Meet an Anthem Judge: Carri Twigg
Carri Twigg has had an illustrious career so far, having worked in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama and served as the Director of Public Engagement for Vice President Biden. Now, as the Founding Partner and Head of Development at Culture House, she is focused on challenging status quo media narratives and growing our collective cultural understanding about one another and ourselves. Carri is also a new Anthem Judge – read below to see what she is looking for in this season’s entries.
For those who are unfamiliar, can you tell us a bit about yourself and the work that you do?
I’m Carri Twigg. In 2018 I co-founded a film and TV production company with two other women to tell stories at the intersection of pop culture and politics. Our company, Culture House, is Black, Brown, Women-owned and we have projects on platforms like Disney+, Hulu and Netflix. We genuinely believe that society moves at the speed of narrative, and the stories we choose to tell about who we are have significant impact on the world we live in. Before Culture House, I worked in politics and government, working on campaigns and working in the Obama/Biden White House. My work and my life has always been animated by the idea that social change is both urgently necessary and possible.
What expertise are you bringing as a judge for The Anthem Awards?
Everything I’ve done in my life, from running campaigns to developing TV shows, and really just living as a Black woman in America has honed my interest in and ability to interact with, the work being produced by creatives, organizers, artists, thinkers, writers and do-ers that shape the communities we live in together.
What are you looking for in Anthem Awards entries?
I’m always looking for people with an interdisciplinary approach to communicating their ideas – society functions as an ecosystem and entries that honor that interconnectedness and use it to best spread their message will stand out to me.
What does it take for a project or campaign to cause real-world change?
For a campaign or project to generate real world change it takes messaging that functions as an organic extension of a conversation thats already happening in the mind or community of the audience it is reaching. Either by offering tangible solutions, next steps or to-dos, or adding a framework or context that enables the viewer/participant to think differently and therefore act differently. It has to be recognizable yet new, compelling and accessible. Not a small feat.
What social impact campaign, grassroot effort, fundraiser or project has recently inspired you?
An iconic campaign that I still think about and reference is the It Gets Better project, while its an older campaign – it began in 2010 – you see its echo in campaigns like #metoo and so many others.
Don’t miss your chance to get your work in front of Carri – enter the 2nd Annual Anthem Awards by our Final Entry Deadline September 23 here.
