In early October, the Art of Purpose fellowship program hosted a three-day retreat for fellows at Stony Point Center facilitated by our own Sumitra Rajkumar & Kaitlin Noss. Fellows were encouraged to connect more deeply with themselves and each other and to continue building an awareness of the body and self that allows more clarity of choice under pressure. The Action Lab engages in this work with the understanding that this dimension of organizing, centered on the self and our relationships with each other, deserves the same level of skills development as traditional organizing fundamentals and political education. We will continue to build these capacities with fellows through the end of our time together in this inaugural program.
More From This Initiative
Lessons from Global Movements Confronting Authoritarianism
Lessons from Global Movements Confronting Authoritarianism
Hardy Merriman, Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson and Stephanie Luce shared lessons for organizers confronting authoritarianism.
First Anchor Partner Accompaniment Retreat
First Anchor Partner Accompaniment Retreat
Organizers from Make the Road New York and Flatbush Tenant Coalition gathered for two days of learning about collective power.
Take a Breath: November 2026 Residency Applications
Take a Breath: November 2026 Residency Applications
Apply by October 16 for a free, self-guided residency at Bailey Farms from November 14–19.
Welcoming Union’s Buddhist Studies Program as an Anchor Partner
Welcoming Union’s Buddhist Studies Program as an Anchor Partner
The partnership connects Buddhist scholarship, spiritual care and social justice with movement learning.
Welcoming Sixth Street Community Center as an Anchor Partner
Welcoming Sixth Street Community Center as an Anchor Partner
The Lower East Side community center supports education, wellness and food justice.
Turkey Learning Delegation: Strategies for Resistance
Turkey Learning Delegation: Strategies for Resistance
Thirty labor leaders, organizers and communications strategists gathered in Istanbul to learn from Turkish movements organizing under authoritarianism.
More Highlights
Octubre Rebelde: Memoria, Resistencia & Community Power
Octubre Rebelde: Memoria, Resistencia & Community Power
Music, photography and conversation connected Chilean resistance and diaspora with community organizing in the South Bronx.
Indigenous Hip-Hop: A New Music Video and IIHHF en Territorio
Indigenous Hip-Hop: A New Music Video and IIHHF en Territorio
A.I. (Ancestral Intelligence) premiered October 12 as the festival’s community work continued in Mexico City and Lima.

New York City Expands Child Care Vouchers for More Than 10,000 Children
New York City Expands Child Care Vouchers for More Than 10,000 Children
Providers Organized for Power celebrates expanded access while continuing to organize for a fully funded child care system.

Nearly 200 Providers Gather for Universal Child Care
Nearly 200 Providers Gather for Universal Child Care
Providers and allies from across New York met to advance universal child care and fair pay for the workforce.
Octubre Rebelde: Memory, Resistance and Community Power
Octubre Rebelde: Memory, Resistance and Community Power
Music, photography and conversation connected Chilean resistance and diaspora with community organizing in the South Bronx.
Fall of Freedom: 612 Events of Creative Resistance
Fall of Freedom: 612 Events of Creative Resistance
The Action Lab sponsored dozens of New York gatherings during an October weekend of 612 arts and organizing events nationwide.






