Media Arts Students Premiere Films From Summer Work With The Data Center
Free & Open To The Public | Thursday, September 1, 7 PM
Freda Lupin Memorial Hall | NOCCA
NOCCA is proud to present student films from the Media Arts Department created in support of The Data Center’s work and mission in Southeast Louisiana. The public is invited to this free screening of “The Youth Index Video Series” on NOCCA’s campus in Lupin Hall, Thursday, September 1, at 7 PM.
“The Youth Index Video Series” is a collection of films responding to The Data Center’s Analysis on “How Are New Orleans Children Doing?”. The presentation is a collaboration between NOCCA students: Charis Johnson, Helen Cressy, Philip Youmans, Jeremiah Russell, and Tevia Schroeder and two NOCCA Alumni: Anthony Richards and William Nichols. The students were guided by their instructor and producer, Isaac Webb.
“We are thrilled that seven brilliant NOCCA students have chosen to bring our data alive, by illustrating what it means to them through voice, music, and visuals,” said Allison Plyler, Executive Director and Chief Demographer of The Data Center. “These videos take our work democratizing data to a whole new level.”
The Data Center presented a variety of cases from their study on the New Orleans Youth Index. The Youth Index’s goal is to improve the outcome for youth ages zero to 24 in New Orleans. The topics were: Childhood obesity, Child Homicide, Child Poverty, Teen Pregnancy, College Enrollment, High school graduation rate, and Children’s Physical activity. Ultimately, each student chose a topic that connected to them personally, and expressed the data through video.
Isaac Webb said, “The Data Center commissioned various media arts students who had the skill set artistically and intellectually to add meaning and content to some of the statistics. All of these artists were presented some statistics that the data Center had, but added their personal response and perspective to those statistics.”
Project consultant for the Data Center and writer Andre Perry added, “Education is most sustainable when it builds capacity of local talent. This project proves that schools can give students the skills to empower themselves and others while in school.”
About The Data Center
The Data Center is a non-profit dedicated to collecting and analyzing data across Southeast Louisiana. The Center works with government agencies, business leaders, neighborhood associations, local non-profits, and members of the media. The Data Center, conducting research since 1997, works to build prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable communities by making informed decisions possible.