ARTIVISTUS LAUNCHES NEW MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE ARTISTS

THE “ARTIVIST’S” CHALLENGE IS ETERNAL: “HOW DO I CONNECT ‘US’”?

Brooklyn, NY – ARTivistUS, LLC, a New York company, is launching a new campaign on September 1 to promote the work of various artists for whom social justice themes are prominent. These artists will be optimizing social media strategies and opportunities to build national and international audiences.

Clients in the new “ARTivistUS Class of 2021” include artists mentored by Pete Seeger such as Judy Gorman and Mike Glick, emerging performers such as Lindsey Wilson and Barry Oreck, an anesthesiologist-turned-life coach, Dr. Wendy A. Ward, and veteran actor, director and internet celebrity Geoffrey Owens. ARTivistUS was started by Christopher Owens, himself a political activist, a singer-songwriter known as Chris Oledude, and a client of ARTivistUS.

“The modus operandi of ARTivistUS is to harness the transformative power of art to promote awareness, provoke dialogue and, ultimately, catalyze meaningful social and structural change within American society and worldwide,” says Chris Owens. “We all know that artists speak to our heart and that there is always a potential audience for those who express the need to improve the human condition.”

“I know incredibly talented people who have yet to connect to audiences across this nation and across oceans simply because today’s communication tools – social media – have been less accessible and less effective for us,” said singer-songwriter JUDY GORMAN. “ARTivistUS enables us to overcome individual marketing challenges through a powerful collective effort. I think Pete Seeger would be delighted with this project.” Gorman has released five albums and has performed at music festivals throughout Europe as well as throughout the United States. She is now preparing new recordings and a new live performance schedule.

“If you are creative, then you want to spend time creating,” said actor and director GEOFFREY OWENS, one of Chris’ younger brothers. “The demands of the internet are extensive and people like me have been looking for ways to meet those demands in a sensible way.” Geoffrey Owens, who played “Elvin” on The Cosby Show, plans to expand his Shakespeare education efforts and to restart his internet program “Shift Happens,” which paused production due to the pandemic. “ARTivistUS will help me keep my focus where I want it to be – completing good work that inspires people – and it will also help me give my fans the attention and respect they deserve.”

BARRY ORECK is working on an album’s worth of new original songs with his band. An accomplished educator, Oreck sees himself on a continuous learning curve with social media work and he wants to have more meaningful contact with his fans. “If I have to twist and shout to be effective on social media, then I am doing less in terms of songs, performances and even message responses for the people who support me,” he said. “I needed a new way to become a complete entertainer and, by managing my internet life, ARTivistUS has provided that new way.”

After working for 30 years as an anesthesiologist, Brooklyn native DR. WENDY A. WARD (a/k/a DR. WENDY) realized that her calling was to improve the health of her community in a different manner. “I am a passionate Renaissance woman and I have been an entrepreneur building a business to facilitate self-empowerment. I felt disempowered, however, when it came to marketing,” she said. “The ARTivistUS approach to building social media infrastructure is sensible and essential. I believe that ‘teamwork makes the dream work’! ARTivistUS provides me with the technical support on the front end, the client colleagues who support each other, and I pay the company on the back end. If I do well, we all do well.”

Coming out of East New York, Brooklyn, singer-songwriter LINDSEY WILSON works daily to assist young people seeking employment. She, too, is working on new music and rebuilding her band in the post-pandemic era. “When people see me perform, they become fans and want more of my music,” she said. “Artists survive on tight budgets, so investing in big social media campaigns was not possible for me. ARTivistUS, however, has made it affordable and efficient for me to increase my exposure, the number of fans I have, and their ability to interact with me. This is a really good thing and quite exciting!”

One of Lindsey Wilson’s colleagues is former schoolteacher MIKE GLICK. Glick has written some 500 songs, recorded 10 CD albums, and has performed solo and with musical groups all over the world. At present, Mike Glick also performs with both his son Alexi and Lindsey Wilson as the group GENERATIONS. “Frustration with Facebook has alienated me from social media, in general,” Glick explained. “But I sell my music the old-fashioned way – at live performances – and that just is not effective anymore. ARTivistUS understands what needs to be done to strengthen my appeal online and they have been doing the work.”

Christopher R. Owens
President, ARTivistUS

ARTivistUS founder Chris Owens has worked in the private, public and non-profit sectors. He was not prepared, however, for the attention given to his CHRIS OLEDUDE video, “George Floyd: Say Their Names” over the past year. At film festivals around the world, the video has been winning awards while stirring up emotions and starting conversations. This recent and intense experience convinced Chris that connecting with supportive international audiences was critical to the survival of socially conscious music and its creators – particularly those based in the United States.

Christopher R. Owens
President, ARTivistUS

“As Chris Oledude, I am an artist of a certain age and social media frightens and confuses me”, he joked. “I want to write more music and fewer posts — and I know my peers think similarly. So, I have invested in this effort by contracting with knowledgeable individuals to assist our clients.”

Owens believes that he will be able to increase his client roster by at least 10 per fiscal year. “I won’t have a problem finding talented artists in need of our services. I just need to make sure I can provide the best service to every client. And I intend to do just that!”