An Awareness of Tactics
Behind the Scenes of Business Series
Dear reader,
Good morning from a calm day in Northern Michigan, where June is sleeping softly next to me and the sun is hiding behind the clouds. Today’s newsletter is an installment of Behind the Scenes of Business, where I share how I run a business as an artist and what that means to me—especially when the world asks for more of us than just our work.
This series is typically for paid subscribers, but today there is no paywall.
For many organizing, protesting, and participating in community engagement today, there is nuance in the air—nuance that the quick takes on the internet often flatten. I’ll be attending the No Kings Day protest with my partner and trans comrades. I go not because I believe this single action will change everything overnight, but because it’s a place to locate each other, to find the ones already committed to ongoing direct action in our region.
It’s worth noting that many No Kings Day gatherings collaborate with police. Many protests rely on police liaison strategies because they believe it minimizes risk, but that does not erase the existence of surveillance or repression. This is the kind of nuance that doesn’t fit neatly in a social media post, but lives in the body when you show up. Cops do not make us safer, we make us safer.
So, how do we hold all of this complexity and keep tending to our own creative practice or business? How do we promote our offerings when the world also needs our bodies in the street, our donations, our skill-sharing, our witness?
I’m also aware that the tactics that work in one place don’t always translate cleanly to another. A protest in Los Angeles or New York might look like a massive march with a strong block and no dialogue with police. A small town in Northern Michigan might require a different shape: relational organizing, door-knocking, slow trust-building, or even attending a protest that has permits and a police liaison—because here, we’re gathering the seeds for what comes next. Context matters. Place matters. Tactics shift, but the root intention stays: find each other, keep each other safer, and build power beyond the day’s event.
I don’t stand in a great knowing, I stand in the great unraveling. I am asking questions, staying curious, and using my resources. The last thing I am doing is monitoring how others on the left are showing up in this moment. I take care of my side of the street, my neighbors, and those in my real life.
For me, the answer is: keep your channels open. Keep your art alive. Keep your money moving toward people and projects that align with your ethics. Don’t hide your work—offer it as one more tool.
Tomorrow and next Sunday, I’m teaching Systems for Artists—a short but potent class on how to build scaffolding around your practice, so you don’t crumble in times like these. It’s for people who want to keep making, keep paying themselves, keep showing up for their communities without burning out. It’s lecture-style, full of tools, and a rare chance to see exactly how I organize my days, money, and output as an artist committed to more than just profit.
If you’re planning to protest today:
Keep your phone charged, and know your local legal support number.
Let a trusted friend know your plan.
Be ready for contradictions—most protests are messy, imperfect, and also holy.
Leave room for tomorrow: the world will still need you.
If you’re planning to rest today: may it be real rest. If you’re working today: may it feel honest and useful. If you’re doing both: may you feel held.
At the end of the day, whether you’re marching, making, resting, or planning, remember this: your business is not separate from your politics, your art is not separate from your survival, and your survival is not separate from your community. We live in the weave of it all. My hope is that Systems for Artists helps you design a way to keep weaving—steadily, imperfectly, and in good company. However you show up this week, may it be from a place that feels honest to you. I’m glad to be here alongside you.
I’ll see some of you tomorrow in class. Registration is still open. If you’ve been waiting for a sign to show up, this is it.
In solidarity and systems,
Cody
✨ PS: Here’s the link to Systems for Artists if you want to join
Additional resources :
Information to share on reporting ICE activity
Flyer for today’s gathering in Traverse City
Michigan Solidarity Bail Fund