The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Teen Visionaries (SFMOMA_tv) and the Youth Leadership Institute’s Friday Night Live (FNL) program will present youth-made films and videos and performances in the fifth annual Keeping It Reel Youth-Made Media Festival, appearing at SFMOMA on May 23, 2003, at 3 p.m. in the Phyllis Wattis Theater. Founded in 1999 and organized entirely by students, the festival showcases exciting new film and video projects as well as performances by Bay Area youth. The deadline for entries is April 20, 2003.
SFMOMA_tv is an after-school program administered by the SFMOMA Education Department. “Giving teens the opportunity to express, discuss and engage with art and artists, the program aims to strengthen students’ connections to their peers, the Museum and the arts community at large by providing an accessible forum in which to explore artistic processes and ideas,” said SFMOMA’s Tana Johnson, co-organizer of the festival. The Youth Leadership Institute’s FNL program builds partnerships for positive and healthy youth development by involving teens as active leaders and resources for their communities. FNL is committed to the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse and works with young people to develop skills promoting healthy lifestyles within their schools, communities and families.
A collaborative project of SFMOMA_tv and FNL, Keeping It Reel encourages students to use film and video as tools for exploring community activism, achieving personal expression, gaining technical expertise and debunking stereotypes of youth in media. The program offers emerging young artists a forum for their work and an opportunity to engage in open dialogue with community members. Keeping It Reel tickets, available at SFMOMA, are $5; the event is free for children, middle school and high school students with valid ID. Tickets include admission to a post-screening reception, where young artists and audience members are invited to exchange ideas about the work.