This winter, we’re shining a spotlight on our younger students through our Dream Big campaign to support 90 middle school students in our Baltimore Speaks Out (BSO) program. This week, we’re hitting rewind with three staff members to learn how they discovered media making, why it’s been so formative for them and how those experiences shape their approach to working with our youngest learners.

Get to know three of our BSO instructors - Aiara Manning (Arts2Work Apprentice - Junior Designer & Assistant Media Educator), Christian Lewis (Media Instructor), and Camille Ollivierre (Media Instructor) as they take a walk down memory lane.

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Who determines what’s successful in the classroom? Who leads the curiosity? In Baltimore Speaks Out (BSO) workshops, the common answers to these questions break from the status quo. Student curiosity leads the creative process, intentionally subverting common educational hierarchies, which often position teachers as the sole experts. During introductory media classes, BSO students play, explore, and problem-solve, as teachers provide initial skills to help set them up for success before moving into a support role. Students are enthusiastic and engaged when they get to lead their own creative process.

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Our staff is constantly growing and adding new faces to the team. We’re glad to have the opportunity to welcome the newest members of our programs team who are all bringing a whirlwind of passion, creativity, and zest for all things media arts. Read along as we get to know our new program instructors and outreach manager.

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I was introduced to Wide Angle Youth Media in the summer before my freshman year of high school through Baltimore's Youth Works program. The summer program was my first consistent exposure to media arts, software, and production. I didn’t know at the time that I would start down a path in photography and videography, but I do remember really enjoying getting the opportunity to learn some Photoshop basics that I would soon use more regularly.

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I came to Wide Angle Youth Media late in the semester of 2021. I joined Darian Jones’ film class with no prior experience in production. For the most part, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I often wondered if I could belong in this field. Luckily, I got to meet amazing mentors like Darian who trusted my vision and encouraged my skills.

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For underrepresented communities, media representation is vital. Though historically underrepresented in significant roles in video entertainment, there has been a shift towards greater diversified representation in recent years. According to UCLA’s 2023 Hollywood Diversity Report, since 2019 people of color have been consistently becoming a bigger part of the entertainment space when compared to their white counterparts. The study indicates that Americans are gravitating toward more diversified films. The highest median global box office receipts were earned by cinematic pictures in 2022 with casts that were between 31% and 40% minorities, while the worst performers (repeating a trend seen in the previous three years) were those with casts that were less than 11% minorities.

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This past fall semester, our Actor’s Workshop and Video cohorts joined forces to recreate a scene from a well-known movie. For this classic film school assignment, students selected movie scenes and voted on their favorites. Racism, tragedy (sports injury), intra-racial prejudice, and gun violence were all topics covered in the scenes initially viewed. Video students wrote reflections and shared them in class after they watched each scene as a group.

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This spring, we’re shining a spotlight on our apprentices and interns through our Play It Forward campaign to support 14 emerging creatives in our program. In this blog post, we’re highlighting three young professionals on staff to learn how they discovered their creative passions and what’s lies ahead.

Get to know Lacee Cottman (Social Media Intern), Jeffrey Obike (Arts2Work Multimedia Apprentice) and Aleeia Townes (Design Intern)!

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Maceo “Tendaji” Lester - he/him pronouns - is a filmmaker based in Baltimore, MD. His work ranges from music videos, narrative film, documentaries and wedding videography. Lester received his BA in Mass Communications at Virginia State University and his MFA in Film from the Maryland Institute College of Art. His love of music, sports and African-American culture are very prevalent in his work. His work has been screened and won awards at several film festivals across the nation and internationally. Lester aspires to tell authentic stories that will substantially impact race/gender equity and help cultivate storytellers of the next generation. He is a former Workforce Manager and Media Instructor at Wide Angle.

