From the Executive Director

This has been another month where we have watched the government illegally obliterate research, journalism, culture, art, and science — defunding the heart, mind, and souls of America.

I have been on Zooms where filmmakers whose grants have been rescinded meet with field leaders and lawyers to strategize how to proceed. Which organization will step up to be a lead plaintiff? Should it be a class action? Why are we not thinking more systemically, beyond restitution for individual film grants? How do we care for the filmmakers whose livelihoods for the next year or two depended on their NEH funding? So many people and nonprofits are in similar positions, waiting for reimbursements that now will never come, putting the existence of our organizations and projects at considerable risk. Filmmakers, photographers, and nonprofits working on immigration and equity issues could be in existential crosshairs. Our colleagues in science, libraries, museums, and universities are facing similar and drastic cancellations.

Once we talked about “cancel culture” as internet fervor gone terribly wrong. Now we face the cancellation of culture at the hands of a vindictive and misguided administration. We must not allow our stories and our lives to be erased.

In the coming weeks, you’ll be seeing the emergence of a new Alliance Digital Community Archive, a collaboratively built platform to protect and illuminate independent media and digital culture while supporting innovative workforce opportunities for media makers. The founding members of The Alliance include the Hip Hop Education Center, Skylight Media, Question Bridge Education Project, The Last Mile, KALW’s Uncuffed, and the Watts Labor Community Action Committee. This project began long before the current chaos — but we have discovered a powerful response to what we are going through right now.

The Archive is its own kind of activism, its own kind of radical community care.

Please join us for a virtual gathering on Archival Activism on Monday, June 9th — kicking off International Archives Week 2025. More information and speakers will follow, and you can sign up early at this LINK.

Wendy
wendy@thealliance.media

Notes from the Field

Thrive: Black LGBTQ+ Empowerment Summit
PhillyCAM is hosting the inaugural THRIVE: Black LGBTQ+ Empowerment Summit on Sunday, April 27, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at their location at 699 Ranstead Street in Philadelphia. The summit will include panel discussions on topics such as masculinity, transgender experience, and family building in a Black LGBT context, with a range of speakers from community activists, to media personalities. The event seeks to uplift participants through dialogue and community.

BAVC StudyMapping the Magnetic Media Landscape, Magnetic Media Featured in Documentary Magazine
A recent article for Documentary Magazine highlights an upcoming research study on privacy and copywriting in documentary filmmaking conducted by BAVC. This study will support filmmakers in navigating legal and ethical challenges related to consent, fair use, and personal data. The study highlights filmmakers’ uncertainty about the legal or ethical factors of archival media in their libraries and explores potential solutions to address these concerns.