In 2020 Claudia Alick began several online groups dedicated to virtual and transmedia arts and joined a dozen more. One based in the Seattle area began to discuss meeting off of Facebook and she joined their early meetings to advise. At this time period Calling Up Justice was motivated to be present and offer free scripts and coachings for accessibility and best practices for engaged online exchanges. The practice was already focused on transmedia practice and the pandemic had suddenly made everyone she our needs and skill sets. The NW Arts Streaming Hub as they decided to call themselves invited Claudia to officially join their advisory group and then their board of directors.
The NW Arts Streaming Hub built a website and hosted hundreds of videos, individual artists, and festivals. The experiment focused on empowering artists, acting as a virtual guide to live and on-demand creative work, and helping artists find audiences and audiences find meaning. The site accepted submissions on a rolling basis from multidisciplinary individual artists, as well as arts organizations. It was curated by humans not algorithms.
Within the work of live streams and digital marketing/ promotion The NW Arts Streaming Hub centered the creativity and leadership of BIPOC, LGBTQIA, womxn, disabled, low-income folks, and other community members burdened by systemic oppressions. The vision was a platform and leadership team that embodied the complex identities, understandings, and outstanding talents of the NW Region. There were commitments made in writing to being anti-racist and pro-justice on all public materials.
The NW Arts Streaming Hub aggregated the best live and on-demand video content in the Northwest. It enabled audiences to find a wealth of incredible projects – from theatrical productions, to concerts, to arts education classes ready to stream to your living room, to informal comedy hours, to gallery and backstage tours of cultural sites across the region, to podcasts and talks with cultural leaders. 100% of donations made through the website went to artists.
In 2021 the support for NASH was waning as venues pivoted back to protizing in person producing. Many of the organizers were donating their time which was less fre now that businesses were “re-opening”. While there was an agreement to the continued need for the service we recognized the business reality wouldn’t support the project. It would have required several more years of running in a subsidized manner. The decision was made to close on a high note and the project was brought to a close.
Over the past 15 months The NW Arts Streaming Hub assisted dozens of community groups, individual artists, and local arts initiatives with technical expertise and consultation that has allowed them to share their work virtually. Live training were held for many artists on OBS through Producing in Pandemic. The NW Arts Streaming Hub supported more than 150 local artists through the website. They created some incredible community partnerships – like their work with The Vera Project developing and piloting a digital media production program for a dozen BIPOC youth. We were honored to be part of a project that centered racial equity, and was responsive and flexible to the evolving needs during one of the most challenging years many had ever faced. We’re proud that we were able to serve the Seattle and NW Arts community in a moment of peril.
NASH People
Jason Clackley (he/him) – Artistic Director, The Vera Project
Levin Betron (they/them) – Education Manager, The Vera Project
Lily Raabe (she/her) – Project Director, Northwest Arts Streaming Hub
Matt Sherrill (he/him) – Project Manager, Northwest Arts Streaming Hub
Claudia Alick (she/her/they/them) – Board Member, NASH; Founder, Calling Up Justice
Ricky Graboski (he/his) – Executive Director, The Vera Project
Simon Okelo (he/his) – Founder, One Vibe Media
Tracey Wong (she/her) – Communications Manager, Totem Star
Alvin Thomas (he/him) – Technical Director, Northwest Arts Streaming Hub
NASH Instagram Account
note: This account is not managed by Calling Up Justice and might discontinue at any time
NW Arts Streaming Hub Youtube
note: This account is not managed by Calling Up Justice and might discontinue at any time