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  Watch PBS coverage of our collaboration with Appalshop!

  Blog

  On July 31, Kentucky Educational Television aired a fantastic segment on their program, Kentucky Edition, that highlights our ongoing partnership with Appalshop. Together, we worked to digitize and make available historic videos created by independent Appalachian media makers in the 1970s. In the segment, Media Burn executive director Sara Chapman states, “We’ve been working for about 20 years to preserve exactly this type of material: community-based work that was rarely seen like outside of local contexts at the time that […]

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  Guerrilla Television: Rugby Women, by Eleanor Boyer, Terra Levin, and Jeanne Meyers

  Blog

  In 2021, Media Burn, along with the University of Chicago and other partners, began the “Resurrecting the 1970s Guerrilla Television Movement” project, which is funded by the Council on Library and Information Resources. That grant has funded the digitization, cataloging, and sharing of hundreds of essential tapes from the early history of video, with hundreds more to come. These tapes range from abstract visual studies to documentaries to home movies. They include the work of major artists like Julie Gustafson, […]

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  Having a Ball with the House of Avant Garde

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  Ballroom culture, popularized both by the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning and the 2018 drama series POSE, is closely associated with New York City. However, Chicago is home to its own rich ballroom history and is often credited as the “birthplace of the ball.” The House of Avant Garde is a cornerstone of this history and the genesis site of a number of prominent figures in Chicago’s ballroom scene, such as Mauren Avant Garde, Tommy Avant Garde, Tracy Avant Garde, Cordell Avant Garde, […]

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  Ruth Handler, Beyond Barbie

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  You’ve almost certainly heard of Barbie, and you’ve maybe heard about Ruth Handler, co-creator of the doll. But did you know that Ruth Handler also founded a realistic prosthesis brand to help survivors of breast cancer? Born in Denver in 1916, Ruth Handler is most well-known for her creation of the Barbie doll, alongside her husband, Elliot, and Harold “Matt” Matson. But many people don’t know that Handler went on to form a prosthesis company. In 1970, Handler was diagnosed […]

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  Remembering Renault Robinson, 1942-2023

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  In July, the world lost a hero when Renault Robinson passed away. A leader who fought against discrimination within the Chicago Police Department, his lasting impact is still felt in the city. Born on the south side neighborhood of Woodlawn in 1942, Robinson joined the Chicago Police Department in 1964. In 1968, Robinson co-founded the Afro-American Patrolmen’s League (now known as African American Police League). The organization was founded to encourage more Black people to become police officers and to […]

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  One Year After Flood, Dozens of Historic Community Videotapes Preserved and Made Available to the Public

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  Appalshop Partnered with Media Burn Archive to Save and Digitize Forty Historic Tapes Created by Independent Appalachian Filmmakers Free virtual screening of “East Kentucky Flood,” a half-hour documentary produced by the Center for Rural Strategies, July 27 at 6pm CT / 7pm ET, and discussion with filmmakers (RSVP) Today, a year after the devastating floods hit eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia, Appalshop and Media Burn have released forty historic videos created by independent Appalachian media makers in the 1970s to […]

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  A look inside Deep Tunnel, in times of flooding

  Blog

  Chicago’s Deep Tunnel is a massive underground tunnel system that helps protect the region from flooding and wastewater. Beginning in 1975, two generations of workers have helped to build this 100-mile system of tunnels that is not scheduled to be fully completed until 2029. With the rash of flooding currently happening across the country, we’re reminded of the direct consequences of global warming. As rain and flood patterns change, these tunnels will be crucial for managing excess water. As the […]

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  Guerrilla Television: Video Vitae by Pat Lehman

  Blog

  An ongoing series reflecting on our favorite videos from the Resurrecting Guerrilla Television project.