OPEN SIGNAL: A COMMUNITY MEDIA ARTS CENTER
Open Signal is a community media arts center located in northeast Portland, Oregon. It is an organization dedicated to social equity that provides an inclusive and welcoming environment for people from all walks of life to learn about and participate in audio visual production. Open Signal was launched in 2017 building upon the 35 year legacy of Portland Community Media. With state-of-the-art studios and equipment, a wide variety of workshops on using media technology, and an enthusiastic and caring staff of teachers and volunteers, Open Signal provides education and access to studios and equipment for a very affordable rate. In keeping with their mission to provide these resources to everyone, they offer scholarships that can be applied for every month of the year. All that is required is documentation of financial need and a desire to collaborate and create content for the various broadcast television channels that Open Signal curates and creates content for.
Since the beginning of audio visual production, access to the means of production has been exclusive to people of wealth and status. For generations, the barriers to entry into media production have been predominantly determined by income inequality and socio-economic status. As a consequence, representations of people and groups has been controlled by people who do not have the lived experience of the situations and lives that they tell stories about. This has led to a host of negative stereotypes being spread throughout society and has caused misperceptions to be accepted as truth. Community based media arts centers take on the mission of sharing the means of production with marginalized and underrepresented people enabling them to share their own stories and perspectives with the rest of society.
A quick Google search will show that community media arts centers are a rather common resource in many American cities. Despite the existence of these resources around the country, many people are simply unaware of these organizations and the opportunities that they offer to local communities. Even in Portland, where this form of social equity project has been going on for over 30 years, Open Signal is still not the most common knowledge. Many individuals dream of working in audio visual production but do not have the technology, training, and financial resources to pursue such a hobby or career. Participation in a creative community can be a very fulfilling activity as it is a meeting of a great diversity of people engaging in the creative process. The collaborative nature of media production is a great way to learn about social justice and equity as a community engagement project. It provides the tools and opportunities to tell stories and document events to help spread awareness and a call to action in support of the movements and political battles for creating a more inclusive and sustainable culture and way of life.
Many 21st century Americans feel isolated and marginalize despite living in some of the richest places in the world. Although we as a nation need to do more to provide resources, a large issue facing Americans is a simple lack of awareness of opportunities that are within reach to anyone who is motivated to pursue them. It is important that we spread awareness of these opportunities so that people living without community can find the doors that are open for them to enter into and participate with a community. As the old saying goes, it’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know. By becoming active with an organization like Open Signal, state-of-the-art studios and equipment, multiple networks of people, and connections for opportunities beyond are no longer a dream, but become a reality.
Does your city have a community arts center similar to Open Signal? If not, what would it take to get a group of people together to make it happen?
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