# Event Details - **Event Name**: Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change - **Event Start and End Date**: Mon, 04 May, 2026 at 06:00 pm – Mon, 04 May, 2026 at 08:00 pm (-05:00) - **Event Description**: Join us for an evening of short films and conversations exploring environmental issues in Iowa.About this EventStorytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community ChangeA collaborative storytelling and public humanities project with the Iowa Environmental Council, Drake University students, and community.FILM SCREENINGFILM 1: Walking in Place (WIP) is a film and community archive created by Amal Barre. WIP uses film and historical GIS to reconstruct landscapes erased by urban change, and to honor the lives shaped, displaced, and reassembled through it. The project dwells in the quiet, persistent forms of resistance: the act of remembering, of returning, and of refusing to forget. The first film in the series, :1434 Walker Street (2024), was created in collaboration with Des Moines-based jazz musician, Don Brown. Length: 12 minutesFILM 2: Views From the Garage and Other Places (2026) is inspired by the ever-present landscape of garages and parking lots in Des Moines, a city with roughly seven parking spots per resident. Absurd, yet common across the American urban landscape. The film reflects on how extractive logics shape our relationship to land and nature, producing spatial orders that appear neutral while quietly regulating both people and possibility. Attending to the everyday, it traces how coloniality continues to enclose space, movement, and imagination. The film was made in collaboration with ArtForce Iowa. Length: 6 minutesSTORYTELLING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FILMS was developed through the StoryLab at Drake University by Environmental Justice course students in partnership with the Iowa Environmental Council. Length: 20 minFollowing the screening, stay for a conversation with student filmmakers and local guests, reflecting on the stories, the process, and the questions these films raise. (IEC) is leading the way to create a safe, healthy environment and sustainable future for Iowa. Through advocacy, education and coalition-building, IEC creates large-scale change that makes Iowa a better place to live, work, explore and enjoy.Carol Spaulding-Kruse is a professor of English at Drake and the founder and director of Drake Community Press. The DCP publishes books in partnership with community organizations, including Sacrifice State: Iowa Voices on Environment and Justice with the Iowa Environmental Council.Amal Barre (Linktree) is an urban planner, researcher, and filmmaker based in Amsterdam and Des Moines. Her work explores the built environment as a site of memory, struggle, and possibility, shaped by over a decade in affordable housing and influenced by Black spatial imaginaries. Working across film, mapmaking, and research, she examines how systems both sustain and harm, and how they might be reimagined. Amal is an adjunct faculty member at Drake and facilitates the film workshops for students enrolled in the Environmental Justice Course.StoryLab explores storytelling as a practice of hope and a critical exercise that helps participants make sense of where we have been, where we are, and where we might go. Students in the Environmental Justice class, in partnership with the Iowa Environmental Council, explore human and non-humans relationships to the environment through storytelling, observation, and lived experience.What to ExpectScreening of short filmsA moderated conversation local experts and students centered on storytelling as a practice of critical engagement.Audience Q&AWhy AttendThis event is an opportunity to:Engage with student films that explore environmental issues through observation, storytelling, and lived experienceReflect on how environmental challenges take shape in Iowa—from water quality and agricultural landscapes to community health and environmental riskConsider how storytelling shapes what we notice, question, and often overlookParticipate in a community conversation about local issues and connect with your neighbors.Accessibility📍 Location: Sussman Theater | Olmstead Center (lower level)📅 Date: May 4⏰ Time: 6:00–8:00 PM🎟 Cost: Free and open to the public🚗 Parking: Free parking available near the auditoriumAccessibilityThis is a FREE public, community-centered event. All are welcome.This event is supported by the at Drake University. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/des-moines/storytelling-for-environmental-justice-care-and-community-change/100001986276525557 - **Event Categories**: entertainment, storytelling, workshops, music, health-wellness, art, theatre - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Des Moines - **state**: IA - **country**: United States - **location**: Sussman Theater | Olmstead Center (lower level) - **lat**: 41.6019361 - **long**: -93.65687299999999 - **full address**: Sussman Theater | Olmstead Center (lower level), 2875 University Ave, Des Moines, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/9e0954ce0516b324819c5a2ba93d2f52d0c9b056c70ccae7cb8dbf8e7c886542-rimg-w1200-h675-dc2f4817-gmir.jpg?v=1775569917 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change being held? - **A:** Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change takes place on Mon, 04 May, 2026 at 06:00 pm to Mon, 04 May, 2026 at 08:00 pm at Sussman Theater | Olmstead Center (lower level), 2875 University Ave, Des Moines, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change? - **A:** Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change is organized by Environmental Science & Sustainability at Drake. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Storytelling for Environmental Justice, Care, and Community Change is ideal for curious learners, students, and skill-builders looking to gain hands-on knowledge and practical expertise in a focused, interactive setting. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Des Moines, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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