From the Executive Director

“Is that what art is? To be touched thinking what we feel is ours when, in the end, it was someone else, in longing, who finds us?” —Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

This month, the passing of Gretjen Clausing cuts deep. As the founder and leader of PhillyCAM, Gretjen was a visionary champion of public access television, community-based media training, and affordable internet as the practice of democracy. She fought for access for all — to new technologies and programs, to tell the stories that needed to be told. In 2020, just as things were locking down, Gretjen joined forces with the Alliance to launch the first Arts2Work Pre-Apprenticeship program in the country at PhillyCAM. Trainees were paid, we used zoom for remote class meetings, and PhillyCAM staff delivered laptops and gear to trainees around the city. WHYY covered the program, and Gretjen (along with Ariel Taylor and Laura Deutch) helped us envision and demonstrate this new model of mentor-led, paid, professional media training and career development for young people persistently excluded from opportunity. You can read about the work here. Gretjen showed me how Public Access was more than naked talk shows — it is seriously about community, equity, and creative empowerment.

We had just started talking about the Alliance Open Archive Initiative and a new collaboration for our organizations when Gretjen died. She was a passionate pragmatist who inadvertently helped me see the future. Rest in Creative Power my friend.

Another incredible person who has also helped me see the future is N’Jeri Eaton, former Alliance Board President and CEO/Co-Founder of Type C Studios. Type C Studios is a new media company dedicated to culturally resonant, premium video and audio podcasts across platforms. In an era where we are collectively working to fight media consolidation, N’Jeri has mapped an intentional pathway for her own career — after jobs as Director of Programming at NPR, Head of Content at Apple Podcasts, Head of Audio/Podcasts at Netflix, and Head of Limited Series at Wondery, she says that she and her colleagues “wanted to build a company that reflects the kind of creative life we believe in.” That’s what I believe in. Check out N’Jeri’s post on our Storytelling Matters blog here.

As always, now is a really good time to join the Alliance. Donating to support the programs you love like Arts2Work, our Innovation Studio, and the Open Archive Initiative — is always a great way to show support for the work and help us help others.  Take time this month to show some love to the artists in your life who ask the questions that bring us closer together.  

~ Wendy

wendy@thealliance.media

Notes from the Field

RYSE Center Accepting Applications for YouthBridge: Alternatives to Incarceration Internship
Young people ages 15–21 are invited to apply for the RYSE Center’s paid YouthBridge: Alternatives to Incarceration Internship. The six-week program will offer workshops, panels, and projects exploring the causes and impacts of the carceral system. The program will run from July–August in Richmond, California. The deadline for applications is May 28th.

BAVC Media Announces Climate Warriors Program
San Francisco’s BAVC is seeking applications for its environmental justice-oriented youth filmmaking program. The program will take place July 6th–31st at KQED headquarters. Participants will build video and audio production skills while completing a short documentary or video project. All projects will center on environmental justice themes with the goal of producing work that has social impact.