Multi-Media BikeCar: We operate a mobile studio and cinemas through our open air multi-person bicycle with mounted projector and video camera. The bike is made from recycled bike parts, and can take interviewees on a ride, cover actions, and do public film screenings. The Bikecar was built by local social business Rejuiced Bikes, and is the main engine for making B Media’s news coverage alternative, accessible, and engaging.
Building Cultural Bridges: This year-long project to make a film about immigrating to America was made in collaboration with the Bhutanese Refugee Association, Portland Community Media, the Coalition for Intercultural Organizing, and the East Portland Action Plan. B Media taught four Bhutanese youth the basics of film making so they could interview their elders about coming to America. The project featured and in-depth process of community meetings, collective brainstorming, and media skill-shares on everything from camera work to uploading to the internet, and the resulting film documents both their learning process and their story.
B Media’s Signature “Variety” Show: A monthly roundup of documentary shorts made by Portlanders about issues you don’t see or hear on corporate media sites, balanced by positive ideas and organizations working on issues of social justice, and an assortment of artistic pieces. Airs on Portland Community Media and in public screenings around town. Issues covered include: immigrant organizing, police brutality, student organizing.
Art and Resistance Film Series: A collection of video shorts focused on different artist collectives around the Americas using culture as a tool for radical social transformation. From street musicians and hip-hop artists in Venezuela, to graffitti artists in Mexico, the mini-documentaries focus on how people are actively using their creativity to challenge the status quo and empower their communities.
Rockwood Art + Media Project (R.A.M.P.): B Media Collective teamed up with a group of youth participating in We Are Oregon’s Rockwood Arts and Media Program (RAMP) to create dialogue about their community. Through photos and video, the group documented different aspects of Rockwood, focusing on what is unique and important about their community, as well as their specific visions for transforming and challenging some of the negative aspects and stereotypes of where they live. The project culminated with a public exhibit, in early January of 2013, that brought the wider community together to see pictures, art and performances by the youth.
Cascadia Freedom Caravan: A cross-country trip spearheaded by BMC members that took 28 local social justice activists to Detroit, Michigan for the Allied Media Conference and the US Social Forum. The event was a multi-media in-situ experiment documenting the process, travel, and conference through blog posts, photography, and video. Final exhibition featured on the road filming, investigative pieces on Detroit, and a final film and gallery show.
Cascade Media Convergence: Annual conference between media makers and community members focused on the discussion and creation of alternative, community created media intended to catalyze and facilitate local collaboration. The three-day conference includes presentations and skill-shares.
Venezuela Bolivariana: BMC members documented a Portland Central America Solidarity trip to Venezuela through photos and video.