At Alter Collective, we believe creativity has the power to shape how we see the world and how we imagine the future. Our Creator Spotlight series highlights artists and creators who are using their work, their voices, and their everyday choices to challenge the status quo and inspire change.
For this spotlight, we spoke with Grace Stromatt, a queer director based in Los Angeles whose work explores strange, meaningful, and socially conscious stories. Grace believes deeply in the influence of the media we consume and the responsibility creators have to imagine the kind of future they want to help build.
Meet Grace Stromatt
Grace Stromatt is a queer director based in Los Angeles whose work explores strange, twisted, and meaningful stories and the ways media can shape how we see the world.
Follow Grace: @gracestormrat
Learn more: gracestromatt.com
What's your name?
Grace Stromatt
Where are you from?
Los Angeles, but I grew up in Seattle, Washington.
Tell us a bit about yourself
Grace is a queer director based in Los Angeles. She thrives in making films that are strange, twisted, and yet meaningful.
She believes that the media we consume shapes our views on each other and the world, forming the subconscious biases we hold. For that reason it is crucial as filmmakers to make films that align with the future we hope to forge.
What are some of your favorite sustainable habits?
This week I started a mini "Buy Nothing Group"! I created a large group chat with friends where we can send pictures of items we no longer have need of, borrow items or trade services!
I wasn't sure how it would go at first but was happy to find that within first 30 mins someone claimed each item noting they had been in need of it.
So many donated items still end up in the landfill or there are items that can't even be donated but are still perfectly good, like a nice perfume that you just no longer use. Instead of buying a drill or a hot glue gun for a project you can ask to see if anyone has one you can borrow.
My good friend Taylor, who is a wonderful hairstylist, added the idea of trading services in the group too! So people can trade items, crafts, or their own services for hair cuts and colors from her.
It's a really fun way to reduce waste, reduce over consumption and create community. I think we have slowly been trained out of leaning on each other for things. There is no reason, other than the companies making more profit, that we all need our very own sets of power tools we each only use once every few months.
What project, initiative, or cause are you currently working on?
A lot of the books and movies our generation grew up on were dystopians. Which I think was really important for us to be able to recognize these dangerous patterns in our own societies and know where they lead so we can fight against them.
So, as a filmmaker, I think it would be really cool if the genre our generation started to write and create were utopias. Not in an unrealistic way, but to show what could a more humane sustainable equal society look like and how would we get there?
We need that hope right now. I love seeing artists renditions of solar punk societies!
Every new script and narrative project I have been working on is about some of these issues I care deeply about. I’ve been struggling with them as I want the right balance of sparking upset to cause action while also having enough hope to keep people going. But not too hopeful or people won’t feel they personally need to do anything.
I'd also really love to make music videos with artists who tackle some of these things in their music. I really do believe art can be a key factor in activism, especially music.
What's one sustainability challenge you think deserves more attention right now?
I know this has been a large topic already but one I feel needs to continue to be at the front of conversations. AI data centers are such a pervasive evil.
I have had many serious heart to hearts with people in my own family asking them to stop using AI. Arguments that AI can be used for good or could be used sustainably don't matter at this stage. Sure there could be AI run on solar power or AI that doesn't steal art but the only way to get there is if we fight it NOW at this level and demand changes.
The more people just accept it into their lives we lose any chance to demand changes. I am tired of the argument that it is inevitable as if that somehow erases the fact there are many different outcomes of how AI could be used in our world.
The fact of the matter is right now it is being used by ICE, the data centers are having a horrific impact on the environment and AI is unregulated even around creating child sexual abuse material.
In the film industry there are many people who tell me to just embrace it or get left behind. I refuse to use any AI in the work I do. A recent music video we did for Maris people pointed out we could have saved time and money if we had just used AI for some of the effects but we knew that it would have only taken away from the final product. Not only did the final product have so much more depth from doing the effects and visuals ourselves but we had so much fun doing it.
If creating movies becomes one person sitting at a desk typing in prompts I don't want to do it. Film is such a wonderfully fun medium because of the collaboration with others.
Favorite eco-friendly product/swaps?
Check out Cut Off The Spigot! It's an instagram page where she outlines all sorts of alternatives to products, companies and more. She outlines her research as well which helps me stay informed to where my money is going everyday.
I also love Re-Grocery! I save money, shop with no waste and zero plastic! It is local to LA but check for other refill style stores near you.
You bring in any containers you like or pick up ones from them. They have all sorts of items from soaps and cleaners to snacks and teas. Not only is it a great way to try different things, get the exact amount you need, but I found I was spending less for more.
Plus, having my pantry with cute glass jars of my food actually sparked more joy around cooking and eating. There aren’t a ton of locations but I believe it’s worth going out of your way for because we vote with our dollars! Shop places you want to see more of!
Another swap for when work is too busy and you need the convenience of delivery: I shop on Grove instead of Amazon. They have so many good swaps for single use items too.
Small changes like this won’t change the fact that it is these large corporations doing the most damage to our planet. However, what they care about is profit, so if enough people start to move their money into eco-friendly options then hopefully the market will follow.
Any sustainable tips/ideas you would like to share?
I was once beating myself up for not being able to stick with using a more sustainable substitute when it came to also building healthier personal habits with my own ADHD struggles.
A close friend pointed out that for something to be sustainable you also have to be able to sustain it. And I think that's such a helpful notion that can be applied to so many areas.
For me it meant I would build this new habit in steps. First with the single use item (but the ethically made version) and after it was a part of my routine I would swap it out for the reusable option. This way it could be sustained for the rest of my life rather than buy the reusable option just to not be able to upkeep it.
Activism/environmentalism can often have an all or nothing attitude on the internet. However as other creators have said, even if you do an action once a week, for example: stop shopping at these large corporations just one day a week every week that is still a notable decrease in their revenue. If you ride your bike to work one day a week that is still making a difference!
It is important we uplift each other in whatever changes we are able to make to encourage each other to keep going.
A Note From Alter Collective
Grace's approach to sustainability is a reminder that creating change doesn't have to look the same for everyone. It can mean sharing instead of buying, imagining instead of accepting, creating instead of consuming, or simply finding one small change that you can actually sustain.
We're grateful to Grace for sharing her perspective with us and for reminding us that the future we want isn't just something we have to fight for. It's something we can imagine, create, and build together.