Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) uses film to shatter stereotypes and bias, reveal the lived truth of inequality, and build community around art and activism.

QWOCMAP creates, exhibits, and distributes high-impact new films that authentically reflect the lives of queer women of color both cisgender & transgender, and nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and transgender people of color of any orientation, and address the vital, intersecting social justice issues that concern our multiple communities.

We actively invest in, develop, and nurture the creativity and leadership of African Descent/Black, Asian, Chicanx/Latinx, First Nations/Native American/American Indian/Indigenous, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian, North African/Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, South Asian (SWANA/AMEMSA), and Mixed-Race lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, and nonbinary, gender nonconforming and transgender people of color, and intersex and Two Spirit people of color.

QWOCMAP strives to make marginalized communities visible and vocal in the most expensive and powerful art form in the world.

Our vision nurtures filmmaker-activists as leaders of social justice movements that incorporate the power of art as cultural resistance and cultural resilience, cultural reclamation and cultural renewal. We will fundamentally transform the world into a place where justice and equity are the norm.

1. Fun

We have a good sense of humor and find fun in our work. Social justice work needs joy, pleasure, and lots of love.

2. Safety, Welcome, and Equity

We say hello and welcome everyone. We are present with one another and check in if we need to be less present. We take time to get to know each other as people and are thoughtful about different needs. We are culturally humble and learn each other’s histories and traditions.

We build pan-ethnic, multi-racial spaces that honor our varied national origins and migration status, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identity and expression, physical and mental ability, serostatus, heights, weights, ages, faiths, incarceration background, parental or marital status, and social economic backgrounds. We are thoughtful about our privileges and how they affect our interactions with others.

We ensure that the people and communities who are most affected by inequity are visibly leading.

3. Ethics

We do what we say we are going to do.

We are transparent.

We do everything with QWOCMAP values in mind.

We focus on the factors, problems and challenges we can control and communicate our needs, limitations, expectations, and successes openly. We agree to actively listen, and be open to feedback, and room for improvement. We will be accountable for our mistakes and to learn from them. We will give one another the opportunity to change and improve over time. We agree to own our part in creating and implementing solutions.

4. Leadership

We believe, as Ella Baker demonstrated, that “strong people don’t need strong leaders.” We nurture the leadership of our community and focus on leading ourselves because our transformation is the key to social justice.

5. Excellence

Our community deserves our best.

We are a learning organization. We will do our jobs thoughtfully, and with intentionality and a spirit of teamwork.

We value excellence in the way that work is performed and will not ask anything of others that I am unwilling or unable to do ourselves.

We are appreciative of what we are able to accomplish and support one another to succeed. We take calculated risks and view challenges and failures as learning opportunities. We are not afraid to change as more information becomes available. We are thoughtful of our impact on other beings and the environment as we do our work.