The creator of the now ubiquitous and symbolic hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, April Reign, has launched a new initiative to help Hollywood find and hire creatives of color.
The driving force behind #OscarsSoWhite was the very real need to “increase diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry,” Reign tweeted, and her new project, Akuarel, provides a solution. It will be a “centralized directory” for those who identify in an #OscarsSoWhite category (race, sexual orientation, disability, etc.) to find opportunities within the entertainment industry. Now, no studio, executive, director, or other entertainment employer can use the excuse that they wanted to employ a person of color but just couldn’t find one.
Subscribers, which can be studios, networks, theater companies, and media outlets, can search by categories or cross-sections of these categories as well as other criteria in their search to find talented candidates. Creatives will also be able to search for jobs posted by news and entertainment outlets. As a result, Akuarel will be a free service that will benefit “both sides of the camera,” Reign tweeted, including journalists, actors, boom operators, directors, key grips, and freelance writers.
“Media diversity is not just a Hollywood problem,” Reign wrote on Twitter. “The negative societal impacts from the economic concentration, stifling of diverse voices, and perpetuation of divisive cultural narratives makes it a national problem that must be addressed.”
Akuarel already counts four high-profile partners: CBS Diversity, Comcast, the Motion Picture Association of America, and A+E Networks.
Reign is the Senior Director of Marketing at Fractured Atlas, the nation’s largest non-profit arts service organization. She launched her new initiative just days ahead of the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held on March 4.
Related Stories
Celebs Will Reportedly Avoid Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars
Seacrest may still be hosting E!'s red carpet coverage, but that doesn't mean anyone is going to talk to him.
The Only Black Best Director Oscar Nominees Talk About Hollywood's 'Renaissance'
Jenkins said of his 2017 Moonlight nomination, "I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop."
77 Percent of Non-Acting Oscar Nominees Are Still Men
Three Oscars categories had literally no female nominees this year.
