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 its move to Detroit in 2007, the AMC has become one of the most important hubs of creative social change in North America.

About the AMC

Brief Timeline of the AMC 1999-2016

1999Allied Media Conference founded as the “Midwest Zine Conference” in Bowling Green, Ohio.

2002The Midwest Zine Conference is renamed the “Allied Media Conference”(AMC) and Allied Media Projects is founded as the umbrella organization that coordinates the AMC.

2007The AMC moves to Detroit.

2008The AMC begins using “Tracks” to organize sessions that focus on a specific theme.

2009The 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.

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!

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.

What happens at the AMC:

• hands-on workshops

• panel discussions

• film screenings

• Detroit tours

• art and music events

• strategy sessions

• karaoke

• bowling

• collaborative art

• and more!

What we do at the AMC

Who attends? Participation in the AMC has grown from 600 people at the first AMC in Detroit in 2007, to 2,506 participants in 2015, our biggest audience to date. Roughly 35% of participants come from Detroit. Attendees come from cities all over North America, and internationally from countries such as Mexico, Pakistan, Brazil, and the UK. From artists to organizers, technologists to entrepreneurs, the AMC convenes individuals representing a wide range of fields and backgrounds. AMC participants are incredibly diverse. In past years, 56% of participants identified as a person of color, 31% identified as low -income, 10% identified as an immigrant, 14% identified as a technologist, and 18% identified as youth.

Who is following?

Beyond the 2500+ participants of the conference, Allied Media Projects reaches an online network of over 15,000 people through our social media networks and approximately 9,000 people through email marketing.

In 2015, the AMC:

• Partnered with Sundance Institute to present the New Frontier Day Lab, New Frontier Native Forum and Film Forward screenings directed at local filmmakers who are experimenting with innovative ways to use film for social change.

• Hosted the first national convening of the Black Lives Matter movement, bringing together chapter organizers and members from 26 BLM chapters across the U.S. and Canada.

• Hosted the international Community Technology Network Gathering, bringing together close to 100 civic technologists, community wireless advocates, coders, network engineers and participants from as far as Germany, Brazil and Spain.

• Partnered with the Detroit Sound Conservancy to host a tour about Detroit’s rich musical history and as well as a nighttime event dedicated to the roots of Detroit dance music.

• Presented “AMC @ Night” - a five-day music showcase supported by a Knight Arts Challenge grant. This included acts such as THEE Satisfaction, Passalacqua and Las Cafeteras. Our signature event at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit was the museum’s largest event of the year.

The AMC:A space for learning, connection, andmovement-building

The 18th annual Allied Media Conference will take place June 16-19, 2016 on the Wayne State University campus in Detroit. This year’s conference will mark the 10-year anniversary of the conference moving to Detroit. We look forward to celebrating a decade of building and growing our community here!

AMC 2016 Schedule Overview

Thursday, June 16All Network Gatherings are held on this day.

Friday, June 17First day of sessions. Opening Ceremony convenes participants.

Saturday, June 18Second day of sessions. Our signature music event is held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

Sunday, June 19Last day of sessions. Closing celebration.

10 years of creating.10 years of connecting. 10 years of transforming.

What will another 10 years bring in Detroit?

AMC2016 Tracks, Practice Spaces & Network GatheringsTracks • Abundant Bodies Track • Black Survival Mixtape Track • Building Climate Resilient Communities Track • Community Technology and

Independent Media Track • Education for Freedom Track • Filmmaking and Beyond Track • The General Track • Performance from the Stage to the Street Track • RAD Care Beyond Social Justice Track • Radical Librarianship Track • Resourcing and Sustaining our Movements Track• Youth Making Movements Track • Women in Hip Hop Track

Practice Spaces

• Really Rad Radio & Video Practice Space • Wage Love Detroit Practice Space • Creative Coping and Grieving Arts Practice Space • Women in Hip Hop Practice Space • Dancing Our Lives Practice Space • Kids Practice Space

Network Gatherings

• MAG-Net Network Gathering • Design Justice Network Gathering • Complex Movements Translocal Cohort Network Gathering • Envisioning Our Herstory, Actualizing Our Humanity

Network Gathering • Getting Proud: Disability Justice and Collective Access

Network Gathering • Say Her Name/ Black Trans Lives Matter Network Gathering • Strategies for Staying Power Network Gathering • Women in Hip Hop Network Gathering • #transTRUTH National Youth Council Network Gathering

This year there will be 28 unique tracks, practice spaces and network gatherings taking place at the conference.

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 its sponsors, who help sustain our growth and success. A diverse collection of more than 20 organizations generously sponsored the AMC in 2015, including Mailchimp, the Sundance Institute, Youthprise, the Sierra Club, and the New Economy Initiative. The Allied Media Conference is additionally supported by the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to support and participate in the AMC year after year. The AMC is an unmatched experience that amplifies the social justice issues we face today and bolsters the voices of those from the most impacted communities. It is our favorite gathering of the year to listen, grow, and build new relationships to continue collaborations year around.”- Aspiration Tech, AMC Sponsor

“Each year, the Allied Media Conference offers a valuable opportunity to better understand a community of change and connect directly with the individuals working inside it. Without creativity and collaboration—both from our customers and in our own organization—MailChimp wouldn’t exist. AMC helps reinforce the idea that these are the values we must continue to elevate.” - MailChimp, AMC Sponsor

To learn more about our sponsorship packages and select one that works for you, contact Morgan Willis at morgan@alliedmedia.org

Sponsor AMC2016 Help us make our 10th year in Detroit a special one! Support the AMC by becoming a sponsor today. 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