Statement from Executive Director, 2010

We hope your visit to the MIX Factory, walking beneath textile parabolas forming a nest-like environment, is exciting, as you explore the installations, films & performances that occur here throughout the week.

2010 has been a tough year for many. Economically MIX has been hit with budget cuts & reduced giving. Politically we are well aware of the forces of intolerance near our Lower Manhattan offices and the recent spate of violence perpetrated against us in our own establishments. Think of MIX as an oasis, where you can immerse yourself physically in a "chamber of consolation" (Peter Cramer's Ars(e) Moriendi), a replica of Quentin Crisp's old East Village walk-up, or a mountain of cones & bean bags. Or plunge into the intellectual offerings, such as Joshua Thorson's program The Sense Ritual, to refresh your psyche with studies of language, space & thought.

More than just the annual film festival, MIX marches on despite a roiling economy and uncertain political trends. Our ACT UP Oral History Project has thrived. Successful exhibits of the 100+ interviews were on view at Harvard University and here at White Columns. We've just signed an agreement with Harvard to maintain the project's work, allowing it to continue, making it more accessible to a wider public, and incorporating the information about ACT UP's pivotal AIDS activism into university coursework.

Lippy, by Aishah Abdullah, a student in our A Different Take workshop, was included in the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, reaching over 1000 youths--unusual prominence for first film of any kind.

These are but two examples of the kind of larger project that MIX contributes to, thanks to the dedication of our volunteers (staff & otherwise!) who toil year-round, organizing community screenings across the boroughs and nurturing the community of radical queers this festival was built for, and built by. We're so glad to be a part of it with you!

Stephen Kent Jusick
Executive Director, MIX NYC