Articles Posted in the " Issues " Category

  • A Space of Our Own

    “Shut the fuck up when it’s Black girl time” jumped out at me as I scrolled down my Twitter timeline. In that moment I realized that Black girls, like most young women, need a unique and exclusive place for self-expression– a space of our own, if you will. Not only for writing fiction as Virginia […]


  • Dancing with Thorns

    This post is part of a series submitted by Gabriella Huggins, Community Programs Mentor at Spy Hop in Salt Lake City, Utah. The four posts in the series — The Window, Mock Identity, CO2, and Dancing with Thorns — are all created by youth from Spy Hop. Gabriella offers a perspective on the series that […]


  • The Big Bang of Collective Action

    The “Big Bang of Collective Action” is a nonlinear list essay by me, Jason Wyman, Impact Producer for The Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. It is meant to be read in whatever manner moves you. Each post is represented by a CODE. These codes are visual representations of an underlying metaphor / thread / […]



  • Mapping Our Desired Futures Lesson Plan

    This lesson plan was developed for Free Spirit Media’s Pathways initiative, a professional and creative workforce development program that helps emerging creatives 18-25 years old develop careers in the media and film industries. The prompt was inspired by The Alliance’s 50 states Dinner Party Project, where youth media practitioners and participants from around the country […]


  • The Window

    This post is part of a series submitted by Gabriella Huggins, Community Programs Mentor at Spy Hop in Salt Lake City, Utah. The four posts in the series — The Window, Mock Identity, CO2, and Dancing with Thorns — are all created by youth from Spy Hop. Gabriella offers a perspective on the series that […]


  • CO2

    This post is part of a series submitted by Gabriella Huggins, Community Programs Mentor at Spy Hop in Salt Lake City, Utah. The four posts in the series -- The Window, Mock Identity, CO2, and Dancing with Thorns -- are all created by youth from Spy Hop. Gabriella offers a perspective on the series that […]


  • Media Arts Education for the Electorate

    Author’s Note: Dr. Brian Purnell reminds us that we are in an ongoing cycle of struggle and progress. It is circular. It is iterative. It is spiraling. Our spot in the rotation at this moment feels low, and dark, and I hope these thoughts help us look toward the curve of the arc. Though they […]


  • The Past

    My History is alive in my skin, Dancing across my pores like sweat, oil, melanin.   My History is in my hair, In my eyes, Sparkling as I absorb the new world around me.   The life of my History may die. It’s in the hands of a man who doesn’t even know The history […]


  • Fire Burn Gold

    Words to inspire the future the next generation desires and creates. My mom used to say “each time you go through fire, like gold, you become more pure.” She would say that to me after another encounter of challenges in my young adult life, whether from a friendship falling out, another racist or objectifying remark, […]