December 2, 2024, TORONTO – imagineNATIVE announced today that it has acquired Kin Theory, an initiative of the U.S. based non-profit, Nia Tero, as it expands its global footprint and impact for Indigenous artists. 

The acquisition will see imagineNATIVE take over operations and connect Indigenous artists in the Kin Theory database with imagineNATIVE’s existing programming with the goal of increasing opportunities for Indigenous creators and their reach within their respective industries using imagineNATIVE’s year-round platform. 

“From the very start imagineNATIVE has been an inspiration and an important part of the development of what has become Kin Theory, an Indigenous media makers database,” said Michelle Hurtubise, co-founder of Kin Theory. “As Kin Theory is now ready to grow globally, our team’s first dream was that it could continue to be stewarded by imagineNATIVE, an Indigenous-led organization that also values narrative sovereignty, investing in our storytellers, and bringing Indigenous media into the world with joy.”

Kin Theory is an Indigenous media maker database designed to showcase and uplift Indigenous media creators while creating community and opportunity for industry connections. The extensive database includes actors, writers, directors, musicians and more, currently working in the industry. The overall goal of Kin Theory is to connect Indigenous media makers with each other, and with non-Indigenous industry partners for networking, hiring, mentoring, funding, and more. 

“imagineNATIVE has a 25-year history of pushing forward the advancement of Indigenous creators in the film and media arts sector,” said Naomi Johnson, Executive Director of imagineNATIVE. “We have never wavered in our goals to ensure that Indigenous stories are being shared with a greater network of professionals in both creative and industry sectors. We are honoured to be held in such esteem by our partners and artists that we can grow and carry on this work with the addition of this database, a tool we hope will generate future opportunities for those involved.”

As part of the acquisition, imagineNATIVE will seamlessly transition the database’s current members over to the imagineNATIVE network which will operate on the existing website. They will also manage the day-to-day operations of the Kin Theory database of Indigenous creatives including engaging their network to expand the database’s membership. The database will be championed to the imagineNATIVE network through events like the annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival which welcomes approx 30,000 guests each year. The festival will celebrate its milestone 25th anniversary in June 2025. 

The current membership database of Kin Theory has been notified of the change and is currently transitioning its data over to imagineNATIVE. The ownership transition of Kin Theory will take place over the next quarter with the database remaining globally accessible at kintheory.org.