ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Padriac Farma, the director of the film school program at Raw Art Works, talks about posters that were made by students from Raw and San Antonio, Texas, in the latest campaign from Adobe Creative Catalyst.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — A $225,000 grant from software giant Adobe Systems Inc. was the catalyst for Raw Art Works film students to explore the meaning of home.
The nonprofit, whose mission is to boost the desire to create and the confidence to succeed in underserved youth, was honored with Adobe’s Creative Catalyst Award.
Raw was one of seven international art-related youth organizations to receive the distinction, based on the criteria that they support young people’s creative development. With the designation, Raw applied for one of Adobe’s Innovation Grants.
Chris Gaines, artistic director of Raw’s Real to Reel Film School, said the grant was capped at $150,000. But when Adobe heard their pitch, they added another $75,000 to the pot.
“That amount of money for us is enormous,” Gaines said.
With the cash, student filmmakers along with alumni and members of the arts program will develop “Home,” a series based on telling American stories about immigration, home and belonging. The 10-part project will be developed over the next year and culminate in an exhibit featuring student work.
The project begins in July when six students will travel to Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Each trip will last about a week and will explore the concept of what it means to be home.
Gaines said each trip will feature one student with a familial connection to the country, while the other youth will be traveling for support and filmmaking purposes. For instance, with the Cambodia trip, one girl going has never been there, but her parents were born in the country. They haven’t been back since leaving during the Cambodian Genocide. The filmmaking will highlight the students’ experience as foreigners in their home country.
“What does it mean to be a Cambodian American kid who’s never been to Cambodia?” Gaines asked.
Students will gather their footage to play back in Lynn as a way to honor immigrant communities, Gaines said. For one week, a video installation of the films will be projected onto selected apartment and building fronts throughout Lynn, encouraging people to come out of their homes. He said people usually are only forced out of their homes to witness the aftermath of a tragedy. But the projected footage would provide a positive public spectacle.
After the footage is shown on public buildings, it will become part of the Home exhibit set for next spring, filling Raw’s street-facing windows. Gaines said there will also be a virtual reality aspect of the exhibit, with people able to visit those countries through headsets.
Being a Catalyst member, Raw collaborated with a program in San Antonio, Say Si, that was also selected by Adobe. Lynn students worked with the Texas kids on Project Papalote, which means kite and is derived from the Nahuatl, or Aztec language.
The San Antonio students traveled to Lynn recently to create the “justice” posters on display under the city’s MBTA station wall, the Beverly Free Wall and in Boston. The posters address issues of class, race, gender and sexism, with each one incorporating the word “justice.”
Kathe Swaback, Raw Art Works’ program director, said the posters are a way for Raw’s youth to get their voice heard in compelling and creative ways. Justice is about feeling inclusive, she added.
With the catalyst distinction, Raw youth were able to apply for Adobe Creativity Scholarships. Three Raw students received the scholarships, which were only given to 25 students in the world, said Swaback.
She said the scholarships, which start in the fall, will support the students through four years of college. The three youths selected showed a connection to social change in their art.
“Adobe wants to see that kids are engaged with their community and want to make a difference there,” she said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.