3. ABOUT THE AMC
What is
the AMC?
Held every summer in Detroit, the Allied
Media Conference brings together a vibrant
and diverse community of people using
media to incite change: filmmakers, radio
producers, technologists, youth organizers,
writers, entrepreneurs, musicians, dancers,
and artists. Our definition of “media” includes
all forms of communication, from videos
and websites to theater, dance, design, and
interactive technology.
Since moving to Detroit in 2007, the AMC has
become one of the most important hubs for
creative social change in North America.
4.
5. A Brief Timeline of the AMC
1999-2017
1999
Allied Media Conference
founded as the “Midwest
Zine Conference” in
Bowling Green, Ohio.
2002
The Midwest Zine Conference
is renamed the “Allied Media
Conference”(AMC) and Allied
Media Projects is founded as
the umbrella organization that
coordinates the AMC.
2007
The AMC moves to Detroit.
2008
The AMC begins using
“Tracks” to organize
sessions that focus on a
specific theme.
2009
The AMC surpasses
1000 attendees.
2015
The AMC surpasses 2,500
attendees - our largest
attendance number to date.
“AMC @ Night,” a five-day
music festival during the AMC,
showcases local and national
musical talent.
2017
19th annual Allied
Media Conference
held in Detroit
2012
“Practice Spaces” and
“Network Gatherings” are
introduced as new ways
for attendees to engage at
the conference. 2016
The tenth anniversary of
the AMC moving to Detroit!
ABOUT THE AMC
6. What we do
at the AMC
The Allied Media Conference is a
collaboratively designed event curated
with care every year by 100+ volunteer
coordinators. Conference content
explores the intersections of media and
communications, art, technology,
education, and social justice.
Every year, the AMC takes on a different
shape as it develops its thematic focus areas
called “Tracks,” “Practice Spaces,” and
“Network Gatherings.” These are the content
areas that structure the 300+ sessions of
the conference.
The glue that holds these incredibly diverse
content areas together is “media-based
organizing,” or any collaborative process
that uses media, art or technology to
address the roots of problems and advance
holistic solutions towards a more just and
creative world.
ABOUT THE AMC
• hands-on
workshops
• panel discussions
• film screenings
• Detroit tours
• art and music
events
• strategy sessions
• karaoke
• bowling
• collaborative art
• community dinners
• and more!
7.
8. Beyond the 2500+ participants of the conference, Allied Media
Projects reaches an online network of over 18,500 people
through our social media networks, and over 9,000 people
through email marketing.
ABOUT THE AMC
Who attends?
Participation in the AMC has grown from 600 people at the first
AMC in Detroit in 2007, to over 2,500 participants in 2015, our
biggest audience to date. In 2016, 64% of attendees were first-timers,
more than any previous year. 31% of participants come from Detroit.
AMC attendees come from 224 different cities and towns all over
North America, and internationally from countries such as Mexico,
Germany, Brazil, and the UK.
AMC participants are incredibly diverse. In 2016, 65% of participants
identified as a person of color and 50% as LGBTQ. 26% of AMCers
are under 25 years old. From artists to organizers, technologists to
entrepreneurs, the AMC convenes individuals representing a wide
range of fields and backgrounds.
9. The AMC:
A space for
learning,
connection,
and
movement-
building
ABOUT THE AMC
In 2016, the AMC:
• Partnered with Tribeca Film Institute to host the first “Interactive
Co/Lab” specifically geared towards Detroit-based filmmakers, to
generate immersive storytelling projects stories about the city and its
movements for transformative justice.
• Hosted the first #SayHerName Network Gathering where organizers
brought together over 70 Black women, trans and gender-
nonconforming survivors and organizers who are using media to bring
awareness to police violence against Black women, girls, and trans
and gender-nonconforming people.
• Partnered with the Detroit Institute of Arts to host the Opening
Ceremony event in the Detroit Film Theatre for the first time,
which accommodated twice as many people as previous years.
Approximately 1,200 people attended.
• Partnered with Foodlab Detroit to host a tour of local food
businesses that are building a grassroots network of food
entrepreneurs and growers all over the city.
• Hosted thirteen “delegations” from around the country, including
Chicago, Pittsburgh, Bloomington, Indiana and New York. Participants
from these delegations presented sessions on topics such as youth
leadership, hip-hop and social change, and using hashtags in activist
campaigns.
