The Westport Arts Center will launch a “New Media Lab,” offering innovative introductory workshops in animation, filmmaking and photography for youth and adults. New Media Lab will be located in WAC’s newly acquired auxiliary space at 42 Main Street in Westport, beginning in February.
“New Media Lab is a dynamic, innovative artistic space to express yourself in new media” said Peter Van Heerden, WAC executive director. “The manipulation and use of new media and digital platforms for education and artistic understanding is becoming more relevant on a daily basis. From ‘old school’ methods to ‘high tech’ art forms, New Media Lab will develop the artistic foundations of new media practice and provide an interface between the environments of education, art and technology.”
New Media Lab will launch with a panel discussion, “Play Time/Games and the Theories of Play,” featuring specialists in the fields of technology and media, including game designers, new media scholars, media theorists and artists, on Thursday, February 9, 7 to 9 p.m., at the WAC Gallery, 51 Riverside Ave., Westport. The discussion will be moderated by Carolyn McKenzie, an artist and recent graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. After beginning her formal study in experimental animation and non-narrative 16mm and Super-8 film, a childhood love of video games and a mature love of the avant-garde eventually brought her to a rigorous investigation of new media. McKenzie has pursued research concerning games, particularly video games, as social, cultural and psychological agents, and as a unique format for expression for both player and creator. Admission is $20/$15 for WAC members.
The New Media Lab teaching faculty includes Evan Pullman Neidich, Michael Elsden and Bridget Dalen. Neidich is a mixed media artist, illustrator and animator. She received a BFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts and an MAT from Tufts University. Her 2009 animation, “Flight,” was screened at the MFA, Boston. She is currently coordinator of the Westport Youth Film Festival and a teacher of comics, animation and drawing at Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County and Darien Arts Center. Elsden studied at London’s Middlesex University and at the Royal College of Art, where he attained the first-ever Master of Philosophy by studio project. He has won numerous awards and honors including becoming the first artist-in-residence at Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco. Dalen, a Fairfield University graduate, earned an MFA in television production at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She currently works at Fairfield University’s Media Center as a staff producer and as an adjunct professor in the New Media: Film, Television and Radio department.
Neidich will teach “Animation with Experimental Materials,” for ages 11 to 14, on Saturday, February 11, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Experimenting with a variety of materials from food to water to their own bodies, students will make two collaborative animation projects in drawn animation and stop motion. Workshop fee is $45/$35 for WAC members.
“The Fine Art Portrait” will be taught by Elsden, for ages 15 through adult, on Thursday, February 16, 6 to 8 p.m. An introduction for photographers who want to go beyond taking “snaps” of people, students will develop their ability to make compelling, intentional portrait images. They will learn technical skills to light and shoot a subject and develop their personal creative expression. Film and digital cameras are welcome; familiarity with camera controls essential. Fee is $45/$35 for WAC members.
“Alternative Photography,” also taught by Elsden, will be offered on Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., for ages 11 to 14. Students will learn about different ways of making photographic images that are cool, underground and decidedly ‘alternative.” From lensless homemade and retro cameras to hand-coated paper, old school techniques to modern hybrid digital/chemical processes, the class will be fun and hands-on. Fee is $45/$35 for WAC members.
Dalen will teach “Video Art” on Saturday, March 24, 3 to 5 p.m., for ages 11 to 14. Students will learn the basics of video art production techniques to turn creative and artistic ideas into short films suitable for web posting. Fee is $45/$35 for WAC members.
New Media Lab will also offer four- and five-week summer programs to youth and adults, starting in July. For ages 11 to 14, programs will be available in “Online Video Art Production,” “Black and White Darkroom Photography” and “Making Pictures Come Alive: An Introduction to Animation.” For ages 15 through adult, there will be a program in “The Fine Art of Photography Ages.”
Registration is now underway for all workshops and summer programs taking place in WAC’s new auxiliary space at 42 Main Street, Westport. To register, contact the Westport Arts Center at 203-222-7070. More information is available at westportartscenter.org
The Westport Arts Center is a visual and performing arts organization dedicated to creating arts experiences that enrich the lives of area residents and the entire community. The Westport Arts Center is supported with funds from the Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc., Bernstein Global Wealth Management, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, 4th Row Films, Thomas and Jeanne Elmezzi Private Foundation, Fairfield County Bank, Fairfield County Community Foundation, Gault, Inc., GWAY Marketing Gymnasium, Andrew J. & Christine C. Hall Foundation, Melissa & Doug, Moffly Media, New Alliance Bank, Newman’s Own Foundation, Pepperidge Farm, Inc., U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Westport Resources, Westport Sunrise Rotary, Young Voices Program, Xerox Foundation, and WSHU Public Radio Group.
