BAVC
Encyclopedia
The Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) is a non-profit organization
that works to connect independent producers and underrepresented communities to emerging media technologies
. It was founded in 1976 in San Francisco, and has been pivotal in providing diverse community access to media creation and innovation to underrepresented groups and other local non-profit organizations.
BAVC believes that telling compelling stories has the potential to create powerful change in both the media maker and audience and that media creation can be a powerful tool for personal development, healing and growth. There is power and efficiency in collaboration, particularly collaboration that brings together industry, government
, and non-profit organizations.
of media-makers and activists who wanted to find alternative, civic-minded applications for a new technology - PortaPak
video. While the technology has continued to change radically, BAVC’s mission to bring increased cultural and economic participation to underserved communities through media, and the belief that telling compelling stories is powerful for both media-maker and audience, remains.
In 1976, The Rockefeller Foundation provided seed funding to a coalition of media makers, journalists, educators, and non-profit activists to complete a study that ultimately called for the founding of a media arts nonprofit. One year later, the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) officially opened its doors to the public and initiated the Membership & Fiscal sponsorship
programs. Gail Waldron was hired as the first Executive Director. The nation's first (non-profit) broadcast-level suite that meets PBS standards was created at BAVC in 1978. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funded BAVC to begin production of Western Exposure, a series of six diverse programs by Bay Area independents. The first workshop – Color Production – was taught with a Hitachi
FP-1020 camera and JVC
portable recorder.
In 1980, BAVC Job Center opened—a space for students, job seekers, and industry pros to network and share opportunities. As Executive Producer, BAVC produced The Stand In, directed by Bob Zagone and starring Danny Glover
. One year later, BAVC produced The Life and Times of Rose Maddox
, a documentary about the country western singer. The Grass Valley Switcher was installed in the Online suite, and Morrie Warshawski was hired as the new Executive Director.
The BAVC artist-in-residence program was born with the Capp Street Project, sponsoring Mary Lucier, Daniel Reeves, and Francesco Torres. BAVC was the only video facility in San Francisco not damaged by the Loma Prieta
earthquake in 1989, and was able to provide postproduction services for all American Red Cross
relief reports. In 1991, BAVC set up its Technical HelpDesk, and initiates the Artist Equipment Access (AEA) program – now known as the Media Maker Awards,and co-publishes Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art. BAVC acquired a ProTools system in 1993 and completed “Brothers,” the first interactive video program aimed at slowing the spread of HIV among African Americans. One year later, BAVC was awarded an NEA Challenge Grant to develop a video preservation center. The captioning program was established with funds from the NEC
Foundation of America and Toyota USA Foundation. Education expanded to 250 workshops a year; Avid
authorized BAVC to be their Northern California Training Center.
The Getty Research Institute and the Andy Warhol
Foundation supported Playback '96, an international symposium on video preservation at SFMOMA. In 1997, BAVC moved to its current home at 2727 Mariposa, tripling in size. JobLink was launched and the first annual MediaMaker Handbook is published. YouthLink is launched in 1999, Compaq
donates the NT Lab, education now offers 500 workshops a year and a contract is awarded from the state Employment Training Panel (ETP). BAVC executive-produced Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and won the 1999 Best Practices Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. BAVC produced TechArcheology: A Symposium on Installation Art Preservation as well as Where Media Collide, a speakers series on the convergence of digital media
. BAVC publishes From Promising Practices, Promising Futures, the Ford-funded national study of tech workforce development. Two national meetings were held on Building a Digital Workforce.
BAVC was awarded the Smithsonian Laureates Award and the Audrey Nelson Community Development Award. By 2001, captioning grew by 500% and was certified by the National Association for the Deaf and the U.S. Department of Education. Over 500 videos were preserved from archives and major museums across the country, including The Kitchen
and the Smithsonian Institution. Apple selected BAVC to be an Apple
Certified Training (ACT) Center. BAVC developed an artist-in-residence program and Polish video artist Pawel Kruk is selected. Electronic Cafe co-founder Kit Gallaway partnered with BAVC in 2003 to preserve the historic video piece, Hole-In-Space. SPARK, a [KQED]/BAVC co-production about the Bay Area arts scene, premiered. Also in 2003, Lost Boys of Sudan
was completed in BAVC's online suite. The Weather Underground, onlined and close-captioned at BAVC, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004. SPARK garnered four Northern California Emmy nominations. BAVC is called “the best place to make media” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian
.
