainer and facilitator, so I already had experience supporting conversations, listening to folks, synthesizing things, etc. I also was always a “doodler” when taking notes, both in school and then later in trainings and workshops, so I think my brain naturally wanted to connect visuals and information.
I also just want to name that some of my best work and favorite projects (like the coloring book) have all been done in collaboration and I truly can’t do any of the work I do alone. I was on a call a few months ago and Kelly Hayes said something like “good is what I create in concert with other people,” and that is something I’ve held really dear to me since I’ve heard it. I also think a lot about how Mariame Kaba starts every webinar that I’ve been on recently by acknowledging all the folks who made it happen (logistics folks, translators, captioners, graphic recorders, tech support, etc.) and how she names that anything worth doing is done with other people. That’s all to say, I guess, that I’m appreciative folks are excited about some of the graphic recording work and illustration work I’ve done recently, and it’s all in concert with or because of other folks’ brilliance, labor, talent, and skills.
Using Restorative Practices at Home, graphic recording for the NYC TJ Hub
ReproJobs: Graphic recording might be a new concept to a lot of folks. Can you talk about what it is, and how it can help people understand and capture information differently, particularly for people who process information differently?
Laura: Graphic recording, at least my understanding of it, is (often) live visualization, synthesization, and documentation of a meeting, panel, workshop, strategic planning session, almost anything really. Live graphic recording, when shared on a screen or done in-person at an event, can support visual learners stay grounded in maybe more abstract conversations, as well as help all participants remember key information during and after a session. Graphic notes or recordings shared after a meeting/event/etc. can capture the feeling or vibe of a conversation better than a document of typed notes, can help folks who may not have been able to attend better understand what folks talked about, can be a great touchstone for an organization or collective of folks as they build on their work. These graphics can also invite new folks in, especially to conversations they may not have thought they had a connection to previously or maybe didn’t know enough about to dive in.
ReproJobs: What is your creative process when you’re thinking about a roadmap concept to convey information? What inspires you?
Laura: I do some prep before a call/webinar/panel/session. That usually includes talking with the organizers, getting a feel for the agenda (if available before-hand), setting up my color palette, and prepping my canvas (on Procreate) with any titles, logos, and/or more detailed drawings (like portraits) ahead of time. Usually once the session starts I dive in and start note taking and drawing. One thing I really love about graphic recording, or at least in my own practice, is how in the moment it is. I let the conversation lead me, and even though I’m working on an iPad at a desk, it can be a really physically, as well as mentally, draining experience (but often in a good way!).
I’m inspired by other movement artists and graphic recorders (here’s a list of some folks on my website), inspired by the smart and sharp folks that I get to listen to on almost a daily basis now. I’m also inspired by textures, collage, layers. I’m always exploring new brushes and techniques that I can utilize on Procreate.
I’m also really inspired by learning new things, both the content of these conversations, but also creative practices. I’m self-taught for the most part, so it’s fun to learn new tips/tricks in Procreate and those always inspire me to stretch my creative practices. I’m also trying to beef up my drawing skills and plan on taking a drawing class next year to keep that muscle strong.
ReproJobs: Many nonprofits and campaigns are moving to more visual art to share our stories and explain complicated issues to organize our folks. Why do you think art should be accessible and critical to social change?
Laura: There have been so many smart folks who have talked about this, specifically Toni Cade Bambara who famously said, “As a culture worker who belongs to an oppressed people my job is to make revolution irresistible.” I know lots of folks use that quote as a touchstone in their practice, and I certainly do as well. I think cultural work is critical to social change because it allows us to visualize the (purposefully) invisibilized systems that oppress and marginalize folks, but also, maybe even more importantly, articulate what we are working towards, the worlds and systems and relationships with each other and the land and governance that we want instead. I think art and cultural work can also make our political education work more engaging, can support all types of learning, and invite folks in, to engage deeply in a way that centers creativity and imagination.
ReproJobs: You do live graphic recordings of events. How do you synthesize the information into nuggets to memorialize after the meetings?
Laura: Honestly, I do my best. It’s a skill that I still feel like I’m cultivating and something I feel like I do successfully sometimes and not so much other times. I’m a really focused listener when I’m graphic recording, and I often go with my gut about what feel like the main takeaways, questions, next steps, action items. It helps when facilitators I’m working with repeat things for emphasis, say things like “what I’m hearing is…,” and ask clarifying questions. It’s also helpful when folks use metaphors and descriptive language that I can pull into my illustrations. I have the hardest time synthesizing when I find myself getting really nerdy and excited about content because I just want to write down what folks are saying word-for-word; sometimes that can be a helpful strategy, but I know graphics that are overly wordy are often not as helpful, and actually can be overwhelming for folks.
ReproJobs: What’s your reflection routine?
Laura: I’ve always wanted to be a better journaler (who knows, maybe 2021 will be my year?), so I don’t feel like I have a “routine.” However, I do a lot of reflection on my values, practices, and actions. I ask myself if my practices and actions are aligning with my values. I try to assess if and how big the gap is between my actions and values if there is misalignment. It’s been a helpful practice when it comes to critique (both self-critique and critique from others), and has helped me figure out when I need to pause and address something and when I can allow myself to (as Mariame Kaba says) #KeepItMoving.
ReproJobs: What’s an area of social justice you’re growing in?
Laura: I think all of them! I hesitate to call myself an expert in anything and feel like I’m always learning, growing, and stretching my analysis and how I put my analysis and values into practice. One thing I’m particularly focused on right now, is Transformative Justice-- I’m a part of a small study group right now and we’re working our way through the Creative Interventions toolkit. I’m also really interested in how I navigate conflict with folks and how that can be a really loving and transformative thing rather than something that’s automatically scary or “bad.”
ReproJobs: How do you wind down your workday?
Laura: It’s been so hard to do this during COVID-19, especially because I work completely from home and because I have a full-time job on top of my graphic recording work. My partner is a helpful (and needed) accountability buddy to get me to “unplug” and stop work for the night. Walking my dog, Scout, around the neighborhood is helpful, sitting down for a meal with my partner too. Anything I can do to get me away from my computer and iPad, really.
ReproJobs: What’s your power attire?
Laura: I feel most like myself, so I guess this is my power attire, with dark winged eyeliner, a crop top, and boots.