Pluralities Conference - Mapping and Cartography in Medias and Archives
Overview
Save the Date for the 6th iteration of the Pluralities Project and Conference 2026.
Program Announcements!
Exploring Mapping and Cartography in story development and Nonfiction Medias.Investigating how we make our archives and documentary evidence more accessible through mapping strategies.
In its sixth iteration the Pluralities Project hosts an interactive series focused on mapping and cartography in the archives and stories of our lives. The Documentary Film Institute presents this bi-annual program. This year in honor of understanding ourselves and our bodies of work. We will host a closing night screening and awards presentation on November 5.
We welcome Nik Heftman and Caleb Rainey (filmmaker and poet) to present their collaborative work, “The Negro Artist”. We will also present the ACCOMPLICE AWARD-a special recognition for artists, activists, and social disrupters who put themselves at risk to bring critical issues of our time to light. This year’s awardees are posthumously delivered to honor the late beyond great pioneer of African-Amercian women in journalism, BELVA DAVIS (1932-2025) and her longtime producer and partner-in-crime, George Osterkamp (1943-2026). Belva was the first black woman to be hired as a journalist and anchor a news show on the West Coast and brought stories to the forefront that could not gain traction without her tiresome efforts and the support of producers like George. We honor their collaborative contributions and their lives by presenting their family members with this award.
We also present an ACCOMPLICE AWARD to the late Gregory Tate (1957-2021), cultural critic, musician, artist, and individual beyond any one category. Gregory generously appeared in person at an interactive panel during Pluralities 2nd Seminar in 2018. We honor him and his audacity and courage to speak truths to the evolution and hardships of the African American diaspora in real time (IRL) with overwhelming candor and coolness.
SCHEDULE:
November 3rd, 2-4pm: Cultural Mapping and Storytelling in Media and Archives
November 4th, 2-4pm: Works-In-Progress Feedback Session
November 5th, 5:30pm: Awards Presentation and screening of “The Negro Artist” with filmmaker and cast in attendance.
2026 Accomplice Awardees: BELVA DAVIS, GEORGE OSTERKAMP, GREGORY TATE (all posthumously awarded)
Previous Awardees:
Alex Rivera (filmmaker)
Viridiana Martinez (immigration activist)
Hamid Naficy (cinematic scholar)
Featured Interactive Artist: LISARUTH Elliott:
Shaping SF and FoundSF are cooperative organizations that operate a digital (wiki-based, open access) archive of San Francisco history by geolocation of its neighborhoods. They also program ubiquitous walks and rides and other interactive living history events throughout the year. LisaRuth Elliott is one of the founding directors, an artist, and curator. She is a seminal resource for a mapped cultural history of SF and a living embodiment of that discourse. You can often find her at critical mass events, the Alemany farm, and she recently curated a show at Fort Mason.
This article talks about her influence on the cultural embodiment of history in the city.
ShapingSF has a small brick and mortar on Valencia Street near the Roxie Theater, too. Your students could get exposure to how people are carving out deeper, more layered ways of communicating and enacting the experiential, people driven history of SF. Plus-all of their events are also free. An amazing live resource for students and everyone beyond this encounter!
I have invited some courses to join this and other sessions as well hoping that we can cross-pollinate ideas and include student perspectives for all the panelists to take back with them as they continue this work. It seems prudent to me to expose one another to these ways of interacting. I am happy to talk more about it and answer any additional questions.
Featured Artist/Panelist: Nik Heftman
Heftman produced stories for CBS Mornings in New York City and Los Angeles for more than five years, helping the show earn an Emmy for Outstanding Live News Program.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a designated area of concentration in international studies, from Iowa State University. While attending ISU, Heftman worked for several local newspapers. His reporting earned him a Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for outstanding breaking news reporting. He also received an award from the Iowa Associated Press for a feature he co-wrote on South Sudanese refugees living in rural Iowa. He was later nominated for an SPJ Mark of Excellence Award for feature writing.
Before graduating in 2017, Heftman hosted a blunt debate about the way journalists cover Muslims at home and abroad. The event, called Muslimedia, was held at a local mosque in Ames, Iowa. Currently on ISU’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication’s Advisory Council, he teaches classes as a visiting professional to students interested in advertising, marketing, and storytelling.
Heftman began working for CBS Mornings in New York City after graduation. Starting from a position on the graphics team, he progressed to producing the lead for CBS’s Saturday morning show, CBS This Morning (SATMO). He later moved to Los Angeles and earned the role of Associate Producer and began regularly writing and producing news stories and special interest features for the morning show.
Heftman has always maintained an interest in Black stories and Black hidden history. Dedication to reporting on diversity and inclusion issues has earned Heftman the honor of speaking at public forums about the topic, including the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE)—a comprehensive forum on issues of race and ethnicity at Iowa State University and beyond.
Heftman is a speaker at the annual Okoboji Writer’s retreat and a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. He is also proud to support a number of mission-driven organizations. He volunteers with Young Storytellers, a nonprofit organization that empowers young people to use the art of storytelling to explore their identities, impact the people around them, and create a more just and equitable world. He also recently collaborated with Do The Math 247, a Des Moines-based apparel company with a message of positivity.
It proves to be an exciting and culturally significant event with support from LCA LIVE: GATORFLIX, Department of Anthropology, Shenson Foundation and others to be announced. Take a part in this moment where the past meets the present and meet the people behind the magic. More special announcements coming soon.
For information about the 6th Pluralities Seminar which runs from November 3-5 at SF State University please use this link. It is a free seminar and open to the public.
The Negro Artist TRAILER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfK1SK2jVmc&t=63s