BAVC and the Community Technology Foundation of California
(CTFC) launch the Zero Divide Digital Storytelling Institute. BAVC began to preserve audiotape in addition to videotape, thanks to a generous grant from Richard and Pamela Kramlich’s New Art Trust. In 2005, BAVC produced PREPUT, a training seminar for public media professionals from around the world. BAVC, Film Arts Foundation, and KQED teamed up to produce Truly CA. Jennifer Reeder became BAVC’s first HD artist in residence. BAVC and Rearden Studios hosted a screening and reception with internationally acclaimed video artist Bill Viola. Beyond the Dream, a four-part documentary series for PBS, was onlined at BAVC. Youth Sounds merges with BAVC in 2006 to create BAVC Next Generation Programs, a comprehensive new model of youth media training and development. In partnership with Podshow, Adobe
and SF Mayor Gavin Newsom
’s Digital Media Advisory Council (DMAC), BAVC Next Gen presented True2Life: Everyday Activities and Youth Changing the World, showcasing youth as innovative cultural producers and the Bay Area as a model in linking youth to community and industry change. BAVC wored with the Tisch School of the Arts
, NYU as well as The Getty Research Institute and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company to help develop video preservation curriculum and training resources for their students and staff.
In 2007, with core funding from the MacArthur Foundation, BAVC launched the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, creating space for independent producers, entrepreneurial public broadcasting entities, and the Bay Area’s digital media industry to generate cross-platform companion pieces for independent media.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that works to connect independent producers and underrepresented communities to emerging media technologies
Media technology
Media technology can refer to:article - category*Signal processing - :Category:Signal processing**Data recording - :Category:Recording***Data storage devices - ****Art media technology - :Category:Art media...
. It was founded in 1976 in San Francisco, and has been pivotal in providing diverse community access to media creation and innovation to underrepresented groups and other local non-profit organizations.
Mission
BAVC is committed to the creation of a more just and representative society through fostering and preserving freedom of expression.BAVC believes that telling compelling stories has the potential to create powerful change in both the media maker and audience and that media creation can be a powerful tool for personal development, healing and growth. There is power and efficiency in collaboration, particularly collaboration that brings together industry, government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, and non-profit organizations.
History
BAVC was founded in 1976 by a coalitionCoalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
of media-makers and activists who wanted to find alternative, civic-minded applications for a new technology - PortaPak
Portapak
A Portapak is a battery powered self-contained video tape analog recording system that can be carried by one person. Earlier television cameras were large and relatively immovable, but the Portapak made it possible to record television images while moving around...
video. While the technology has continued to change radically, BAVC’s mission to bring increased cultural and economic participation to underserved communities through media, and the belief that telling compelling stories is powerful for both media-maker and audience, remains.
In 1976, The Rockefeller Foundation provided seed funding to a coalition of media makers, journalists, educators, and non-profit activists to complete a study that ultimately called for the founding of a media arts nonprofit. One year later, the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) officially opened its doors to the public and initiated the Membership & Fiscal sponsorship
Fiscal sponsorship
Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups engaged in activities related to the organization's missions...
programs. Gail Waldron was hired as the first Executive Director. The nation's first (non-profit) broadcast-level suite that meets PBS standards was created at BAVC in 1978. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funded BAVC to begin production of Western Exposure, a series of six diverse programs by Bay Area independents. The first workshop – Color Production – was taught with a Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
FP-1020 camera and JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
portable recorder.
In 1980, BAVC Job Center opened—a space for students, job seekers, and industry pros to network and share opportunities. As Executive Producer, BAVC produced The Stand In, directed by Bob Zagone and starring Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
. One year later, BAVC produced The Life and Times of Rose Maddox
Rose Maddox
Roselea Maddox , better known as Rose Maddox, was an American country singer-songwriter and fiddle player.Born in Boaz, Alabama, Maddox was the singer in the Maddox Brothers and Rose....
, a documentary about the country western singer. The Grass Valley Switcher was installed in the Online suite, and Morrie Warshawski was hired as the new Executive Director.
