From the Executive Director

Thanks to everyone for being part of the Alliance community this year — a community of creative organizations, agencies, institutions, artists and practitioners, storytellers, producers, photographers, musicians, technologists, educators, pundits, scholars and researchers, teaching artists, immigrants and returning citizens, community archivists and activists, poets, visionary new makers of meaning, and bearers of culture. We have gathered for workshops and panels, design labs, communities of practice, mentorship meetings, and conferences — to reckon with a reality that has often felt unbearable.

We end 2025 feeling grateful that:

• Arts2Work Apprenticeship pathways for Multimedia Producers, Video Editors, and Digital Archivists have been approved in New York State for the very first time.
• Funding from MacArthur Foundation, Upwork Foundation, California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship Initiative, NBCUniversal, and even the National Endowment for the Arts was deployed to support systems-change work with media organizations and arts-service programs across the country.
• We were able to design MARKA, a new Digital Community Archive, to center the power of cultural memory work with artists and local communities in this era of rampant cultural erasure. And we are grateful that this design work was a collaboration with a group of media organizations who are MARKA’s founding members: thank you, Skylight, The Last Mile, KALW Uncuffed, Hip Hop Education Center, and Question Bridge Education. Public launch coming soon!
• We were able to put artists to work as the industry was laying them off: mentoring, consulting, designing program models, creating resources, facilitating grants, commissioning projects, and curating exhibitions.

And speaking of exhibitions: get cozy and join us on Vimeo or Instagram for the POWER OF STORYTELLING FILM FESTIVAL on Saturday, December 13 at Noon PT/3 PM ET. Enjoy 3+ hours of short films by emerging filmmakers from all over the world that will seriously ignite your imagination.

As always, please join the Alliance, GIVE to support the programs you love, check out the amazingness of the organizations and artists in the Alliance network, and have a happy and healthy new year.

~ Wendy

wendy@thealliance.media

Notes from the Field

BAVC Media to Co-Present Ale Libre Film Screening and Fundraiser
Next Thursday, December 18th, BAVC Media, CiNEOLA, and the Jewish Film Institute will co-present a screening of the documentary Ale Libre, hosted by director Maya Cueva. This film focuses on the experience of Alejandra, a reproductive-justice and immigrant-rights organizer preparing for her deportation case. Alejandra will host a virtual Q&A following the screening. All proceeds from the screening will go toward supporting the family and helping pay the legal fees of an organizer affected by ICE detention and family separation.

Nā Leo TV Debuts Their New Beyond the Mic Program
Hawai‘i’s public-access station, Nā Leo TV, is launching a new showcase for rising Hawai‘i Island musicians, Beyond the Mic. The first episode, which aired Monday, features performers from Kailua-Kona, including Jo-An Kahaiali‘i, Bridge Hartman, and Stephen Henderson. Performances are available to stream on their website.