Barrett and Welsh created its award-winning “Equity Is Survival” social media campaign for Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO). For IBPOC artists navigating an inequitable world, equity is survival. But the public is unaware of how precariously artists live—especially IBPOC artists.  CPAMO needed to raise funds to spotlight Indigenous, racialized and historically marginalized artists and their art.

CPAMO hires these artists and showcases their art annually at The Gathering, its signature event. For 2021 the event had a special focus: anti-Black racism in the arts. We were commissioned to help CPAMO raise $5000 in funding via CPAMO’s GoFundMe page to host and pay IBPOC artists.

Equity as the unlock:  IBPOC artists are fighting for survival, and only equity makes survival possible. Supporting CPAMO directly supports the survival of IBPOC artists and their art.

The message: In the heart of COVID-19 darkness, IBPOC artists brought us light. Performances for locked-in seniors, porch concerts and backyard shows, arias for frontline workers from their balconies. For free. For us. Now, it’s our turn to give back. Donate now.

Marketing Awards 2022 - Bronze - Best Use of Social Media

The channel Owned media (CPAMO’s Facebook page) was the primary vehicle for this campaign and reach was boosted using a minimal investment in targeted, interest-based paid social (Facebook newsfeed ads) to attract new visible minority donors, who over-index in Facebook use vs Canadians in general.

Impact As of 1 September 2021, CPAMO's campaign raised $4,835 in just its first two months, and exceeded the goal of 5K for the campaign period. The Gathering itself, which took place in December 2021, spotlighted an extremely diverse array of artists from multiple marginalized visible minority communities. Encouraged by this success, CPAMO raised its 2022 target to $10,000 in the hope of supporting more IBPOC artists.