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Youth Media Sanctuary Project Participants

PROJECT PARTNERS

This project is managed by Media Alliance, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Its partners include the Missing Link Street Ministry.

Media Alliance, founded in 1977, moved its headquarters to North Troy in 2005 . Media Alliance is run by a six-member board of directors (all of whom are artists and educators living and working in Rensselaer County), a paid staff of three, and scores of volunteers. The budget is largely comprised of small contributions from hundreds of contributors, along with support from the NY State Council on the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Community Foundation, and other grantors .

Media Alliance owns, operates and has offices in The Sanctuary for Independent Media , a century-old former church that has been re-purposed into a telecommunications production facility dedicated to community media arts. The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a place where community-engaged interdisciplinary artists experiment with aesthetic form and challenging content, with the overarching goal of shedding light on media arts’ vital role in the process of building a democratic society. The Sanctuary for Independent Media, located at 3361 6^th Avenue in North Troy, hosts screening, production and performance facilities, and arts and education training in community media and media arts.

The mission of Media Alliance is to address common needs of nonprofit organizations providing electronic media programs and services to artists, organizations and the general public in areas including, but not limited to, production, distribution, exhibition, research, preservation, appreciation, and to further development of this field. Media Alliance has a mandate to sponsor and encourage cultural, and educational activities among media organizations, artists, and the general public, by conducting research, by gathering information, by organizing and disseminating information among the membership, by effectively communicating and cooperating with organizations, independent producers, funding sources, and the general public, by responding to issues of concern to the field, by public information programs, and by administering property. Visit www.MediaSanctuary.org for more information.

The Missing Link Street Ministry, located directly across the street from The Sanctuary for Independent Media at 3370 6th Avenue, was started several years ago to address the rampant drug use and pervasive violence in the community. The ministry’s programs include Feed-a Kid, Gun Buy Back, Clean-up the Neighborhood, Anti-Violence Campaign, and a host of after-school arts & crafts and sports activities.

The founder and leader of the Missing Link Street Ministry is Pastor Willie D. Bacote, an ordained elder in the A.M.E. Zion Church.. He hopes to bring media education and communication resources to neighborhood youth, many of whom are beneficiaries of his “Feed-A-Kid” program. “The youth media program represents hope for these kids,” said Pastor Bacote.

Pastor Bacote is a graduate of Payne Theological Seminary, holds a Bachelors of Christian Ministry and a Masters of Divinity from Christian Bible College and Seminary, and is a Commissioner of Deeds for the City of Troy. The first African American to sit on the board of directors of the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club as well as a former commissioner for the Troy Housing Authority, he resides in Troy with his wife Gloria.

According to Pastor Bacote, “The vision of this ministry mandates that we go into the entire world preaching and teaching the Word of God to those who are still lost and caught up in whatever addictions continue to shackle them down, to develop community awareness and support to ex-offenders to help them make a positive re-entry into their communities, create and implement projects for youth to prevent their involvement in the criminal justice system.” Visit www.MissingLinkStreetMinistry.com for more information.

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

Neighborhood youths

While many others will be recruited, two young adults from the neighborhood are already involved in a pilot peer-training project at the Sanctuary:

Denise Ramos, 23, shares: “I got pregnant at 14; now I’m just trying to keep my son safe. I’d like to use media to teach young teens that are having kids now.” www.blip.tv/file/3504166

Alvin Gyles, 24, explains: “I had to learn everything on my own to survive. I want to share stories about growing up in gangs, to help my community.” www.blip.tv/file/3504147

Media Alliance artist/educators

Branda Miller, a Professor of Media Arts in the Integrated Electronic Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, brings three decades of experience in youth media, community media, media arts and education to this project. She has developed numerous media literacy and education projects using interdisciplinary electronic arts production. An Emmy Award-winning editor, Professor Miller’s course “Art, Technology and Community” connects RPI students to the Sanctuary and Missing Link.

Andrew Lynn, adjunct professor of media production at Hudson Valley Community College and past Education/Development Manager for Manhattan Neighborhood Network’s Youth Channel, has been a visionary artist/educator on the Media Alliance team for the past 5 years. He will teach weekly workshops as part of this project.

Victoria Kereszi is a media artist, educator and curator; she uses media for empowerment of girls. Founder of the "Eyebeam: Women Behind the Lens" video series, she was MNN Director of Programming, and currently works with Unseen America in Troy.

Jim de Sève, award-winning documentary director of Tying the Knot, has taught several documentary and camera workshops at the Sanctuary.

Bhawin Suchak is an educator, filmmaker and teacher at Albany Free School, and founder of Youth FX.

Ellie Markovich is a professional photo-journalist who has worked in NYC and Paris, France. Born in Brazil and now a resident of Troy, she is fluent in three languages with extensive experience producing on-the-street interviews. Ellie is currently in the MFA Program in the Arts Department at RPI. A student of Professor Miller’s “Art, Community, Technology” course, she is the lead “Artist/Educator” on the peer-training pilot project with Denise Ramos and Alvin Gyles.

Media Alliance staff and volunteers

Dr. Steve Pierce, Executive Director of Media Alliance, is a media reformer and multi-media producer, with three decades of experience in the organizational and technical implementation of telecommunications infrastructure. His PhD is from the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he is a member of the adjunct faculty.

Americorps VISTA staff, including the Media Alliance Community Outreach Coordinator and the Technology Coordinator, enhance our capacity to fulfill the mission of advancing media reform and media justice in the greater Capital Region and the economically disadvantaged communities directly surrounding the Sanctuary.

Volunteers are the hearts and brains that make this a thriving, vibrant community media arts center, and their diverse skills and expertise will help drive this project.

Interns come from several colleges in the region. They seek real-world practice to enhance their academic studies, and will help support the “Sanctuary Youth Media” project.

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