The brilliant and glamorous Dorothy Lichtenstein passed away on July 4th. A long-time and dear friend of Aggie's and a visionary in the fields of art, philanthropy and public elementary education, Dorothy appears in our film "AGGIE" on which she was also an Executive Producer. She always followed her heart as a decades-long board member of Studio in a School, as well as one of Art for Justice's earliest supporters. We send all of our love to Dorothy's sons, family and her extended family of friends. We miss her already. |
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Remembering LOURDES PORTILLO |
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Our hearts are also grieving the loss of cinematic and queer pioneer Lourdes Portillo, a friend of Catherine's since the late 80s. She passed away on April 20th.
Lourdes experimented tirelessly and successfully with the cinematic form, from satire to documentary, from shorts to full-length films, which include "THE MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO" and "LA OFRENDA." |
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Here's Lourdes with Tenzin Gund-Morrow celebrating at the California premiere of "CHAVELA" in the 2017 Frameline Festival at the historic Castro Theater. |
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Upcoming screenings: "PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE" & "MEANWHILE" |
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Maine International Film Festival |
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Paint Me a Road Out of Here July 14th at 4:00 pm July 15th at 9:20 pm |
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Paint Me a Road Out of Here August 1st at 8:00 pm |
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Martha's Vineyard Film Festival |
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Meanwhile August 2nd at 7:00 pm
Followed by a discussion with director Catherine Gund and film subject Juli Vanderhoop. Join us after the screening for a reception with snacks + refreshments! |
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Martha's Vineyard Film Festival |
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Paint Me a Road Out of Here August 12th at 7:30 pm Followed by a discussion with director Catherine Gund and advisory table member Gina Dent, moderated by Cheryl Finley. |
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Bronze Lens Film Festival, Atlanta |
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Paint Me a Road Out of Here Screening TBA Festival dates: August 21st-25th |
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Women's International Film Festival, Newark |
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Paint Me a Road Out of Here August 2nd |
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"PAINT" inside California's prisons |
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We're excited to announce that "PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE" is joining "AGGIE" (2020) on closed circuit televisions throughout California prisons, screening in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), on the Division of Rehabilitative Programs Television (DRP-TV). |
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MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO @ Celebrate Brooklyn |
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Mark your calendar to see "MEANWHILE" composer Meshell Ndegeocello unveil her new album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn on August 2nd! More info here.
Until then, be sure to watch her incredible Tiny Desk concert here. |
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Oren Slozberg (top left), Rafi Simon (top middle), Gregory L'o Beau (top right), Jenni Olson (middle), Catherine Gund (front left), Daniel Alexander-Jones (front right) |
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Talkback with Catherine and featured artist and close collaborator Daniel Alexander-Jones, moderated by festival programmer Kathleen McMullen. |
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(left to right) Catherine Gund, Brenda Schumacher, Rashaad Newsome, Rose Troche, Johnny Symons celebrating Frameline, and the restoration of the legendary and hilarious 1994 film "GO FISH." |
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Frameline's marquee at the iconic Vogue Theatre. |
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One of the best questions after our "MEANWHILE" screening came from filmmaker Vivian Kleiman: "How did you know when the film was done?"
The question is poignant for all documentary films, but especially for "MEANWHILE" which focuses on people in flux, living honestly, presently, and intentionally. Our team, in front of and behind the camera, remains active in the lifelong processes of curiosity and creativity, and in caring for our friends, families, and communities.
