named programs · 2 · from sources
What they call their work
IMMERSION 6.0 VR Exhibit
Public exhibition of works created during the IMMERSION 6.0 residency, showcasing 360° films that explore history, memory, and transformation through spatial storytelling.
IMMERSION Lab
Annual artist residency program in Wilmington, NC, focused on creating 360° video and immersive media works that engage with racial history and experimental storytelling.
activities · 9 groups
What they do
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Alumni Community Building 1 activity
- Alumni network engagementMaintains an active alumni network of over 2,000 participants across the United States and globally to sustain long-term engagement with past program participants.
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Artist Residencies and Studio Programs 1 activity
- Artist-thinker residency programsOperates immersive artist-thinker residencies, including two-week and one-to-three-week intensive sessions for artists and thinkers from diverse disciplines such as art, poetry, philosophy, science, and filmmaking. Hosted residencies include a virtual reality creation program in Wilmington, North Carolina, where artists develop 360 video projects engaged with local social and historical contexts.
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Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
- Creative community convenings and festivalsOrganizes major convenings, festivals, and conferences, including the Clouds Gathering performance festival featuring performances, workshops, and outdoor activities, and a 56-hour bilingual durational conference with 100 interdisciplinary performative presentations at The Darling Foundry.
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Arts Education Professional Development 1 activity
- Curriculum development and pedagogical supportHosts curriculum development workshops to support applicants in preparing course proposals and maintains an archive of pedagogical experiments from 2011 to present that integrate language and embodiment, form and content, and medium and message.
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Financial Aid and Scholarship Access Programs 1 activity
- Funding scholarships, stipends, and program developmentUses monthly donor contributions to fund scholarships, travel stipends, subsidized tuition, teacher compensation, and new program development, enabling broader access and sustainability of educational and residency programs.
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Community Art Education Workshops 1 activity
- Online and in-person educational programmingOffers four semesters of classes annually, with in-person instruction at Abrons Arts Center during fall and spring and online instruction during winter and summer, including a five-week Summer School program in June–July. Provides sliding scale tuition ($125–$375), $75 solidarity rate spots, and scholarships, while compensating teaching artists $1,000 per course.
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LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency & Community Education 1 activity
- Political education workshops and trainingsHosts annual political education workshops and offers free trainings on topics including anti-racism, queer and trans liberation, and Christian nationalism, designed for arts and cultural workers. These include collaborative trainings with facilitators such as Roan Boucher.
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Mentorship and Professional Development Programs 1 activity
- Professional development and peer support programmingOffers bi-weekly online accountability meetups for creative practitioners to support goal-setting and creative development, along with exclusive professional development workshops focused on skill-building and mentorship from experienced creative professionals.
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Literary and Cultural Publishing 1 activity
- Publications and interdisciplinary journalsProduces and publishes an interdisciplinary, multi-media journal that reimagines academic formats through creative and non-standard scholarly methods, including the publication of Issue #1 titled "Syllabus, Impossible." Operates a publication platform integrating critique, innovation, serious inquiry, and imaginative approaches.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$113K
Contributions & grants$85K75%
Program service revenue$28K25%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue—
expenses
Total expenses$96K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$32K
Grants paid out—
balance sheet
Total assets$30K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$28K
2 years on record · 2024–2025 · YoY revenue +105.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025
Who runs it
paid leadership · 3
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOPHIE TRAUB | ARTISTIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 28 | $38K |
| ELIZABETH SCOFIELD | MEMBER | 2 | $5K |
| AKEEMA ANTHONY | BOARD CHAIR | 2 | $2K |
relationships · 31
Who they work with
- Aaron Finbloom Partner — Editor of Quiddle journal
- Abode of the Message Partner — Host site and partner providing land and context for the Clouds Gathering festival.
- Abrons Arts Center Partner — Collaborates on course programming, curriculum development, and faculty orientation for The School of Making Thinking.
- Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism Partner — Artist Akeema-Zane has participated in programs at the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, indicating a programmatic relationship.
- Benjamin Korta Partner — Editor of Quiddle journal
- Canadian National Arts Centre Partner — Sophie Traub served as Associate Curator for the Canadian National Arts Centre’s Cycle on Climate Change.
- Cave Canem Partner — Artist Akeema-Zane has participated in programs at Cave Canem, indicating a programmatic relationship with the organization.
- Chris Kennedy Partner — Contributor to Quiddle Issue #1
- Cucalorus Festival Partner — Multiple board members (Clay Scofield, Thea Fitz-James) have had artistic engagements with Cucalorus, including residencies and curation, suggesting an ongoing organizational connection.
- Cucalorus Film Foundation Partner — Co-runs the IMMERSION VR Creation Lab residency program and hosts the resulting projects at the Cucalorus Festival.
- Cucalorus Film Foundation Partner — Partnership to co-run the annual IMMERSION Lab artist residency.
- Dancing Earth Partner — Artistic Executive Director Sophie Traub collaborated with Dancing Earth on the GROUNDWORKS Performance Project at Alcatraz.
- Givebutter Government — Platform used for processing recurring donations and managing donor accounts for the Feedback Loop membership program.
- Groundation Grenada Partner — Artist Akeema-Zane has participated in programs at Groundation Grenada, indicating a collaborative relationship.
- Lensrentals Partner — Provides 360 cameras and headsets for use in the IMMERSION VR Creation Lab.
- Lina Moreno Partner — Contributor to Quiddle Issue #1
- Matthew Goulish Partner — Contributor to Quiddle Issue #1
- Michelle Bentsman Partner — Editor of Quiddle journal
- Mount Lebanon Residency Partner — Partner organization collaborating with The School of Making Thinking to produce the Clouds Gathering performance festival.
- National Endowment for the Arts Funder — Provides a Media Arts Grant that supports the IMMERSION VR Creation Lab program.
- New York Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Provides support through a Cultural Development Fund grant.
- New York State Council on the Arts Government — Funds the classes with support from the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
- Nisse Greenberg Partner — Contributor to Quiddle Issue #1
- PayPal Government — Processes donations for SMT through PayPal.
- Pollinator Consulting Partner — Collaborates with Pollinator Consulting to deliver political education trainings led by Roan Boucher.
- Roan Boucher Partner — Partners with facilitator Roan Boucher to offer political education trainings on Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and queer and trans liberation.
- The Darling Foundry Partner — Hosted the organization's durational conference and integrated its exhibition spaces with the event programming.
- The Maysles Documentary Center Partner — Artist Akeema-Zane has been in residence at The Maysles Documentary Center, indicating a collaborative relationship.
- The Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon Partner — Host site and partner providing land, history, and generosity for the Clouds Gathering festival.
- ToasterLab Partner — Artistic Executive Director Sophie Traub worked with ToasterLab on the GROUNDWORKS Performance Project.
+ 1 more
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Critical Immersive Media Practicemethodology: critical_immersionBy grounding immersive media creation—especially virtual reality—in local history, racial context, and decolonial ethics, the organization counters escapist tendencies and transforms technology into a tool for critical reflection and social responsiveness because deep contextual engagement makes artistic media relationally accountable and historically grounded.
- Experimental & Embodied Pedagogymethodology: experimental_embodied_pedagogyBy using non-traditional, interdisciplinary, and embodied methods—such as integrating language with physical experience and replacing word-centric formats with multi-sensory expression—the organization deepens engagement with thought and art because these forms align medium with message and make intellectual inquiry more accessible, transformative, and creatively generative.
- Peer-Led Community of Practicemethodology: peer_led_community_of_practiceBy enabling artists, researchers, and activists to co-lead and co-inquire within structured environments, the organization fosters collective knowledge-building and methodological innovation because peer-led dynamics promote ownership, accountability, and mutual growth that hierarchical models suppress.