• Hosted the first ever “Contemporary Interactive Women in Hip Hop
Conference,” which evolved from a session at the AMC in 2014, to
a track in 2015, and finally to a conference in 2016 supported by the
Knight Arts Challenge. The conference included a Women in Hip Hop
concert featuring local and national hip hop acts.
10.
11. THE 19TH
ANNUAL ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE
Why is the AMC
important right now?
Media-based organizing for social change. Recent dramatic shifts
in politics and culture are powerfully influenced by online media.
The AMC is the most important national convening for exploring
how grassroots communities can harness the power of media and
communications to affect change.
Young people in tech. The Allied Media Conference is majority young
people of color and LGBTQ. It is a tremendous opportunity to reach
young people eager to participate and contribute to innovations in
digital media technology.
The importance of social equity in a changing Detroit. While there
are more and more events in Detroit focused on art, media and
technology, the AMC is the leading annual event that focuses in on
these topics through the lens of social equity and social justice.
12. AMC2017 Schedule Overview
THE 19TH
ANNUAL ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE
Thursday, June 15
• Network Gatherings
• Tour of the city
Friday, June 16
• First day of sessions. Opening
Ceremony convenes participants.
Saturday, June 17
• Second day of sessions.
• Our signature music event is held at the
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
Sunday, June 18
• Last day of sessions.
Closing celebration.
The 19th annual Allied Media Conference will take place June 15-18, 2017
on the Wayne State University campus in Detroit.
13. AMC2017
Tracks,
Practice Spaces &
Network Gatherings
Tracks
• Radical Libraries, Archives and Museums
• Resourcing and Sustaining Our Movements
• Kids and Caregivers Transform the World!
• Electric Dreams, Digital Futures
• Poetry and Publishing
• Disrupting Mainstream History
• Securing Our Spaces
• Sound, Revolution and ARTivism
• Food Matters
• Wage Love
• Art as Resistance
• Healing Justice
• Youth Activism in Hip Hop
• Design Justice
• General Track
Practice Spaces
• People’s Pop-up Media Shop
• Radical Kitchen
• BOOM Concepts Salon
Network Gatherings
• The Media Action Grassroots Network
• Families United 4 Justice
• No Perfect Victims
• Trans*Visible
• What Feeds Us?
• Reimagining Movement Resource Strategies
• Radical Community Spaces
• FemTechNet
• Collective Knowledge
• Amalgamation
• Groundswell: Oral History for Social Change
• RAD Care Beyond Social Justice
• AMP Sponsored Projects Network
• InterGalactic Conspiracy of Childcare Collectives
• Abundant Bodies
• Housing Justice
THE 19TH
ANNUAL ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE
This year there will be 34 unique tracks,
practice spaces, and network gatherings
taking place at the conference.
14.
15. Who supports
the AMC?
While the AMC generates more than a third
of its revenue from attendees, the AMC
continues to rely on the generous support of
sponsors, who help sustain our growth and
success.
A diverse collection of more than 20
organizations generously sponsored the
AMC in 2016, including Adobe Project 1324,
Mozilla, The California Endowment, and the
Detroit Creative Corridor Center.
The Allied Media Conference is additionally
supported by the Nathan Cummings
Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
“Detroit Creative Corridor Center has supported
Allied Media Conference for several years because
we believe in its mission of media-based organizing
and empowering people worldwide through
creativity and design. Allied Media Conference
and the Design Justice Network are using design
and creativity to foster sustainable development in
communities and cities worldwide. These networks
exemplify what it means to be a UNESCO City of
Design, and we are proud to support them and the
outcomes of their work.”
- Ellie Schneider, Detroit Creative Corridor Center
“AMC and Adobe Project 1324 share the same
core values: creating innovative media that pushes
society forward. We are proud to partner with
such an exceptional organization that mobilizes
communities to support, connect and amplify
emerging creatives for positive impact.”
- Michelle Posadas, Adobe Project 1324
THE 19TH
ANNUAL ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE
16. Sponsor AMC2017
Help us bring the 19th annual Allied Media Conference to life! Your
sponsorship contribution will help us make this year’s AMC more
impactful, inclusive, and dynamic. We are excited to work with you
to build a sponsorship package that meets your needs. Benefits range
from complimentary conference registration, prominence in marketing
materials, tabling in the exhibition area and more. We also welcome
in-kind and media sponsorships.
Photos by Ara Howrani
THE 19TH
ANNUAL ALLIED MEDIA CONFERENCE
To learn more about our sponsorship
packages and select one that works
for you, contact Morgan Willis at
morgan@alliedmedia.org