SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) and Color Farm Impact, an innovation and social impact non-profit dedicated to improving representation in media, have joined forces in an ongoing partnership aimed at promoting pop culture as an educational tool. The partnership kicks off with the Power of Pop Culture Series launch in January 2025. The Series will include a variety of initiatives including events, educational opportunities, webinars and more.
As K-12 schools struggle to engage Gen-Z students, this partnership offers a continuation of the work both organizations have already been doing to bring pop culture into education. Along with the series, MOPOP will utilize its Sound and Vision Theater for in-person events, as well as provide unique access to pop culture archives, adding additional color to Color Farm Impact’s ongoing curricula development and programming.
“At MOPOP, we’ve always believed pop culture is worthy of scholarly study, and this is the first step in bringing that to the masses,” said Michele Y. Smith, CEO of MOPOP. “Not to mention, as gaps in funding have led to the removal of arts education from schools, this work will provide educators and students alike with engaging options to learn and teach. Pop culture has a way to connect with students in a way that traditional curriculum cannot, and we’re honored to partner with Color Farm Impact to bring The Power of Pop Culture Series to life.”
Color Farm Impact, co-founded by entrepreneur Ben Arnon, and actress Erika Alexander, best known for her roles as Maxine Shaw in “Living Single” and Coraline in the Academy Award-winning film “American Fiction,” recently launched The Maxine Shaw Effect leadership curriculum program in partnership with Microsoft, Langston League, Yvette Lee Bowser’s The Butterfly Foundation, Discovery Education, and Reconstruction. The curricula — which includes both educational elements and media clips — centers on research that found that Alexander’s portrayal of Maxine Shaw influenced many renowned female figures to pursue education and careers in law, politics and leadership. It will be distributed on Microsoft’s learning management platform for nonprofit education organizations across the country to access, amongst other access channels.
“Our research showed how impactful pop culture can be, with 90% of Black women professionals saying my character in “Living Single”, Maxine Shaw, inspired them to be confident and unafraid to speak their minds,” said Erika Alexander, Color Farm Impact and Color Farm Media co-founder. “We want to bring that same impact to today’s youth and are looking forward to working with MOPOP to do it.”
MOPOP has long been a pillar of education within the Seattle community and beyond with initiatives like its Youth Advisory Board, summer camps, homeschool days, and more. This partnership is an extension of that work.
“Both MOPOP and Color Farm Impact have already been doing this work, which made this partnership a natural fit,” said Ben Arnon, Co-Founder of Color Farm Impact and Color Farm Media. “By coming together, we’re able to further expand our efforts to reach young learners with new offerings including events at MOPOP, educational programs, and more. There truly is no better way to bring the Power of Pop Culture to the masses than to work with MOPOP.”
ABOUT MUSEUM OF POP CULTURE (MOPOP)
MOPOP is a leading-edge nonprofit museum in Seattle, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary pop culture. With a mission to activate the world-shaping power of pop culture through participative experiences, discovery, and play, MOPOP reaches multigenerational audiences through our collection, exhibitions, educational programs, and community partnerships. MOPOP imagines a world where everyone recognizes and wields their cultural power.
ABOUT COLOR FARM IMPACT
Color Farm Impact, co-founded by Erika Alexander and Ben Arnon, is a 21st century innovation and social impact non-profit that seeks to better society through the transformative power of images and storytelling. Recognizing the urgent need for diverse representation in media, Color Farm Impact seeks not only to bolster scripted and non-scripted content with impact campaigns that inspire social action, but also to mentor, train, and support a pipeline of next generation, diverse creators to advance the stories of those whose voices have been ignored because they are not seen as valuable in society. Color Farm is bringing greater equity, inclusion, and diverse representation to media, creating sustainable, long-term, systemic change by shifting narratives. Color Farm Impact's sister entity is Color Farm Media, an award-winning, multi-platform media company.
