OUR STORY

Peptoc is a project by artists Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss, and young people around the world.

Peptoc got started in the Spring of 2022 at West Side Elementary in rural California. Martin and Weiss were inspired by the students' joy and resilience amidst the pandemic, wildfires, and the challenges of growing up, and co-created a two-part project with the school's students to celebrate the transformative power of young people and creativity.

Part one includes a series of over 150 different inspirational posters made by every student at the school. Posters with tear-off tabs were hung in public space in the local town to inspire its inhabitants and give them a little joy in their day.

Part two is the hotline, recorded and produced by Jessica and the students at West Side Elementary in Healdsburg, California. Anyone with access to a phone can call to hear pre-recorded words of encouragement and life advice from the students, arranged by theme (press 1 if you are frustrated, 2 for life advice, 4 for laughter... ). There is an option for recorded pep talks in Spanish as well.

Today Peptoc is much more than a hotline and poster project-- it is a movement for joy. The hotline has received over 20 million calls from around the world, press from every major news outlet, and continues to go viral. Peptoc has expanded to become a nonprofit that produces public projects with international communities and people of all ages.

In August of 2024, we published a book, You are Amazing Like A Rocket, featuring posters made from young people from 25 countries.