|
2008 Media Arts Advantage Fund Winners
Announced
ASHEVILLE, NC, July 2, 2008 -- The
Media Arts Project (MAP) and AdvantageWest Economic Development
Group
announced today the three winners of the 2008 Daniel DeLaVergne Media
Arts Advantage Fund (MAAF) grants totaling
$6,000.
They
include an animator who works with puppets made out of junk, a new
artist who is developing a large outdoor
installation that will lure
visitors through mysterious doorways, and a filmmaker who is creating a
professionally-executed high definition
feature film on a shoestring
budget.
The three winners and the judges who selected their
entries illustrate the high
levels of talent, vision and innovation in
Asheville's thriving media arts community, as well as the extraordinary
collaboration that
takes place in the Asheville area.
Winners and Their Projects
 Charles (Chas) Llewellyn (www.zenotopia.com)
was awarded
$2,400 to continue production of Zenotopia, an animated
film featuring puppet characters constructed from found objects (a.k.a.
junk) who
reveal a fantasy world of spirits existing in the real world
of Western North Carolina. With specially developed animation
techniques and
charming puppets, the preview of Zenotopia is getting
excellent reviews at YouTube. The MAAF judges have offered Llewellyn mentorship and resources in addition to his grant.
Gene Felice (www.genefelice.com)
has received $2,600 to help him construct a large-scale installation
that revolves around the theme
of the paths we take through life and
the doorways that lure us to futures not yet known. Screen Doors of
Perception employs audio, visual
and interactive methods to entice
viewers to open its door, and the installation will be powered by
alternative sources such as solar
panels and bicycle generators. Judge
John Sisti called Felice's vision wildly doable and pledged to serve as
a mentor to help Felice
develop the project.
Asheville filmmaker Paul Schattel (www.harrowbeauty.com)
was awarded a $1,000 grant to help him produce Alison All Over, a micro
budget, professionally
executed HD feature film about a woman in crisis
and her courageous journey to discover the person she had never before
dared to believe
she is. The judges said this was a project that is on
the right track and wanted to assist via the grant and by offering
recommendations to
Schattel.
The Judges
The judges for the MAAF grant competition
were:
John
Sisti, who teaches at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Much of
his career has been in the recording
industry, where he has worked with
artists such as George Harrison and Barbra Streisand, as well as with
engineers and producers including
Phil Ramone, Henry Louis, Phil
Specter and Jeff Barry. He has taught at the Sherwood Oaks Experimental
College and at the Berklee School of
Music.
David Miller is
an animator and digital media production specialist who lives in
Asheville. His company, Imaginari
Studio, is a prominent and award
winning studio engaged in 3D animation, motion graphics and digital
special
effects.
Karen L. Dunn and Katya Moorman are the
co-founders and principal partners of Studio2k. Their work ranges
from
video to print design to interactive performance pieces. Their work has
been widely shown in such places as PS122, the Ohio Theater,
and
Williamsburg Art Nexus in New York City as well as in Detroit, Durham,
Toronto and the Krakow Festival in
Poland.
2009 MAAF Plans
The
MAAF was established in 2005 in memory of Daniel DeLaVergne, a
local
filmmaker who was a world-class whitewater cinematographer. The fund
promotes innovative media arts and film in Western North
Carolina.
The Media Arts Advantage Fund is a strategic catalyst for the media arts industry in Western North Carolina,
said Gillian Coats, interim director for the Media Arts Project. By
supporting media artists working in or based out of Western
North
Carolina, the MAAF is fostering regional talent, increasing interest in
all forms of media art, and attracting new talent to the
region. Next
year MAAF will be an even bigger and better catalyst for our creative
economy as we plan to increase the funding for awards at
least
three-fold.
About AdvantageWest
AdvantageWest (www.advantagewest.com)
is a public-private partnership established by the state
General
Assembly to promote economic development in Western North Carolina.
AdvantageWest operates the Western North Carolina Film
Commission.
About the Media Arts Project
The Media Arts Project (www.themap.org)
cultivates innovative arts and technology in western North Carolina
by
providing exhibition programming, professional development, outreach
and education. The organization supports the development of a
Media
Arts Center, a state-of-the-art facility that will encourage
interdisciplinary exchange and send media arts and technologies
from
the southeastern United States onto the international stage.
Fact Sheet about Asheville's Media Arts
Community
A fact sheet about Asheville's media arts community may be viewed at the Asheville Hub's
Website
(PDF). It was created by the Asheville Hub, a community catalyst
supporting specific efforts to build Asheville's New Economy,
including
the proposed Media Arts Center.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Gillian
Coats, the Media Arts Project
director@themap.org or 828/989-1699
Photo Caption
Chas
Llewellyn
received a Media Arts Advantage Fund grant to continue
production of Zenotopia, an animated film featuring puppet characters
constructed
from found objects.
|
The Applied Visualization Lab is working to cultivate and promote the momentum of digital media,
information technology, and environmental and entrepreneurial resources
in Western North Carolina.
