LOS ANGELES – Visual Communications (VC) is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applicants for its 2010-2011 Armed with a Camera Fellowship. The Armed with a Camera Fellowship is open to any applicants of Asian Pacific American descent who are under the age of 30 and have had previous work in a film festival, an exhibition screening or any program of the The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival or VC exhibitions program. VC will award up to ten fellows a fellowship package including a cash grant of $500, access to equipment, editing facilities, training and workshops from industry professionals and mentorship, to complete a five-minute digital video within a five-month span of time.

Fellowship Eligibility and Selections Process

Selection for the Armed with a Camera Fellowship is based on the aforementioned eligibility criteria as well as a demonstrated commitment to the arts, production and exhibition experience, and the quality of the applicant’s sample work. Consideration will be given to communities that have been underserved and underrepresented in media arts.

Women, South Asian and Southeast Asian filmmakers are highly encouraged to apply to the Armed with a Camera Fellowship.

Final projects must be shot in digital video format and completed by March 30, 2011. A special program will showcase all completed projects at various VC exhibitions across the city of Los Angeles, including the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and other venues nationwide. VC will co-own the productions and will also package and distribute completed works. For more information about how to apply visit www.vconline.org.

Applications will be available starting July 2010. All applications must be submitted by 5PM on October 1, 2010.

Applicants will be contacted by the last week of October 2010.

Fellowship History and Mission

The Armed with a Camera Fellowship was established in 2001 and is one of the many ways in which VC seeks to support a new generation of Asian Pacific American media artists committed to preserving the legacy and vision of VC. Through the Armed with a Camera Fellowship, emerging artists are given the chance to capture their individual points of view about their world and surroundings as a part of a new generation of Asian Pacific Americans. In the nine years since its establishment, the Armed with a Camera Fellowship has provided access, equipment, and crucial training and mentoring to over 50 emerging artists and has yielded a sizeable portfolio of works that demonstrate a wide variety of visions and voices. “Visual Communications is proud to once again make the Armed with a Camera Fellowship available to our large community of emerging media artists,” said Shinae Yoon, Executive Director of Visual Communications. “The AWC Fellowship confirms our commitment to developing artists whose perspectives and voices will enrich the community at large, and at the same time assist in growing a strong, vibrate creative community.”

About Visual Communications

Founded in 1970, Visual Communications is the first Asian Pacific media arts center in the nation. The mission of Visual Communications is to promote intercultural understanding through the creation, presentation, preservation and support of media works by and about Asian Pacific Americans. Visual Communications was created with the understanding that media and the arts are important vehicles to organize and empower communities, build connections between generations, challenge perspectives, and create an environment for critical thinking, necessary to build a more just and humane society. Armed with a Camera Fellowship is partially funded by the James Irvine Foundation and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.