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Renew Media Celebrates 20 Years of Rockefeller Foundation's Support of Filmmakers and Media Artists
April 19, 2007; press release
NEW YORK, April 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Renew Media (formerly National Video Resources) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Rockefeller Foundation's support of innovative and pioneering filmmakers and media artists through the Media Arts Fellowships, in a ceremony to be held May 1, 2007 at the American Academy of Art at 111 Franklin Street, New York City at 7 p.m.
For two decades, the Rockefeller Foundation has provided over $12 million of support to nearly 500 artists whose work collectively represents some of the most groundbreaking and visionary pieces of independent film and media in recent history. By supporting the Media Arts Fellowships for 20 years, the Rockefeller Foundation has fostered numerous media artists, especially at the early stages of their careers, making a pivotal and unheralded contribution to the current state of independent media arts. Renew Media administered the Media Arts Fellowships on behalf of the Foundation from 1995 to 2002. In 2003, the Media Arts Fellowships became a full program of Renew Media, receiving the majority of its financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation.
The Media Arts Fellowships program has provided funding to such acclaimed feature film projects as Craig Brewer's Sundance Film Festival hit Hustle & Flow, Ham Tran's current specialty box-office hit Journey from the Fall, Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust, Chris Eyre's Smoke Signals, Julian Hernandez's A Thousand Clouds of Peace, Grace Lee's The Grace Lee Project, Cheryl Dunye's Stranger Inside, Rodney Evans' Brother to Brother, and Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue. In addition, eighteen current and past recipients of the Fellowship's support had a strong presence at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival - including Gregg Araki, Guillermo Arriaga, Nanobah Becker, James Benning, Andy Blubaugh, Paul Chan, Shu Lea Cheang, Laura Dunn, Sterlin Harjo, Caran Hartsfield, Sharon Lockhart, Jim McKay, Nina Menkes, Ian Olds, Jay Rosenblatt, Travis Wilkerson, and Marco Williams.
"The Rockefeller Foundation has long believed that independent media is a powerful cultural vehicle that can not only inform, but also spark public dialogue and action," said Joan Shigekawa, Associate Director at The Rockefeller Foundation. "Over the past twenty years, we have been consistently amazed at the groundbreaking work that has been created by the Media Arts Fellows and we are honored to have supported such a talented group of media artists. We also thank our partners at Renew Media for their passion and commitment on behalf of the Media Arts Fellowships."
At the upcoming 20th anniversary celebration, Renew Media will announce the 2007 recipients of the prestigious Media Arts Fellowships. Funded with major support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Fellowships recognize the artistic excellence of 20 film, video and new media artists in the United States with cash awards of $35,000 each. The program also awards two additional Fellowships of $10,000 each to emerging film and video artists. The Fellowships are intended to provide support to filmmakers and media artists whose work represents creative risk-taking - pushing the boundaries of genre, form, technique, medium, and content - as well as social and political relevance. Past Fellowship recipients include Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep), Bill Viola, Yvonne Rainer, Miranda July, Shigeko Kubota, Marlon Riggs, Gregg Bordowitz, Su Friedrich, Kenneth Anger, and Sadie Benning. Renew Media also awards between four and six Fellowships of $20,000 each to Mexican filmmakers and media artists.
"We are excited to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Media Arts Fellowships, and we remain committed to supporting the most vibrant media artists working today," said Brian Newman, executive director of Renew Media. "By supporting artists at any stage of their career, in a variety of genres and media and for their creativity, the Rockefeller Foundation has helped push the field to constantly explore, invent and redefine the media arts. It is important on this Anniversary to recognize their visionary support."
Fellowship recipients represent an ethnically and culturally diverse group of media artists, with more than half of its Media Arts Fellowships awarded to minorities including African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and people of Middle Eastern descent. Moreover, nearly half of the Fellows have been women.
Renew Media, formerly known as National Video Resources (NVR), is a not-for-profit organization established by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1990. The new name was chosen for its emphasis on a quest for quality as well as innovation and renewal. The organization fosters independent artistic expression by supporting the creation, dissemination and public awareness of independent media in all forms. The cornerstone of its support for artists is the Media Arts Fellowships, which support the creation of new work that brings innovation to the media arts. The Ford Foundation is also a key funder of the program. Further information can be found at http://www.renewmedia.org/.
The Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., to "promote the well-being" of humanity by addressing the root causes of serious problems. The Foundation works around the world to expand opportunities for poor or vulnerable people and to help ensure that globalization's benefits are more widely shared. With assets of more than $3.5 billion, it is one of the few institutions to conduct such work within the United States and internationally.
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