APT, HORROR

Ava[Avie] M. Fields, MSCJ

What we witness matters

MEET THE ARTIST/FOUNDER

Horror Advocate| Crime Trends Expert| GHOST WRITER| RESEARCHER| Pop Culture Survivalist| Cryptanalyst |+Poet

As a visual artist and community leader, Ava (Avie) Fields positions her work as immersion therapy, an untapped resource for prioritizing underrepresented communities/voices. In February 2023, she was recognized by the Mass Cultural Council for The Horror Advocate, a pop-culture research project that meets inequities at their root rather than their symptomatic effect. Using innovative community response models that demonstrate the transformative impact of blending horror film, equity, and compassion, she reframes and repurposes traumatic content. The objective is to transform antiquated social structures that thrive on harm and starve survival.

With a passion for prison reform, restorative justice, harm reduction, and investigating wrongful convictions, she combines horror advocacy with restorative justice. She hopes people experience the same catharsis she does in creating her work by engaging with it.

+ Red=Parent project

+Grey = PROGRAMS

+yellow= values in action

PROJECT BACKGROUND

People think horror films are villains. That they fuel the nightmares and feed the unrest is a misinterpretation. It is a cipher for those who want to dig deep. It is the loved one who won't let us live a lie.

Our culture wades in manufactured realities, the ones that make us

feel safe. The ones that tell us it must always be a happy ending, that playing mind games is just part of love, or that suggest a woman's worth is determined by proposals and center-cut diamonds. But what if that safety is what keeps us trapped? What if we've been duped into believing that avoidance can heal? What if horror is the only friend we've got?

The genre's history is ripe with truths we want to disprove. George Romero took license with Night of the Living Dead (1968) and led an artistic revolution on the intersectionality of race, region, and the weight of a preconceived notion.

Amy Holden Jones wrote.

SlumberParty Massacre (1982) in the wake of Ted Bundy and the Hillside Stranglers. She penned a perfectly inverted fairytale where women faced the promise of violence. She used the film to detail how the suggestion that targeted violence is imagined, exaggerated, or

dictated by a victim's actions is a real threat. Both understood that Horror is a messenger-- and can speak for itself.

Horror never buries the lead. It reverberates with voices, stories, perspectives, and fringe existences that hold our world accountable. Horror is universal. It's the most profitable film genre on record and boasts fans from all walks of life. 2021 was a rough year at the box office, but Horror maintained its momentum. Its popularity and accessibility make it an untapped data warehouse designed to eradicate gatekeeping around social, civic, and cultural experiences that thrive on community input.

Apt, Horror amplifies those voices, nullifies gatekeeping around civic involvement, and leverages pop (counter) culture knowledge as a

reputable data source.

ENGAGEMENT + OBJECTIVES

Audience and Data Group(s): L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+, Student(s), Underemployed, Senior citizens, Military/Combat veterans, Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses, Gamblers, Sexual Assault survivors, Rape survivors, Domestic violence survivors, Substance abusers, Persons on the Autism spectrum, Persons living in poverty, Felons, Undocumented individuals, Women, Girls, (Alternative) Families. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Explicitly and implicitly, this project is for the people and communities that have

been historically excluded and pushed to the borderlands.

Survey Objectives:

+ To determine the top 5 social anxieties (trending + (topics) for each US region using data analytics

+To produce at least one virtual gathering, panel, or workshop that addresses those trending topics and ties them directly to our community.

+[Longterm] To gather significant data from all 50 states ( + US territories). At least 40 % of the state population.

PROJECT DOCUMENTS

Apt Horror Sponsorship + 1st Event Proposal

Apt, Horror: The Castle Report (2022)

Apt Horror Survey (Opens 2024)

PROJECT DETAILS

Project principels:

+Compassion or ‘A responsibility to bear witness

+Repurposing or ‘Other peoples Trash, My Treasure’

+Subversion or ‘Established does not = best’

+Catharsis or ‘Horror is cheaper than retail therapy’

+Perspective or ‘We don't get to choose our victims’=

Project Impact:

Apt, Horror uses pop (counter) culture knowledge to amplify underserved communities/voices. I want the impact of this project to:

+ Nullify gatekeeping around community dialogue and development.

+ Developing a unique strategy for interpreting and codifying data that applies a propensity for art as the blueprint for community healing and wellness.

+ Institutionalize the project as a reputable data source that local/city government officials and leaders use to take the social temperature of each neighborhood or community they serve.

+ Prioritize the voices of under-served/under-represented/under-resourced communities, promote self-sustainability and self-advocacy, and encourage mutual accountability to one another.

Project Approach:

+Shifting views on a controversial form of entertainment, suggesting that the topic can be used to heal/motivate.

+Develop a unique delivery system for enhancing civic engagement. Horror is widely considered the least purposeful of all genres.

+Transforming the status quo, whether social, political, or cultural.

+Challenging the traditional processes around building community partnerships and community.

+Take community partnerships one step further by focusing on solutions that will effectively improve our communities.

Annual Project Timeline

Community Research

Six months of qualitative (+quantitative) data gathering (+analysis) collected through Google Forms. The questions will combine demographics, lifestyle, and their connection to the genre or lack thereof. The data will be

used to identify trending topics. For example, if it's noted that many people are concerned about childcare, pregnancy, and reproductive rights, I'll use that data to recommend three horror films that address those topics. Specifically, I look for possible areas of engagement (e.g., around political and social anxieties). I then share the findings and analytics with the community.

Community Partnerships

In the second phase, I take those research findings, narrow down the trending topics/areas of focus for our event(s), and begin to connect with other community organizations (projects)that reflect those topics/sites.

Community Gatherings

The third phase combines our community partners (research) with live/virtual community gatherings. We will present our findings in the context of 3 horror films that reflect our trending topics. The films will be used as a point of engagement to interrogate what we’re

absorbing as a culture and acknowledging truths we would instead turn away from.

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT THE WORK?

+Offer pro-bono services to help cover project costs such as, but not limited to, advertising, trademarking, copyright law, Tech help

taxes

+Commission me for a writing project and or horror advocacy presentations/appearances

+Underwrite costs for events, content creation, programming, and or community resource development

+Promote my project through your podcast, newsletter, and website.

+Make an introduction between me and someone you think I should know.

+ Mention my name in rooms I'm not in

FUNDRAISING DETAILS: WHAT WILL I USE THE FUNDS FOR?

NOTES: THIS PROJECT IS STARTING US-FOCUSED BUT IS DESIGNED TO BE DUPLICATED. APT, HORROR HAS A VISION OF WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL SPONSORS AND OR PARTNERS AS IT GAINS TRACTION✨

Stage 1 (Data Gathering + Analysis)

+Trademarking/Legal Fees slogans, logos, and program names

+Dues and Subscriptions (streaming services, Trello, Docusign)

+Posters/Stickers (Apt, Horror posters, flyers, and buttons)

+Canva (1 year of canvas pro)

+COMMS/Magazine features

+Contracted Experts (Program Assistant, Gender and Sexuality Consultant, Research Assistant, Data consultant)

+Participant expense for gift cards for survey raffle)

Stage 2 (Community Partnerships)

+Social Promotion (6 Ad's over one year)

+Gift Matching with a community partner to fund the annual event

Stage 3 (Community Gathering)

+Tech help with slides and presentations (Zoom for three months

+1 Tech person)

+Speaker Stipends (2)

+Facilitator/Host fee for the annual event