Jan 29, 2021
We believe that music can heal personal, social, and political wounds—and we needed a heckuvalot of that last year. That’s why we’re so thrilled that our Kindle Project Music Fund again supported groups on the cutting edge of using music and sound practices to nurture their communities and counter injustice during dark days when the healing power of culture-making has been most needed.
In a year of uncertainty and upheaval, we witnessed organizations forced to adapt to rapidly shifting public health, political, and financial environments. These crafty, nimble projects continued to serve their communities and make magic despite it all. We doubled down in our commitment to our Music Fund grantees by inviting them all back and welcoming in one new bombastic grantee (Give a Beat). Across airwaves from the streets of LA to the basements of Philly, tackling issues from criminal justice reform to empowering women and girls, these groups demonstrated perseverance and passion.
Put your hands together for these inspiring sonic innovators…
TECHNE’s programs introduce young women and girls to technology-focused art making, musical improvisation, and community collaboration. As part of their objective to embed social-justice activism into that work, TECHNE delivers its programming through partnerships with grassroots arts organizations that share an aligned commitment to racial and gender equity. They create environments that encourage identity exploration, critical thinking, experimentation, and creative expression. They use art strategies, project-based interaction, and social activism within community collaborations, with a belief that these activities engender agency with technology, as well as offer opportunities for alternative conceptions and configurations of self among marginalized populations.
Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) creates performances and multidisciplinary artworks that connect the experiences of people living in poverty to the social forces that shape their lives and communities. LAPD’s works, including music and sound programming, express the realities, hopes, dreams, and rights of people who live and work in LA’s Skid Row.
Everquest Recordings is a grassroots studio based in North Philadelphia started by Christopher (Quest) and Christin’e (Ma’ Quest) Rainey to provide a safe place for people to collaborate using music as a tool to communicate, while making new friends. It is a place of growth and entertainment, provided at no cost to the local public.
Media Alliance, based at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY, is a century-old former church repurposed into a community-centered performing, presenting and telecommunications production facility supporting the vital role interdisciplinary artists play in the process of building a democratic society.
Our mission is to reduce the harmful effects of incarceration through music production, DJ, and other education programs that transform individuals and inspire communities to take action. We envision a world where those most affected by incarceration are not only shown compassion and dignity, but empowered to forge talents and creative careers. By connecting to music industry professionals, we will widen the pathways for people to thrive, reduce recidivism, promote healing, and at the same time unite to contribute to the larger criminal justice reform movement.
Jail Guitar Doors USA provides musical instruments and in-prison rehabilitative workshops to help incarcerated individuals develop life skills that will support them while incarcerated and when they return to their communities. JGD-USA’s songwriting program enables participants to share their stories through original music compositions, supporting them in processing complex ideas and emotions through a constructive outlet, and creating the kind of transformation required for true rehabilitation.