"The flow -- when you have an intellectual connection to a piece, but then there is something a lot deeper that unveils and draws you in -- that held me engaged... The question about how do you know when the movie ends is interesting. As by definition, flow does not have a beginning or end. You can only capture a snapshot of its presence at a moment in time." - Oren Slozberg
"Through the breath of Meanwhile the viewer is compelled by each intimate gesture, and driven to try to glean the meaning of the whole pattern of respiration that is the arc of the film, but ultimately we rest into the realization that each scene, each gesture, each phrase, holographically contains the entire film, and we can breathe easy into its unfurling, knowing that the story is being shared resplendently by each of its moving pieces as well as by its whole." - Gregory L'o Beau |
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Bantam Recap: AUBIN RETROSPECTIVE A Trilogy of Powerful Women |
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The Bantam Theatre in Litchfield, CT screened "BORN TO FLY," "CHAVELA" and "AGGIE" in consecutive nights. Director Catherine Gund attended the "AGGIE" screening with her mother for a lively, surprising and heartwarming Q&A. The sold-out and energized crowd laughed and cried and embraced generosity motivated by justice. |
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Thank you to all those who attended the retrospective! Stream all three films with your friends and family: |
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A letter from our archivist Beth Grassmann! (We all love librarians.) |
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Racing Against the Clock Digitization is the Lifeline for Analog Media
As people, we move about the world, often giving little thought to the things we collect, the many papers, objects, and trinkets that, when left behind, hold each of our legacies as people.
As an archivist, I think a lot about the legacies of people who have come before me, how I can facilitate the preservation of the things that hold their memories, the objects they’ve contributed to, held on to, and left behind for us, the stories those pieces of their lives held. And the fragility of them.
Digitization is a complex process that involves converting analog information into a digital format. This often includes tasks such as cleaning the analog media, transferring the content to a digital platform, and ensuring the quality and integrity of the digital copy. I have been grappling with the fragility of analog a lot as I have been working with analog Audio and Visual material from an important journalist and activist who left behind a collection of reel-to-reel tapes from work she did at a feminist radio station. My initial instinct (that I followed) when I found out about these reels was to digitize them so that the information on the tapes could be retrieved for access and use within Aubin and outside of our work when these reels eventually go to their final home in the Library of Congress.
Reel-to-reel players are obsolescent, which makes the digitization work at Aubin incredibly valuable. It not only preserves pieces of history that are not as widely recorded or accessible as digital media, but also adds value to the object itself because there is a digital record of what is on the tape. This work is crucial in ensuring that these historical artifacts are not lost to obsolescence. The importance of leaving a historical record cannot be stressed enough when considering this with our personal lives and objects in mind. What do the analog A+V Materials in your life mean to you? What stories do they contain, and what legacy will you leave behind that lies within those? |
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We Love Materials for the Arts!
Given that most analog media require playback machines that are no longer in production and are obsolete, the risk of losing analog media is significantly higher. However, our long-term membership at Materials For The Arts (MFTA) has been instrumental in our mission to give information on some of these analog objects a digital life. Two players we acquired from MFTA are now used to digitize some of our older media. These players, among other material support we’ve received from MFTA, underscore the power of community in our storytelling and preservation efforts. We love MFTA for all they make possible for us, and so many other artists in New York. |
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THE GAZA MONOLOGUES: Help us support Ashtar Theatre |
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Please join us!!
July 24, 7 pm 150 First Avenue, New York
Featuring readings by Nicole Eisenman, Catherine Gund, Jonathan González, Nadia Khayrallah, Hari Nef, Jasmine Sanders, Pamela Sneed, David Velasco, and distinguished others. |
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As the ongoing conflict has inflicted deep psychological wounds on both children and adults in Palestine, ASHTAR Theatre offers a lifeline to many dealing with the emotional struggles of the ongoing genocide.
The event is free, and a donation is strongly encouraged to support the Theatre. |
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Stream "LOVE TO THE MAX" at home |
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"LOVE TO THE MAX," produced and directed by longtime Aubin collaborator and producer of "PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE" Tanya Selvaratnam, (and Catherine was the creative consultant!) is now available for streaming!
Watch it here on the New Yorker website, or here on Youtube. |
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Kinetic Light Dance Performance @ Poster House
July 26, 6:30-8pm |
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ICP Photobook Club: Foto Féminas
July 27, 11am-1pm |
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Lyle Ashton Harris @ Queens Museum
Through September 22 |
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Isaac Julien @ MoMA
Through September 28 |
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