Art That Unites
Consuming and Crafting Austin’s Art Scene
Words by Samantha VanDale Photos by Shelby Bella
While the rest of the world spent 2011 hash tagging “winning” and overusing Instagram filters, Faiza Kracheni was touring with her band and showing her artwork in festivals around the country. What she discovered was a slew of collaborative spaces, specifically designed for creatives, popping up all over and realized that Austin was missing out on an opportunity to add to its already radical artist network.
Faiza came back to Austin invigorated and inspired to establish a space where musicians, filmmakers, and creatives could not only have access to low-cost education but also to the tools and equipment it takes to continue their craft. As director at Austin School of Film, she set out with executive director, Anne Goetzmann Kelley, to establish an artist run creative coworking space and birthed Austin Cinemaker’s Space under the umbrella of the Motion Media Arts Center.
Situated in East Austin, a 14,000 square foot industrial warehouse has been redeveloped for filmmakers, musicians, graphic designers, and anyone who falls into the creative industry to work on their projects and further add their narrative to the Austin arts community. Faiza and fellow woman behind the project, film-producer and educator Carrie Cates, explain the magic behind the massive space. Faiza smiles, “It was our mission to really expand Austin School of Film and create some new classes, but also more importantly, with creative space being very scarce in Austin, we wanted to create a place that was multi-disciplinary within all creative sectors to work, learn, create, [and] consume the arts.”
Filmmakers wanting to expand their skills or rent equipment that would normally be outside of their budget can pay $30 a month for the lowest tier coworking fee, which includes discounts on over 500 year-round classes ranging from art, film, and animation to web design, graphic design, and even augmented reality. All of their instructors are industry professionals working to educate students on industry standards, protocols, new software, cameras, and all new ways of making films and art. Faiza reiterates how important it is to keep their instructors up to date “because [both] art and media arts are ever-
evolving.”
Additionally, the Motion Media Arts Center works as a fiscal sponsor for artists looking for ways to secure funding for their projects or becoming a nonprofit themselves. Carrie mentions, “It’s incredibly expensive to start your own space right off the bat, so they use the shared space and have their shows here. Financially, it might make more sense for them to pay their artists and spend less on space.” Both women reiterate how their programs are low cost and are readily available to all Austin artists, no matter what their financial background may be. Faiza emphasizes, “The more people who know that we’re here and [that] they can have access to education no matter their financial background—we give scholarships to all ages—the more diverse voices there will be in media arts and in turn, I hope, the power of the arts will unite us.”
The Motion Media Arts Center and the Austin School of Film continue to curate collective efforts that push the boundary of blending art and technology within the Austin community. Faiza and Carrie detail some past exhibits they were really proud of—including the showcase of a fully recyclable tree, created by artist Heather Olson, whose 136 leaves were individually video-mapped to each play a different video during the East Austin Studio Tour 2019.
2020 not only brings a new semester filled with exciting and innovative courses but also their SXSW showcase. As an official SXSW event, they will be showing 25 films ranging from experimental and documentary to animation. Each project has been created by students from their various classes, which captures the diverse backgrounds and voices of Austin’s art scene.
Contact:
2200 Tillery Street
austinfilmschool.org
@AustinSchoolofFilm
