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Grants and Calls
Project Innovation Fund
The Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation is partnering with the NBC and Telemundo owned stations located in 11 markets to present Project Innovation, a grant program recognizing local non-profit organizations that are tackling everyday problems through innovative solutions. Project Innovation will award exceptional non-profit programs that are addressing one of the four community issue areas: Culture of Inclusion, Youth Education and Empowerment, Next Generation Storytellers, and Community Engagement.
Deadline: February 12
A year-long program offering project specific support to emerging producers. The fellowship offers "a $10,000 grant, year-round mentorship from a dedicated industry mentor, and ongoing support from Sundance Institute Staff." and seeks to "hone emerging producers' creative instincts and evolve their communication and problem-solving skills at all stages of production."
Deadline: February 18th
Sundance Institute Kendeda Short Film Fund
The Kendeda Fund, in partnership with TIME Studios, is supporting the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program by launching a new funding opportunity and providing up to seven non-recoupable grants of up to $50,000 to nonfiction short films aimed at elevating stories addressing gun violence in the United States.
Deadline: February 8th
2021 Documentary Fund Summer Cycle
The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program is offering funding to independent films at any point in their production phase. Productions must have a budget under $1,000,000, and cannot be short or fictional films.
Deadline: February 8
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Storytelling Matters
reprinted from Wide Angle Youth Media | by Moira Fratantuono and Keiona Gorham
A Future So Colorful — coined by our student Shahmeer Mirza, this phrase embodies a world rich with diverse narratives woven into its social fabric, abundant with equitable opportunities for young creatives to pursue their passion. In the nonprofit sector, we dream of an egalitarian society, but how do we get there? How do we translate our desire for a better future into impactful diversity, equity and inclusion work?
The pursuit of becoming an antiracist organization is a long-term commitment that involves on-going energy, attention, and effort; particularly for organizations like Wide Angle Youth Media that are “white-led” serving a largely BIPOC community of students. (Notably, 80% of nonprofits across the country have white leadership — an ongoing issue within the sector that we want to name. Building Movement Project). It is due to this awareness of the need for further antiracist education, internal policies, and continued self-evaluation that we decided to deepen our work by addressing our language, specifically investigating our word selection and collective definitions.
As a youth media organization, we believe that the narratives our society upholds and which voices it amplifies matter. They shape our collective identity and give fundamental context to who we are. The words we use to tell those stories are just as important. In the nonprofit sector, we communicate with donors, foundations, government agencies, partner organizations and policy makers to paint a picture of our accomplishments, value proposition, and theory of change. Language is power — it can ignite crucial conversations within and about the sector, but only if we choose our words with intention.
read more at thealliance.media
Storytelling Matters features original and curated writing and photography about global story culture and innovation in order to facilitate conversation about the ethical and responsible use of creative technologies in community. If you have a story to share, let us know!
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Workshops, Festivals, Convenings
Sundance Film Festival, (January 28-February 3, Remote)
SCAD aTVfest (February 4-6, Savannah, GA)
Göteborg Film Festival (January 29-February 8, 2021, Gothenburg, Sweden)
Slamdance Film Festival (February 12-25, 2021, Los Angeles)
SF Indie Fest (February 4th-21st, San Francisco, CA)
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Media Policy Watch
by Priscilla G.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration appointed sociologist Alondra Nelson to the position of Deputy Director for Science and Society for their Office of Science and Tech Policy. Here is what Nelson said of her appointment:
"When we provide inputs to the algorithm, when we program the device, when we design, test and research, we are making choices [...] It matters who makes these choice. It matters who they're thinking about when they do. That's why in my career I've always sought to understand the perspectives of people and communities who are not usually in the room when the inputs are made but who Live with the Outputs nonetheless. As a Black woman researcher, I am keenly aware of those who are missing from these rooms. I believe we have a responsibility to work together to make sure that our science and technology reflects us, and when it does it reflects all of us, that it reflects who we truly are together.”
The appointment of Nelson comes just over a month after Google controversially fired the former co-leader of their Ethical AI team Timnit Gebru after "blocking the publication of her research around bias in AI systems" according to Vox. The BBC reported that an open letter demanding transparency from Google has reached over 4,500 signatures from researchers and academics. "It's remarkable that Google would feel sufficiently threatened by a research publication that they would engage in this act of censorship. One can only conclude that Google does not have the capacity within its research organization to accommodate a black feminist scientist like Timnit Gebru, however highly regarded and widely respected she is." said Lancaster University professor emerita Lucy Suchman in the previously mentioned article. Gebru is known for coauthoring a paper titled Gender Shades examining gender and racial bias in facial recognition systems. An analysis of the paper that lead to her firing is available here from MIT Technology Review.
Americans for the Arts has put forth a proposal to Put Creative Workers to Work. This proposal calls upon the Biden administration to utilize the nation’s 5.1 million arts and cultural workers to address critical infrastructure, community development, innovation, and public health needs. Creative workers and their businesses have been devastated by Coronavirus more than almost any other sector but play a large role in healing, strengthening, rebuilding, and reimagining our communities.
We want to hear from you. Are you concerned with any national media policy stories that are underreported? Are there any local stories in your area that need highlighting? Please let us know.
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THE JOYS OF ALLIANCE MEMBERSHIP • Networked Web Portal—A robust website that visually showcases the impact stories of member organizations and individual artists serving marginalized and under-resourced communities across the country and around the world • Leadership Roundtables—Quarterly Creative Leadership Roundtables will be developed as a year-round participatory framework for peer-to-peer mentorship relevant to a range of arts and culture staff, from founders to mid-career leaders and next-gen emerging voices • Innovation Studio—A virtual and actual lab space to receive mentorship and support in the development of unique open source media/arts/tech initiatives, with an opportunity to present your ideas to funders and investors • Global Artist Residency Program and Fund—To facilitate the most dynamic collaborations between artists, organizations and communities, The ALLIANCE will partner with trusted cultural exchange programs to design The ALLIANCE co-branded media arts residencies, with a companion fund to support collaborative projects between artists and NGOs
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In 2020, The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture celebrated its 40th year. It feels surreal to celebrate our achievements having just survived such a devastating year in our nation’s history, a year so many did not survive — and completely wrong not to do so. We welcome President Biden and Vice-President Harris with so much hope for the future.
