Introducing the Brick Alliance and the 2022 Polybag Project

When you think of organised LEGO fan groups, most think of Recognized LEGO User Groups (RLUGs), online communities (RLOCs) or fan media (RLFMs). What happens when a group of these organisations find a common mission for which to advocate? The answer, at least in one case, was the formation of the Brick Alliance. Read on to learn more about the Brick Alliance and their 2022 Polybag Project (which you can join if you’re interested).

It all started with a meme.

The details aren't important; it's one of many that shows the "joke" of a man obtaining “permission” from his female partner to buy LEGO. This is offensive on many levels, but unfortunately this sentiment, while not prevalent, is also not uncommon in the LEGO fan world.

Like most who see these memes and are bothered by them, I didn't react. Responding to the meme is pointless – there are many other similar memes out there, and any objection is typically met with dismissal and the “inability to take a joke”. But…..when I saw it, I knew I wasn’t the only one disappointed by it. The Women’s Brick Initiative (WBI) has been doing work highlighting situations such as these for some time (note: I am on the leadership team for WBI). I knew that there were many people who were frustrated by this portion of the fan community. What if these people banded together to advocate for each other?

Soon after, Alice Finch and I (on behalf of WBI) met with Bruce Heller, the founder of GayFOLs. We talked about the intolerance that we had seen in some parts of the LEGO fan community, and the need to have some back-up when dealing with it. “Sending out the bat signal” was the phrase that we used. We agreed during that meeting that WBI and GayFOLs would look out for each other that way, but we also recognised that others would want to join. What would we call such a group?

That’s how the Brick Alliance was born, in the summer of 2020.

We were correct; others were very interested in the concept. Shortly after that first meeting, we were approached by Tips&Bricks, interested in the joining the cause. As of this writing, other organisations involved in the Brick Alliance include Brickworld, BuffaLUG, LEGO Saved My Life, MILUG, and Team PMS. We've had regular meetings for almost two years, and the website officially launched last November. LEGO has taken notice; and we've had discussions with them on topics around diversity and inclusion.

Mission and goals

The Brick Alliance is an intersectional AFOL community forged around the principles of inclusion, education, and activism.

They connect and support AFOL communities, members of these communities, and individuals committed to advocating for increased representation, inclusion, and diversity in the LEGO fan ecosystem.

Issues around these topics include, but are not limited to, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, financial position, disability, and building ability.

Brick Alliance goals include:

- Bringing together and elevating diverse voices
- Be a well-rounded global alliance representing diverse interests
- Raising awareness of inequity & bias within the community
- Establishing a collaborative dialogue with The LEGO Group

Brick Alliance is working towards these goals via a number of different outreach methods - attending conventions, conducting research projects, providing resources, or hosting building challenges, such as the 2022 Polybag Project.

2022 Polybag Project

This year, the Brick Alliance is hosting the 2022 Polybag Project, a year-long community building project as well as a research project. The goals of the project are to highlight the creativity of Adult Fans of LEGO in using limited resources and to collect meaningful data about polybags such as their accessibility in terms of both price and location.

It’s easy to join! Each participant builds one polybag each month of the 2022 Calendar Year (January to December) and then adds the polybag contents to the previous months’ polybag contents to create a final build, scene or collection. At the end of the year with all 12 bag contents, it should create quite a scene! The purpose is to illustrate just how much of a collection a builder can put together with just 12 polybags.

Participants are encouraged to join the Brick Alliance Polybag Project 2022 Facebook Group to share their photos and chat with other participants. Participants may also share their creations online, using the hashtags #BrickAlliance, #polybagproject2022, and tagging the Brick Alliance on Instagram. Extra information on the project, including the research can be found here.

Want to learn more?

If you’re interested in learning more about the Brick Alliance or joining us, more information can be found on our website. There is also a Facebook page, an Instagram account, and a Facebook group.

Due to the controversy surrounding topics like this in the past, comments are being turned off for this post. However, if you'd like to discuss further, please join me at any of the Brick Alliance social media channels, or of course, you can contact me directly.