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A young girl around 10 years old is writing in her composition book as the teacher instructed. While she is in the midst of her writing a young boy calls out loudly, “Nellie has gorilla arms.” The class laughs and students start to gather. Another student exclaims, “You have more hair than me…and I'm a boy!” “Can I braid it!?” Someone yells. Can girls not have arm hair? Nellie thinks to herself. From that day forward young Nellie wore a sky blue, long sleeve jacket everyday until she entered middle school and everyone had forgotten about the incident. You may have guessed this but young Nellie was me.

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This past fall semester, our Actor’s Workshop and Video cohorts joined forces to recreate a scene from a well-known movie. For this classic film school assignment, students selected movie scenes and voted on their favorites. Racism, tragedy (sports injury), intra-racial prejudice, and gun violence were all topics covered in the scenes initially viewed. Video students wrote reflections and shared them in class after they watched each scene as a group.

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Zakiya Muhammad - they/them - has a background in media production and creative writing. After graduating from the illustrious Howard University Zakiya began working alongside nonprofit organizations to provide resources and mentorship to support young storytellers. Zakiya is now focused on creating opportunities that will encourage the diversity of the media field by working with young storytellers of marginalized communities throughout their career journeys, and providing safe environments and community spaces for young storytellers to comfortably explore their creativity.

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This fall, we’re highlighting our Community Voices programming, a wide range of fee-for-service workshops, trainings, and media-arts centered professional development sessions. The Black Joy Photography workshop was developed in spring 2022 and illustrates how media education can impact both students and educators.  

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The National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is a nationwide celebration that highlights the accomplishments and importance of apprenticeship programs that work to rebuild our economy, improve racial and gender equity, and assist underserved areas. NAW is a chance to draw attention to how apprenticeship programs across the country serve as a vital talent pipeline that can help to address some of our country's most urgent workforce challenges, such as rebuilding our country's infrastructure by tackling diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

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Gerald Pittman - he/him pronouns - is a former Wide Angle Penn North Library and high school student. He has served 13 years in the armed forces. He is currently at Fort Campbell Army Base in Kentucky and living in Tennessee. Gerald also has a passion for writing and is working on a fantasy novel.

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MediaWorks is Wide Angle's summer youth workforce development program, in partnership with Baltimore City’s YouthWorks, which provides paid media education experiences. This year I had the opportunity to be one of 57 MediaWorks interns.

This summer Wide Angle students chose to focus on the theme of Stigma and Stereotypes in the Media. They analyzed contemporary media, discussed how representations reflect our community, and addressed pervasive and incorrect narratives.

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Where can creative dreamers unify and be inspired by their favorite trailblazers? The HOORAE Takeover at the Kennedy Center by Issa Rae’s HOORAE Events and RAEDIO did just that. It was the perfect opportunity for upcoming artists to reflect on their journeys, find their community, and learn how to collaborate with their fellow creatives.

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Becky Slogeris -she/her pronouns- is a human-centered designer and educator working to advance equity and social justice through design. She was a wonderful staff member and teacher at Wide Angle for 10 years. We had a final chat about her time with Wide Angle and her next steps as she transitioned into her next journey as a Presidential Innovation Fellow.

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Did you know that there is an African American Flag? Well I didn’t either until performing in the show 20|02 written by Chloe and Kaylah Harvey, two sisters from Baltimore, Maryland. Chloe is an alumni of Towson University while Kaylah will be entering her junior year next semester. When asked to describe the show Chloe responded, “20|02 is about two sisters who discover their father’s legacy. It's kind of like a coming of age tale about us and our personal story of learning our family legacy and the amazing work our parents did for the African American community in the 90s.”

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Darian Jones - he/him pronouns - is a Baltimore-born and raised filmmaker, currently pursuing his B.A. at the University of Baltimore in Digital Communication, with a focus in Media Design and Production. His passion for teaching youth is fueled by his desire to make a difference in their lives. As a graduate of the state official Arts2Work apprenticeship for Multimedia Production, he’s now a Journeyworker interested in documenting unique and authentic perspectives. Filmmaking allows him to combine his love of storytelling and history. “I compare filmmaking to being a chef, I’m dealing with raw ingredients that I have to season, cook, and plate for audiences to digest.”

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