Two Native American Artists Receive Fellowships

Congratulations to Nathan Young IV ( Pawnee ) and Dustinn Craig ( White Mountain Apache/Navajo ) on their selection to NVR's Media Arts Fellowships

New York, NY - National Video Resources is proud to announce the recipients of its Media Arts Fellowships. Awarded annually for 18 years, the Media Arts Fellowships recognize the artistic excellence of 20 film, video and new media artists in the United States with Fellowships of $35,000 each. For the second year, two additional Fellowships of $7,500 each acknowledge emerging artists working in film and video whose work shows exceptional promise.

Since its establishment by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1988, the Fellowships Program has awarded nearly $9.5 million to more than 270 gifted media artists working in the U.S. and is known as one of the most prestigious grants in the media arts. Past recipients have included 2005 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Ira Sachs ( 40 Shades of Blue ), Arthur Dong ( License to Kill ) and Cheryl Dunye ( Stranger Inside ). The full list of Fellows can be found at www.MediaArtists.org.

Tania Blanich, Director of the Program for Media Artists said, "We are inspired by the breadth of innovation and creativity of this year's Fellows. Whether they are working in film or video or with the new digital technologies, or whether established in their careers or just starting out, these artists redefine and expand our notions of independent media. They represent some of the most talented individuals currently working in the independent media field in the United States."

Brian Newman, Executive Director of National Video Resources, noted that NVR has administered the Fellowships program for the past 10 of its 18 years of continuous support. "These Fellowships recognize the vision of some of the most exciting media artists working today. Often, the Fellowship award represents the crucial 'first money' given in support of a project. We are pleased to continue our support of these film, video and new media artists."

Dustinn Craig
Tempe, AZ
Ride Through Genocide (working title) is a documentary film chronicling a group of American Indian skateboarders who build a skateboard park on the rural and isolated White Mountain Apache reservation.

Craig is a videomaker who recently worked on the PBS series Matters of Race. An enrolled tribal member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, he has worked extensively with Native youth.

Nathan H. Young IV
Tahlequah, OK
Hako is an animated film that tells the Pawnee story about the creation and order of the universe, and the gift of ceremony.

Young is an artist and educator who has been creating and developing stop-motion claymation films about Cherokee stories in the Cherokee language with children and teenagers. He co-founded a non-profit cultural organization that provides training for Native Americans.