Fort Bragg, CA—Art Explorers is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Challenge America award of $10,000. This grant will support the media workshop project, Film School. The NEA will award 272 Challenge America awards nationwide totaling $2,720,000 as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants.
“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including Art Explorers’ Film School.”
“People with developmental disabilities, throughout history, have had little control over their own lives,” says Maria Trombetta, Art Explorers’ Program Director. “Working with film offers an opportunity to craft a story through their own eyes, to take charge of how they represent themselves, and to share that vision with an audience. I can’t wait to see their ideas come to life. We are so thrilled to be approved for this grant from the National Endowment for the Arts!”
The NEA Challenge America grant will allow Art Explorers artists to experience the wonder of filmmaking and discover media arts, through a series of weekly summer workshops called Film School.
“There is something alluring about film and the visibility it offers,” says Art Explorers board member Adele Horne. “We want to create more opportunities for Art Explorers artists to work in the medium of film, animation, sound, and expanded cinema.”
Film School will begin with Lisa Marr and Paolo Davanzo, from the Echo Park Film Center Collective, teaching a three-week live action video workshop. The goal is to create a short film called “Bragging Rites: a Small Town Cinematic Love Letter”. Participating artists will learn the necessary cinematic skills to make a collaborative film that celebrates small-town community in all its glorious connectivity, oddity, banality and wonder.
In July, multimedia artist Gina Napolitan will teach a three-day stop motion animation workshop, using collage and 2-D art materials. This workshop will focus on animals, local history, or self-portraiture.
The next workshop with filmmaker Rebecca Baron will focus on creating foley sound effects and performance.
Art Explorers is thankful to the Larry Spring Museum for being a part of this project and offering an outdoor venue. The work produced in “Film School” will be screened at our gala viewing event in the fall. Stay tuned for more details on dates and how to get tickets!
For more information on Art Explorers, visit www.artexplorers.org
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
