2009 Spring Season Comes To A Close
The Spring 2009 production season at The Sanctuary for Independent Media that began on February 14 concluded on June 6, featuring a wide-ranging schedule of activist writers, poets, filmmakers, and musicians. Join our mailing list, and we'll let you know when we start back up again in September!
The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a community media production center located in an historic former church in Troy, NY. The venue is an intimate and acoustically excellent space which seats about 150. The Sanctuary hosts screening, production and performance facilities, training in media production and a meeting space for artists, activists and independent media makers of all kinds.
NYCLU Sues in Support of 'Virtual Jihadi' Exhibit
The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Troy and Public Works Commissioner Robert Mirch for shutting down The Sanctuary for Independent Media on purported code violations from March through April 2008.
Hudson Mohawk Indymedia produced a definitive account of the whirlwind of events surrounding Wafaa Bilal's controversial art exhibit, "Virtual Jihadi," which can be viewed online.
"Art ≠ Terrorism" goes beyond the sound bites to find out what happened when an Iraqi artist came to Troy, NY only to be censored--not once, but twice.
First, Wafaa Bilal's exhibit was shut down by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute after his anti-war artwork was attacked as terrorist propaganda by Campus Republicans.
When the work was given refuge by The Sanctuary for Independent Media, the City of Troy responded by closing us down. A massive outpouring of community support enabled us to re-open six weeks later.
"Upstate Girls: What Became of Collar City?" featured in our Underground Gallery
“Upstate Girls” is a look at a part of working class America that, despite sweeping technological advances, remains essentially unchanged since the heyday of the Industrial Revolution—an indictment of the by-products of globalization that shape the American visual and social landscape. The ongoing project aims deep into the emotional and psychological cycle of poverty from a women’s eye view. 
The photographs are on display in the Underground Gallery at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, available for viewing an hour before, during and an hour after events and by arrangement. Visit www.therawfile.org for more of Brenda Ann Kenneally’s work.
Community Workshops Spring '09
“How Will They Know Us? Building a Culture of Peace”
Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 .jpg)
Iraqi and American youth shared visions of a peaceful, just coexistence in this mural workshop. Guided by Claudia Lefko, director of the Iraqi Children’s Art Exchange, these murals will be exhibited in Egypt next year for the “UNESCO Decade of Peace and Non-violence Among Children of the World.”
Photo by Tyler Boudreau
“A Conversation About UPSTATE GIRLS”
Thursday, April 2
Teenage girls from throughout the Capital Region shared stories about the challenges in their lives, gathering with representatives of the institutions with which they are entwined—including the legal, educational, healthcare and penal systems—in response to award-winning photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally’s compelling work. 
Funded in part by Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
