2024 was a fantastic year for Community Engagement, filled with partnerships and events throughout the state.  We'd like to take a moment to reflect on the year as we head into 2025.  Won't you join us?

Winter 2024

The year kicked off in a cozy way with a screening of the first episode of All Creatures Great and Small.  If you missed it, you can come to our event on January 12 where we'll watch the first episode of season 5!

Next up we had some powerful screenings discussing The Cost of Inheritance, an America ReFramed special, that explores the complex issue of reparations in the U.S.  We partnered with Spelman College for on a thoughtful approach to history, historical injustices, systemic inequities, and critical dialogue on racial conciliation.

We traveled to UGA to celebrate the Native America film.  We learned about indigenous languages with experts in the field.

We kicked off our Indie Lens Pop-Up film screenings and community events in Atlanta with a screening of Razing Liberty Square, and a thoughtful discussion about climate gentrification.  Our Indie Lens Pop-Up series continued with screenings in Macon and Atlanta featuring local journalists and the Parkinson's Foundation.

We partnered with the Council of Korean Americans to bring in filmmaker So Yun Um to discuss her film Liquor Store Dreams.

We also celebrated Gospel music in a big way during the release of Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s docu-series.  We visited Morehouse College to watch clips from the film and heard the Morehouse Glee Club sing at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. 

Spring 2024

An event that many Georgians do not know about is the Thiokol Chemical Plant explosion in 1971 that killed 29 workers, a majority of them Black women. GPB's Pamela Kirkland spoke with survivors and their family during this emotional community screening of The Day that Shook Georgia.  

We traveled to Columbus to learn more about the Chattahoochee River and the women who fought to make it clean.  Saving the Chattahoochee: The Story of the Women Who Defended the River, a film by Hal Jacobs, highlights Sally Bethea, the founding director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.  Joining her on the panel were members of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Finding the Flint, and the Earth and Space Sciences Department at Columbus State University to talk about the past, present, and future of this river that flows through Georgia.  

We found examples of Wild Hope in Georgia in April, along with the Fruitful Community Foundation and Science for Georgia.  

Then we partnered with 7 Stages Theater and other artists to celebrate Curious Sensory Encounters and the Indie Lens Pop-Up film The Tuba Thieves.

Summer 2024

Summer was the time to meet old friends and make new ones.  We partnered with MARTA to bring the children's show Alma's Way to life in downtown Atlanta with an Explore Your City event.  Partners from around the city joined us for family activities and to learn a little more about local resources.

We continued offering fun and educational resources for families with a Sensory Friendly Family Meetup at the Metropolitan Library.  This event brought families together with community resources for children with autism and developmental delays.  Later in July, we offered a virtual screening of the film Navigating Autism in Communities of Color with Multiple Autisms Collective.  This gave parents a chance to network further with families and gain more insight into resources for Autism.  

We rounded out the summer with a roadtrip to Tybee Island to learn more about the rich and vibrant maritime culture of the Georgia coast with David Zelski from A Fork in the Road, along with other local experts.  This was a live podcast recording that you can listen to here.

Fall 2024

We saved some of the best partnerships and events for the end of the year.  

GPB is committed to offering accessible content to everyone, and we know we can always do more to serve our community.  We tested how accessible an event can be in October with our partners at GLS and Oglethorpe University.  We offered an accessible screening of the American Masters series Renegades that featured audio description, captions, ASL interpretation, and flexible seating.  We look forward to learning more and continuing our effort to welcome all to our events.  

We celebrated Jimmy Cater's 100th birthday with the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum with a live recording of All Things Considered with Peter Biello, along with a schedule of films featuring Mr. Carter all October long.

Speaking of Jimmy Carter, we worked with filmmaker Andrew Greer to create community discussions about his film Plainspoken, about Plains, Georgia where Mr. Carter lives.  We partnered with Out of Hand Theater and Music in Common to develop community discussions that encouraged participants to have meaningful conversations.  You can learn more about the project here, and stay tuned for a community guide that you can use to have your own community conversations.  

October rolled right along with a giant celebration of being a kind and caring neighbor with Daniel Tiger at Be My Neighbor Day.  We partnered with Compassionate Atlanta for an afternoon of kindness with Daniel!

We couldn't let the kids have all the fun, and invited our friends Julia and Bridget from America's Test Kitchen to stop by the GPB studio to share their cooking stories and celebrate 25 years of ATK!

From Daniel Tiger, to Julia Collin Davison to--Leonardo da Vinci?!  Only at GPB! We offered engaging events throughout the state to highlight the Ken Burns new film about the world famous Renaissance man.  We visited Augusta, Valdosta, and offered events in Atlanta featuring MODA and the Fernbank Science Center.

Phew! That was quite the ride!  We are so excited to continue our Community Engagement in 2025!  You can look forward to more diverse film screenings, exciting collaborations, and maybe even another Daniel Tiger visit!  Check out all our upcoming events here!