Making the Invisible Visible

*The need:* Some communities are absent from public narratives, spaces, and decisions.

Some communities are invisible in public narratives, public spaces, and public decisions. This recipe makes their presence undeniable: communities that have been erased or marginalized coordinate to make themselves visible through art, stories, data, and persistent presence until they cannot be ignored. The community must control its own narrative entirely, include joy and not only struggle, prepare for backlash with support ready, and ensure economic benefit flows to the people doing the work.

How it works

1. Map where the community is invisible: media, public art, decision tables.
2. Collect stories, photos, and contributions that usually get overlooked.
3. Design a visibility campaign such as murals, posters, or a social media takeover.
4. Launch all at once for undeniable impact.
5. Keep it sustained through multiple channels.
6. Document how the narrative shifts.
7. Celebrate the newly visible community.

Ingredients

• a core team from the community itself
• ways to collect stories and images
• artists from the community
• walls/windows/platforms
• a launch moment

Minimum resources: $100-500 for materials and printing.

You'll know it's working when

• 'I didn't know they were here' becomes 'I notice them now'
• invited to decision tables
• pride instead of shame
• resources flow to unmet needs

Field tips

• community controls its own narrative entirely
• include joy not only struggle
• prepare for backlash
• economic benefit flows to the community

Building from (real projects)

• Inclusive Local Ancestry Posters
• PublicSource Points of Pride
• Asset-Framing Post-It Notes
• Invisible Cities

Details

• size: meal
• patterns: amplifying_unheard_voices, making_power_visible
• civic need: belonging.identity, agency.civic_expression, agency.reparative
• field tips: community controls its own narrative entirely, include joy not only struggle, prepare for backlash, economic benefit flows to the community
• source tag: CB
• timeliness: longview, community_rhythm
• ingredients: a core team from the community itself, ways to collect stories and images, artists from the community, walls/windows/platforms, a launch moment
• source note: From the Civic Media Cookbook: 'Producing Civic Media: Recipes to Produce Civic Media Through Participation, Power and Community' — Jihii Jolly and Jennifer Brandel, with the News Futures Working Group (2026).
• how it works: Map where the community is invisible: media, public art, decision tables., Collect stories, photos, and contributions that usually get overlooked., Design a visibility campaign such as murals, posters, or a social media takeover., Launch all at once for undeniable impact., Keep it sustained through multiple channels., Document how the narrative shifts., Celebrate the newly visible community.
• building from: Inclusive Local Ancestry Posters, PublicSource Points of Pride, Asset-Framing Post-It Notes, Invisible Cities
• min resources: $100-500 for materials and printing.
• need it meets: Some communities are absent from public narratives, spaces, and decisions.
• practice kind: recipe
• success signals: 'I didn't know they were here' becomes 'I notice them now', invited to decision tables, pride instead of shame, resources flow to unmet needs
• charter alignment: reparative, information_equity
• participatory nature: collective_sensemaking, collective_action
• conceptual ingredients: delight, trust