Here we are at the midpoint of 2020, the year that foretold “perfect vision” and did not disappoint.
Across the globe, visions for a radically transformed world have never been sharper: communities kept safe without police, anti-Black racism uprooted from hearts, minds and institutions, whole economies reoriented towards what is essential, networks of mutual aid and collective care ensuring that no one is disposable.
These things have been proliferating on small scales for years, and now the scales are tipping — the rate of change is accelerating.
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The view from inside the "pod" of Complex Movements' sci-fi hip hop opera Beware of the Dandelions during its debut at the 2013 AMC. Credit: Vanessa Miller.
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AMP is steadily churning the soil where these visions take root and grow. Our network of sponsored projects (now 150 strong!) is rich with the seeds of ideas and practices that are blooming new worlds.
Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing snapshots from the AMP sponsored projects network through a series of profiles on our social media, starting with Survived and Punished, co-founded by Mariame Kaba, whose recent New York Times Op-Ed makes the case for defunding police crystal clear.
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Meanwhile, our Speakers Bureau, which in “normal” times is supporting a dozen brilliant artists and media-based organizers as they fly around the globe to share their wisdom, has had to recalibrate.
In May, they launched the Virtual Love, Virtual Healing series to hold space for our community to process the complexity of these times: to grieve, strategize, dream, and build connection. The last event in the series, featuring the Detroit collective Healing By Choice, is today. Register here for Visions of Ancestral Resilience with Lottie V. Spady and Talitha Johnson.
You can watch the recording of Walidah Imarisha's session Better Futures: Visioning in a Time of Crisis. Rrecordings from all of the Virtual Love, Virtual Healing events will be available later this Summer.
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But what is happening with the AMC??? Earlier this Spring, we received nearly 500 responses to our survey asking for your help in shaping the virtual AMC. From that data we heard a resounding call to make the virtual AMC safe, accessible, and magical.
The AMC team has been working at full-speed since then to heed that call. We are very close to announcing exciting AMC updates, so stay tuned. In the meantime, consider proposing an auxiliary event for the virtual AMC @ Night.
All of this beautiful external-facing activity relies on robust internal infrastructure. Some deep changes are also afoot in the internal realm at AMP, as we’ve been working to transform key parts of our operational systems.
Some of these will be invisible to all but those who rely on them (like our accounting software), but others will be on proud display (like our new website, coming soon).
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Last but not least, we are currently hiring for two crucial roles-- a Co-Executive Director (read more about why we’re making this shift to co-leadership) and a Communications Director.
If you’re curious about either of these positions, but not sure you want to apply, please send an email to Lauren Gumbs, who is leading the search on behalf of AMP: [email protected].
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