DIY in Detroit: Allied Media Conference is this week

Hang on to your digital (and analog) gear, people, Allied Media Projects (AMP) is hosting the 15th annual Allied Media Conference, this Thursday through Sunday (June 20-23) at Wayne State University.

The four-day event features hands-on media workshops for all ages and experience levels, plus panel discussions on topics ranging from online privacy and cloud computing, to strategic science fiction book clubs and communication rights for people in prison.

Nighttime events feature bowling, karaoke, and a stellar lineup of local and national performers, including Bahamadia, Kyle Hall, Dj Dez Andrés.

Close to 2,000 people from Detroit and across the continent are expected to participate in AMC2013. Attendance has grown steadily since the conference’s founding in 1999, as more people have been drawn to the concept of do it yourself media, and the tools for making your own media have become more accessible.

This will be the seventh year that the conference is taking place in Detroit. Says AMP Co-director Jenny Lee, who helped relocate the conference here in 2007: "The Allied Media Conference has evolved from a little midwest zine conference in 1999 to a place where people come from across the continent to learn just about anything you can think of that has to do with using media to build a better world."

The content of the 2013 Allied Media Conference will include something for just about everyone, from workshops on how to make your first video game to the basics of social media, to conversations about the relationship between art, technology and gentrification.

"The diversity of this year's 200-something workshops is truly stunning," Lee says, "from 'Turning Data into Art,' to 'Quick 'n Dirty Film to Change the World,' to 'Radical Textiles.'"

There is free childcare and a track of workshops just for kids. Children under 12 attend for free. "But save energy for the nighttime events -- at the bowling alley at the Majestic or on the dancefloor at MOCAD," Lee says, "nighttime at the AMC is legendary."

The diversity of conference content mirrors the diversity of conference participants. Every year, the AMC adds more features to help make participation accessible to parents, children, seniors, people with disabilities, and others who are often marginalized from such events.