Dear Friends of FAIR,
For the past four years, FAIR in the Arts has provided grants to 30 artists and arts organizations. Those grants have helped pay for rehearsal space, performers, production costs, marketing, pitch materials, and other practical necessities of making art. But money is only part of the story.
Again and again, grant recipients have told us that FAIR’s support provided something less tangible, and perhaps more consequential: the validation to be an independent artist, to resist conformity, and to trust the work they felt called to create.
It’s no surprise to even the most agreeable artist that our current artistic culture is burdened by fear, conformity, and self-censorship. Artists may have a responsibility to be faithful to their gifts, but fulfilling that responsibility requires courage -- the willingness to take risks, venture beyond what has already been culturally sanctioned, and discover what is authentic and genuinely new. That is why FAIR in the Arts awards Artist Grants.
FAIR believes art should be produced, published, curated, funded, and adjudicated according to the quality and integrity of the work; not according to an artist’s ideological alignment or identity category. Our goal is not to tell artists what they should say. Our aim is to help create a culture in which artists are free to discover what they have to say.
In our upcoming “Artists at Work” series, FAIR in the Arts interim director Karen Howes will explore what that support means in practice. We will introduce artists, disciplines, projects, and stories as we highlight how artistic courage is enabled when someone is willing to stand behind an artist’s work. Courage also surfaced during our September FAIR in Conversation discussion, “Is Woke Dead… or Just on Pause?” At the end of the discussion, participants agreed on a striking conclusion: cultural change ultimately requires individuals willing to resist conformity and act courageously.
Since artists have a particularly important role in that effort, and as we prepare for our 2027 Artist Grant Cycle, “Artists at Work” will demonstrate why FAIR in the Arts’ grants matter and why we need to fund many more. We believe that supporting an artist isn’t simply funding a project. It is helping create the conditions and culture in which artists are free to be courageous, resist conformity, and make the work that only they can make.
FAIR in Film Fundraisers: Launching the 2027 Artist Grant Fundraising Round
You can help make that work possible. We’re launching our 2027 fundraising round for the FAIR Artist Grants and FAIR’s broader mission by featuring three early release film screenings on topics that align with FAIR’s principles. These films are brand new and address today’s most challenging and thought-provoking issues. In each, a filmmaker shares their film and joins a discussion with the FAIR community, and every event raises funds for FAIR, including the Artist Grants program.
Speechless by Ric Beinstock: Be part of the first U.S. audience to screen this amazing film. Speechless explores campus free speech battles through interviews and cases, including DEI conflicts, discrimination lawsuits, political shifts at colleges, and academic freedom debates across US institutions. Wednesday, October 28, 2026 @ 7 EST.
Registration link: Speechless Screening & Panel Discussion, Wed. 10/28 @ 7 EST
Generation COVID by Andrew James and Jennifer Sey. While some children fortunately emerged from COVID lockdowns relatively unscathed, school closures had catastrophic effects on many others. The film reminds us of the mistakes we should never repeat. It’s not political. It’s about kids. Wednesday, November 11, 2026 @ 7 EST.
Registration link: Generation COVID Screening & Panel Discussion, Wed. 11/11 @ 7 EST
White Guilt by Eli Steele: White Guilt is a documentary essay by Eli Steele, drawn from the lifework of his father, Shelby Steele. It is the story of a man who saw the evil that others could not, or would not, and who named it and refused to back off of it for fifty years. Tuesday, December 1, 2026 @ 7 EST.
Registration link: White Guilt Screening & Panel Discussion, Tues. 12/1 @ 7 EST
Each screening offers more than a chance to see a provocative new documentary. It’s an opportunity to engage directly with the filmmakers, explore the ideas and challenges behind their work, and join a community that values artistic courage and independent thought.
Your registration does more than reserve a seat. It helps fund FAIR and the next round of FAIR Artist Grants, giving more community members and artists the resources, encouragement, and freedom to bring their own uncompromising visions to life.
Join us for one or all three of these remarkable films. Registering for a $10 or $25 ticket goes a long way: watch the film, stay for the conversation, and help make the next generation of independent art possible.
With Gratitude,
The FAIR Team
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FAIR in Film presents: An Exclusive Screening of “Speechless”
Private first time screening to a US audience.
Join FAIR for an exclusive screening of Speechless, a provocative documentary exploring the battle over free speech on college campuses and what it means for the future of higher education and democracy.
The film—which is now available to a U.S. audience for the first time—is a gripping investigation into the breakdown of open inquiry in the very institutions meant to protect it, and what happens to a democracy when it loses faith in free speech, honest disagreement, and the hard work of conversation.
The post-film discussion will include several renowned panelists, offering a range of perspectives on the issues explored in the film.
Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
Film: ~120 minute run time + 45 minute discussion
Introducing: Arts After Hours
FAIR in the Arts is launching Arts After Hours, a monthly Zoom gathering for FAIR artists, members, and guests to meet one another, exchange ideas, share opportunities, and strengthen the courageous creative community we are building together.
This isn’t a webinar or a formal presentation. It’s a gathering.
Come tell us what you’re working on. Bring an idea you’d like to explore, an opportunity you’d like to share, a question or project for other artists, or simply come to meet writers, actors, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and other creative people who believe that art flourishes through curiosity, independence, open inquiry, and the courage to create authentically.
Our first After Hours gathering will be held Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 PM ET, and we’ll gather thereafter on the third Wednesday of every month.
FAIR in the Arts is becoming more than a place to defend artistic freedom. We want it to be a place where artists can use that freedom to create, connect, collaborate, and help shape the culture around us. I really hope you’ll join us.
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.
Every month on the third Wednesday.
Educators Alliance
FAIR is continuing the Educators Alliance for the 2026-2027 school year to equip PK–12 educators with the knowledge, strategies, and community support they need to foster schools that are more enriching and free from bias for students and educators.
We are at a turning point for education—and with the relaunch of FAIR’s Educators Alliance, we have an opportunity to step beyond polarization and create classrooms rooted in curiosity, dignity, and respect.
Each monthly gathering will open with updates and presentations from FAIR staff, fellows, Chapter Leaders, and occasional guest speakers. Together, we’ll explore strategies for supporting educators, communities, and local chapters—and for advancing positive change at the local, regional, and national levels. Following presentations, participants will have space for open forum discussions to connect, seek advice, and coordinate on pressing issues in their schools. Breakout rooms will be divided into PK-6 and 7-12 grade levels with experienced teachers facilitating those conversations.
Educators will also be invited to contribute to a new FAIR in Education newsletter, showcasing stories, strategies, and resources from across the FAIR network.
Whether you are a teacher, paraprofessional, or administrator, join us as we continue the FAIR Educators Alliance and shape the future of education together.
There are 7 meetings to sign up for down below. Scroll up and down below to see all of the sessions!
Oct 1, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the First Thu, until Apr 1, 2027, 1 hr sessions, 7 occurrences
FAIR in Film presents: An Exclusive Screening of Generation Covid
An entire generation of children and families were deeply harmed by the response to Covid, resulting in half of American public schools being closed for nearly two years. The fallout has been a society-destroying scandal that our elected officials are still too afraid to address. Long past the time when adults resumed normalcy, American school children were onerously restricted, locked out of school and other social and developmental activities, kept alone and isolated and forced onto screens – all in spite of clear data showing Covid posed little threat to the young and healthy.
Generation Covid is the story of a forgotten generation who endured the biggest civil rights violations in a century, the largest propaganda campaign in American history and industrial scale censorship in spite of clear, incontrovertible evidence that lockdowns, school closures, vaccine mandates and forced masking were useless and harmful. Politicians and public health officials’ worst authoritarian impulses took hold and the press failed to hold power to account, leaving children voiceless.
Despite clear and incontrovertible real-time evidence of the harms being done, especially to the poor and working class, powerful forces sought to censor, silence and vilify anyone who questioned the efficacy of these unprecedented and unscientific decisions, and our children are still paying the price.
We all are.
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Time: 7pm EST/4pm PST (until about 10:00pm EST)
Film: ~120 minute run time + 30 minute discussion
White Guilt
White Guilt is a documentary essay by Eli Steele, drawn from the lifework of his father, Shelby Steele. It is the story of a man who saw the evil that others could not, or would not, and who named it and refused to back off of it for fifty years.
After the 1960s Civil Rights victories, white America stood accused and were desperate to regain moral authority and escape the stain of racism. That frantic need birthed white guilt, a moral collapse that replaced merit with victimhood, standards with excuses, and individual responsibility with grievance power.
The result: failing schools, dependency programs, racial division, riots, defund-the-police chaos—and now a global wave where Hamas’s October 7 atrocities are called “resistance,” campus antisemitism is tolerated, and anti-Western tribalism gains ground.
Date: December 1, 2026
Time: 7pm EST/4pm PST (until about 10:00pm EST)
Note: Despite Zoom’s notice down below, FAIR maintains strict confidentiality of contact information provided.
Note to readers: We have paused the FAIR News podcast. If you prefer listening rather than reading these newsletters, an audio version is available directly on the Substack app. Thank you for tuning in!
Looking forward to watching these documentaries!! Thank you, FAIR, for doing this invaluable work, and for teaming up with such talented and brave people.
I'd love to know what you all think of this piece that I wrote: https://rumble.com/v6yofqi-how-to-be-more-inclusive-trailer.html