Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Has your <br />organization <br />undergone any <br />Diversity, Equity, and <br />Inclusion (DEI) <br />training? If so, <br />please explain. If not, <br />please explain any <br />barriers that have <br />prevented you from <br />receiving this <br />training. <br />Despite our limited budget, we have been able to benefit from the wealth of <br />DEI resources available online. These have helped immensely as we've <br />worked to clarify and augment our diversity efforts over the years both in <br />terms of artistic programming and audience outreach, and especially over <br />the last year as we've transitioned from an artist-run festival to a nonprofit <br />organization. Of particular help has been the University Film & Video <br />Association's EDIT Media (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teaching <br />Media) initiative. Edit Media's online resources provide useful frameworks <br />for programming media work, as well as educational resources that provide <br />insight into ways we can discuss and expand our thinking about media art <br />and media art education. <br />Inspired by these DEI resources, we have sought to make DEI fundamental <br />to the way we program art work, reach out to audiences, and structure our <br />organization. Some tangible initiatives have been our ongoing effort to <br />reach out to a wide diversity of voices and communities during <br />programming, especially filmmakers who might be unable to submit work <br />through our annual call or who may be unaware of the call; a special focus <br />on promoting the festival to HBCU's, community arts organizations, and <br />other venues that tap into historically underrepresented communities; and <br />online and word-of-mouth outreach that helps us reach beyond reflexive <br />channels of communication and circulation. W e are especially proud of our <br />efforts to keep submissions fees low and to pay filmmakers who participate <br />in the festival a screening fee, a practice that is rare among film festivals in <br />the United States, but something we feel is crucial in our effort to create <br />artist equity. <br />In recent years, we have sought to increase the diversity of our screening <br />committee, a key part of the process by which we discover and program <br />work from a wide variety of makers. Each year, we also integrate <br />conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion in our training meetings <br />with the committee, emphasizing the fact that Cosmic Rays is founded on a <br />mission to explore, support, and promote film and media art that comes <br />from the rich and wonderful variety of artists who are working in the field <br />today. <br />Since the festival’s founding, we have been cognizant of the ways access <br />to artwork can be limited by geographical distance, limited financial <br />resources, physical disability, and a range of other factors. In addition to <br />responsible in-person festival screenings, we sell festival passes on a <br />donate-what-you-can basis, and we continue to explore online streaming <br />platforms that will allow us to reach audiences who remain socially <br />distanced or have limited mobility. Our recently inaugurated touring program <br />was conceived as another opportunity to connect with new, expanded, and <br />diverse audience communities beyond our two-day festival event. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 9534835E-C98C-4014-88B5-64907150F4B6