Trust-Building Across Networks Through Festival Organizing

In this case study, we examine how organizers of a grassroots literary and cultural festival built trust across networks in a decentralized curatorial process. Organizers with backgrounds in arts and community organizing used online organizing tactics and tools to connect writers from different neighborhoods, marginalized identity groups and cultural organizations. We observe that the use of social media helped bring openness and transparency to the planning process, inviting broader participation and creating space for social interactions, thus facilitating trust. Brokers played a pivotal role in connecting different networks online and off and fostered collaboration and relationship building. However, in some cases brokering was not enough to establish trust; organizers had to make extra efforts to adapt to groups' cultural and communication norms and make special accommodations to increase inclusivity.