21^st Allied Media Conference July 23–26 2020

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On Now Thu. 7/23 4:00–5:30 pm EDT

Hosted by the brown sisters (autumn and adrienne maree), “How to Survive the End of the World” seeks to learn from the apocalypse with grace, rigor and curiosity. In this special AMC edition, they will be joined by queer astrologer extraordinaire, Chani Nicholas, to explore the liberatory ancestral technologies of the stars.

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On Now Thu. 7/23 7:30–8:45 pm EDT

The Opening Ceremony is produced by Flint-based artist, Tunde Olaniran and will ask “What is a frequency that heals?” In the face of new, shifting and ongoing crises, in end times and beginning times, what are the Black, Indigenous, and queer visionary frameworks that shape current and future liberation?

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On Now Thu. 7/23 9:00 pm–1:00 am EDT

Stableheed comes with another installment of Vibe with Me for the AMC2020 Welcome Party. A live sonic experience of curated music and culture from some of Detroit’s best performers and DJ’s. Vibe with live performances by Motorkam and Monalyse and dance with DJ’s Jhouse, Problematic Black Hottie, and Stardust.

CONTENT WARNING

This event contains strong and/or explicit language that may not be suitable for children.

Flashing lights and bright colors will be used during this event. Viewer discretion advised.
On Now Fri. 7/24 5:00–6:30 pm EDT

Parables for an interspecies future. Sista as a verb. Archival futures. Join Alexis DeVeaux, Walidah Imarisha and Alexis Pauline Gumbs for a conversation about legacy, possibility and the role of writers in making the future we deserve intriguing, imaginable and irresistible.
On Now Fri. 7/24 7:00–8:00 pm EDT

MCSDA works to enhance the lives of Detroiters through hip-hop, physical activity and healthy living. This interactive virtual event featuring special guests Fresh Classics and students from MCSDA. All levels, abilities, and peoples are encouraged to take part in the cypher we will create.
On Now Fri. 7/24 7:30–9:00 pm EDT

A virtual gathering of black and indigenous collectives sharing teachings of mutual aid, seed histories and divestment from whiteness.
On Now Fri. 7/24 10:00 pm–1:00 am EDT

Featuring: DJ Beige (Leftfield House & Breaks); LadyMonix (House, Disco), and Channel Tres (Compton, Dance)

CONTENT WARNING

Flashing lights and bright colors will be used during this event. Viewer discretion advised.
On Now Sat. 7/25 11:00 am–12:30 pm EDT

We keep each other alive. Through mutual aid, through mothering, through the essential work of low-wage care providers and the care work of disabled kin for each other, Black and Brown communities have been honing the expertise to carry our world through the crisis of this pandemic to a future rooted in care.
In particular, the femmes, the disabled, the queer and trans folks within our communities have done this labor and forged this genius. In this plenary conversation we will honor care work while resisting the urge to romanticize it. We will explore what needs to shift within our economy, political systems and our social justice movements to create the care-based world we need.
On Now Sat. 7/25 7:30–9:00 pm EDT

A virtual gathering in the kitchens & gardens of Palestinian and Boricua organizers resisting occupation through their work with food. Through conversations, recipes, and collaborative presence, our hosts will share their knowledge and how they have embraced food systems, from seed to plate, to fight erasure, cultivate hope, and achieve truly intersectional & international solidarity in the ongoing liberation struggle for all beings, everywhere.
On Now Sat. 7/25 10:00 pm–1:00 am EDT

Featuring: Dez Andrés (Detroit, Latin Soul-Funk-House) and a performance from Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh (Baltimore, Jazz-Rap)

CONTENT WARNING

Flashing lights and bright colors will be used during this event. Viewer discretion advised.
On Now Sun. 7/26 12:00–1:30 pm EDT

What time is it on the clock of the world? This time of triple pandemics – of police violence, coronavirus, and of unprecedented economic crisis – is calling us to put our abolition dreams into practice. It is calling on us to divest once and for all – financially, ideologically, emotionally – from systems and structures of violence, and to invest in what will make it possible for our communities to survive current conditions – and those that are coming.

A nationwide uprising to #DefundthePolice, #AbolishICE, #DefendBlackLives and #BuildBlackFutures is opening portals into a future founded on genuine and sustainable security for all, a world free from the violence of surveillance, policing, punishment, and exile. How can we seize this moment to sharpen and advance our visions of abolition, radically reimagine and reinvest in safety, and build the skills, relationships and infrastructures we need to be architects of this new world? Join abolitionist dreamers, thinkers and practitioners for glimpses into a policing free future that is increasingly present.
On Now Sun. 7/26 6:30–7:30 pm EDT

Cultivating the seeds for our collective harvest. The Closing Ceremony invites us to ask “what are we planting and what are we harvesting” as we continue our organizing beyond the conference. The Closing Ceremony will feature Toshi Reagon, singer, songwriter and creator of the Parable of the Sower Opera, based on the novel by Octavia E. Butler. It will include excerpts from the Parable opera, an interactive audio and video collage produced by Jessie Levandov, and a ritual/performance by Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm.

AMC 2022 Call for submissions from Detroit-based illustrators, visual artists, and arts collectives!

An opportunity to have your work be part of the visual identity for the Allied Media Conference. Share your existing 2D bodies of work to be reproduced in whole or in part on conference materials such as printed and digital promotions (posters, social media posts, videos, website), signage, conference collateral (badges, lanyards, program book), and merchandise.

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Thank you!

For 21 years, we have relied on the feedback from our community after each conference to make the next ones more accessible, pleasurable, and liberatory. Thank you to everyone who completed the post-AMC feedback survey to help shape the future of the conference.

Read our 2020 Survey Takeaways