The BAVC artist-in-residence program was born with the Capp Street Project, sponsoring Mary Lucier, Daniel Reeves, and Francesco Torres. BAVC was the only video facility in San Francisco not damaged by the Loma Prieta
Loma Prieta
Loma Prieta is a Northern California mountain located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The peak is located on private property, about west of Morgan Hill and within the boundaries of Santa Clara County...
earthquake in 1989, and was able to provide postproduction services for all American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
relief reports. In 1991, BAVC set up its Technical HelpDesk, and initiates the Artist Equipment Access (AEA) program – now known as the Media Maker Awards,and co-publishes Illuminating Video: An Essential Guide to Video Art. BAVC acquired a ProTools system in 1993 and completed “Brothers,” the first interactive video program aimed at slowing the spread of HIV among African Americans. One year later, BAVC was awarded an NEA Challenge Grant to develop a video preservation center. The captioning program was established with funds from the NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
Foundation of America and Toyota USA Foundation. Education expanded to 250 workshops a year; Avid
AVID
AVID stands for:* Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges in the U.S....
authorized BAVC to be their Northern California Training Center.
The Getty Research Institute and the Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
Foundation supported Playback '96, an international symposium on video preservation at SFMOMA. In 1997, BAVC moved to its current home at 2727 Mariposa, tripling in size. JobLink was launched and the first annual MediaMaker Handbook is published. YouthLink is launched in 1999, Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
donates the NT Lab, education now offers 500 workshops a year and a contract is awarded from the state Employment Training Panel (ETP). BAVC executive-produced Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and won the 1999 Best Practices Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. BAVC produced TechArcheology: A Symposium on Installation Art Preservation as well as Where Media Collide, a speakers series on the convergence of digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
. BAVC publishes From Promising Practices, Promising Futures, the Ford-funded national study of tech workforce development. Two national meetings were held on Building a Digital Workforce.
BAVC was awarded the Smithsonian Laureates Award and the Audrey Nelson Community Development Award. By 2001, captioning grew by 500% and was certified by the National Association for the Deaf and the U.S. Department of Education. Over 500 videos were preserved from archives and major museums across the country, including The Kitchen
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary art and performance space located at at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
and the Smithsonian Institution. Apple selected BAVC to be an Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
Certified Training (ACT) Center. BAVC developed an artist-in-residence program and Polish video artist Pawel Kruk is selected. Electronic Cafe co-founder Kit Gallaway partnered with BAVC in 2003 to preserve the historic video piece, Hole-In-Space. SPARK, a [KQED]/BAVC co-production about the Bay Area arts scene, premiered. Also in 2003, Lost Boys of Sudan
Lost Boys of Sudan
The Lost Boys of Sudan is the name given to the groups of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War , about 2.5 million killed and millions were displaced...
was completed in BAVC's online suite. The Weather Underground, onlined and close-captioned at BAVC, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004. SPARK garnered four Northern California Emmy nominations. BAVC is called “the best place to make media” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
.
BAVC and the Community Technology Foundation of California
ZeroDivide
ZeroDivide is a nonprofit, engaged/venture philanthropy foundation based in San Francisco, California. ZeroDivide invests in community enterprises that use technology to create earned-income businesses, policy change movements, and high impact programs within nonprofit community-based...
(CTFC) launch the Zero Divide Digital Storytelling Institute. BAVC began to preserve audiotape in addition to videotape, thanks to a generous grant from Richard and Pamela Kramlich’s New Art Trust. In 2005, BAVC produced PREPUT, a training seminar for public media professionals from around the world. BAVC, Film Arts Foundation, and KQED teamed up to produce Truly CA. Jennifer Reeder became BAVC’s first HD artist in residence. BAVC and Rearden Studios hosted a screening and reception with internationally acclaimed video artist Bill Viola. Beyond the Dream, a four-part documentary series for PBS, was onlined at BAVC. Youth Sounds merges with BAVC in 2006 to create BAVC Next Generation Programs, a comprehensive new model of youth media training and development. In partnership with Podshow, Adobe
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
and SF Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
’s Digital Media Advisory Council (DMAC), BAVC Next Gen presented True2Life: Everyday Activities and Youth Changing the World, showcasing youth as innovative cultural producers and the Bay Area as a model in linking youth to community and industry change. BAVC wored with the Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
, NYU as well as The Getty Research Institute and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company to help develop video preservation curriculum and training resources for their students and staff.
In 2007, with core funding from the MacArthur Foundation, BAVC launched the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, creating space for independent producers, entrepreneurial public broadcasting entities, and the Bay Area’s digital media industry to generate cross-platform companion pieces for independent media.
Notable BAVC-Supported Productions
- The Stand In (1981)
- The Life and Times of Rose Maddox (1991)
- Brothers (1993)
- Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (1999)
- The Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)
- Hole-In-Space (2003)
- The Weather Underground (2004)
- Beyond the Dream (2005)
- Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (2006)