We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Johanna Middleton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Johanna below.

Johanna , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Gray Area Stories is a podcast focusing on the healing journeys of survivors of sexual violence. The name comes from a documentary film created by my podcast co-host, Erica Michelle Hart. The film follows Erica having a vulnerable conversation with a man who sexually assaulted her. The two of us have been collaborating creatively since 2016 and when Erica asked me to support the film, I jumped at the chance. We both value creating space for folks to have difficult conversations and often found discourse about sexual violence to lack the nuance of our own experiences. When raising money to fund the film, we were met with countless messages from folks who wanted to tell their own stories. Erica and I wanted to hold space for these stories but specifically think about strategies for healing from sexual trauma and combatting rape culture, which, unfortunately, affects us all.

Johanna , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an artist-educator-scholar with a passion for telling stories and organizing spaces for others to tell their stories – particularly those that ask questions at the intersections of race and gender. As a facilitator, I practice creating communities of care and collective healing, as well as brave spaces for dialogue across difference, through the process of sharing personal narrative. I majored in Theatre as an undergrad and now I’m pursuing a PhD in Performance Studies at Northwestern University. I’ve been facilitating spaces for folks to share their lived experiences for the purpose of community and consciousness raising for over a decade. I’m most proud of having created and facilitated monthly storytelling gatherings for women in Los Angeles called Girlie Stories. In addition to our monthly gatherings. I produced and directed annual storytelling showcases for the public. I’ve also been committed to arts education, having taught, coordinated, and directed youth arts programming at schools and organizations across the country.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Erica and I actually lived in the same dorm room in college but at separate times. We both lived in Room 420, which adds to the comedy. We knew many of the same people in school but never met. It took a house party at the Gal Palace in Silverlake, Los Angeles (IYKYK), to finally meet. Apparently the next time we interacted I was re-enacting the Zola Twitter story at a different house party and that was the beginning of our friendship!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal is to continue creating space for folks to have difficult conversations while imagining a world without gender violence and rape culture.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.johannamiddleton.com // www.grayareastories.com
• Instagram: @johannaoflala // @grayareastories

Image Credits
Briana Guerra Peter Roca Nailah Middleton