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Project Goals The overall goal of our film festival is to support and promote formally <br />inventive artists' cinema and media art created by artists speaking with a <br />variety of voices and representing a diversity of communities and life <br />experiences; and to grow an audience for this exciting and important art <br />work in our city, county, region, and beyond. W e measure our success in <br />terms of the quality of the work we present and the impact this work makes <br />both on our audience here in North Carolina as well as on the field of <br />artists' cinema as a whole. <br />The quality of the work we present is determined by careful evaluation of <br />the films submitted during our open call by a Screening Committee made up <br />of artists and arts professionals. Due to the limitations of the open call, and <br />the fact that many underserved communities may not be connected to the <br />same networks of exhibition and circulation, we also make a point to reach <br />out to artists from a diversity of backgrounds in order to solicit their work; <br />and we invite guest curators to expand the kinds of films we show. <br />Since our beginnings in 2018, we have seen our audience grow thanks to <br />promotional efforts, advertising, online outreach, and word-of-mouth. It has <br />been and remains our goal to build a large and diverse audience and to <br />reach beyond the sometimes narrow confines of the art world to promote <br />this vibrant and broadly relevant form of film art. <br />Audience Description Now entering its seventh season, Cosmic Rays’ profile has grown along <br />with its audience, from 100 attendees and three visiting artists in 2018 to <br />some 300 attendees from across the Triangle and a dozen visiting artists, <br />live-cinema performers, and digital media artists from North Carolina and <br />beyond in 2024. <br />Cosmic Rays firmly believes in the role regional art exhibition can play in <br />supporting and cultivating an artistic community outside of the handful of <br />major urban centers which enjoy an outsize share of cultural resources. <br />W e are cognizant of the ways access to artwork can be limited by <br />geographical distance, limited financial resources, physical disability, and a <br />range of other factors. W e are therefore committed to offering festival <br />passes on a donate-what-you-can basis, and we continue to explore online <br />and streaming options to reach audiences who cannot attend the festival in <br />person. <br />Based on data gathered from our annual post-festival audience surveys, <br />our audience comes primarily from the Triangle region, but with a significant <br />number of attendees from across the state, and even a small share from <br />neighboring states (Virginia and Georgia). Our audience reports that they <br />value the festival's mission to screen experimental film and are excited by <br />both the screenings and live-performance programs. At our most recent <br />edition, 45% of respondents said this was their first time to attend the <br />festival. 99% said they were likely to attend the festival again, with 73% <br />saying they were highly likely. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: 678936C8-E900-4A07-925F-E6D2CC7A910E