How?

Everyone is welcome to join us on April 24th and 25th. There is no admission charge for any aspect of the event, though donations will be accepted for each participating project or organization.

But if you would like to be a little more involved, we invite you to participate by exhibiting, volunteering, or sponsoring with financial or in-kind donations.

Exhibiting

Artists
Our goal is to feature as many of Nashville’s literary, multi-media, and visual artists in the gallery as we can. With artwork as with every exhibit aspect of the event, the mandatory criterion is a focus on the people. We welcome everything from art books to multi-media installations with themes ranging from celebrating our glory to mourning our pain. Gallery space will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Due to spatial restrictions, we have a very limited ability to accommodate performing artists this year, but if you want to participate, please don’t hesitate to ask us!

For more information as well as submission details for literary, multi-media and visual art, contact
Jacob Gregory no later than April 17th.

For more information about performance possibilities, contact Audra Harvey no later than April 17th

Organizations, Groups & Individuals
Just Cause gives participants the opportunity to:

Network
Raise awareness about your mission
Publicize events
Celebrate successes with like-minded people
Recruit supporters and volunteers
Solicit donations
Educate the community

Our goal is to include as many of Nashville’s organizations, groups, and individuals as possible that focus on making real improvements in the quality of people’s lives. That focus can be freeing child soldiers in Asia, helping refugee families integrate into Nashville, or giving children constructive activities for their time after school. The only mandatory criterion is a humanitarian focus. [1]

Space will be provided on a first come, first served basis. We will provide the tables but each exhibitor will provide its own awning, banners, and exhibit materials. The cost of exhibit space is $25, $50, or $75. The exhibition fee is determined based on the size of the organization or project and the amount of exhibit space desired, but please consider what you can afford and pay accordingly. Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible so we have kept the exhibition fees low and are fundraising for the event to make up the difference. We welcome any donation beyond these amounts. Just Cause is an initiative of abrasiveMedia, a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. All donations made to abrasiveMedia for Just Cause are tax deductible.

For registration details or more information, contact Lea Collins no later than April 17th.

[1] Exhibitors need to emphasize how they promote and increase the quality of people’s life. Political issues are not the focus of this event. All campaigning for particular political parties, legislation, or judicial actions must remain outside of the designated event area and cannot block or impede traffic to the event.

Vendors
The fair trade fair is a chance to highlight the emphasis many Nashville businesses place on fair trade business practices [2] as well as local craftsmanship and artistry. This year’s vendors already range from boutique thrift store to refugee artwork, and more are signing up every day. We will post the final list closer to the event as it is changing quickly. If you would like to participate as a vendor in the fair trade fair or are planning to sell food, contact us.

[2] While vendors do not need to be Fair Trade Certified, we are specifically looking for local businesses with fair trade business practices. Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries. Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to one of security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.

Volunteering

It takes many people to pull off an event like this. If you would like to volunteer, we would love your help. For this year, we are currently assembling volunteer teams in the following areas:

Promotions
Setup
Event Support for:
- Security
- Kids activities
- Art gallery
- Fair trade / social justice fair
Teardown & Cleanup

Contact Lea Collins if you have any questions or are interested in volunteering.

Logistics: Planning and managing the details, administration, and flow of resources for the entire event.
Stage: Soliciting, scheduling, and managing the entertainment. This year we will have a benefit concert Saturday night, but our goal starting in 2010 is a full day of entertainment on a main stage that culminates with a large concert Saturday evening. Eventually, we would like to have a children’s stage with a full day of entertainment.
Promotions: Creating marketing materials, coordinating and managing canvassing teams, and generally getting the word out.
Exhibitors & Vendors: Registering and coordinating the organizations, groups and individuals who want to exhibit as well as scheduling and coordinating the vendors.
Artists: Managing submissions, artist communications, and gallery setup as well as gallery facilitation, teardown & cleanup. Starting in 2010, we want to have an interactive, child-focused section of the art gallery.
Sponsors: Finding the people, businesses, and organizations who would like to donate the money and goods required to pull this off, coordinating collection or drop off of donations, and managing sponsor relationships before and after each event.
Volunteers: Recruiting, coordinating, and managing the volunteers for each specific aspect of the event.
Workshops: Scheduling, managing, and facilitating the workshops.
Children's Activities: This team is responsible for all things child-related, from snacks to schedule. Our goal is for Just Cause to be as relevant and interactive for children and families as for adults. Starting in 2010, we want to add an interactive, child-focused section of the art gallery. Eventually, we would like to have a children’s stage with a full day of entertainment.

If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering in one of these long-term capacities, contact
Lea Collins.

Sponsoring

Just Cause is an initiative of abrasiveMedia, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.