Kate Levy is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, journalist, artist, and media activist who collaborates with stakeholders in fights for social and economic justice. Her work elucidates power and supports social justice work through video, journalism, curation, and multimedia installation.
After receiving her M.F.A. from ICP-Bard in 2013, Kate moved back to the Detroit region, where she taught art and activism at Wayne State University. During her time in Detroit, she collaborated with community organizations on multimedia projects to shift dominant narratives about schools, housing, water, environmental justice, and immigration. In 2015 she worked with investigative journalist Curt Guyette, Water You Fighting For, and the ACLU of Michigan to bring light to and document the origins of the Flint Water Crisis. Kate also helped lay the groundwork for the We the People Community Research Collaborative, which maps the effects of school closings, water shutoffs, racism, and financial management. In 2017, she organized Information Democracy, a series of investigative journalism skills trainings with the Detroit Equity Action Lab at Wayne State University Law School.
Kate is currently working on a feature-length documentary film, book (with collaborator Shanna Merola), and exhibition about Michigan’s draconian Emergency Financial Manager law. At MacDowell, Levy sorted through four years of footage from her work with both community organizers and her own family in Detroit. She laid the foundation for a film and exhibition that interrogate narratives that have enabled racism and segregation in Michigan.
