BREAKING NEWS!
AFTER 30+ WONDERFUL YEARS, I AM SHARING WITH YOU THAT I WILL BE RETIRING AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HOOK ARTS MEDIA AT THE CLOSE OF 2024. AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH, IT’S WITH TREMENDOUS OPTIMISM THAT THE HOOK ARTS MEDIA’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND I ANNOUNCE OUR CHOICE OF MICHELLE RIVERA TO BE HOOK ARTS MEDIA’S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
TO ALL WHO HAVE SUPPORTED HOOK ARTS MEDIA'S WORK IN THE PAST, MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE! YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AT THIS CRITICAL MOMENT OF LEADERSHIP TRANSITION WILL ENSURE OUR NEW LEADER HAS THE RESOURCES NECESSARY FOR OUR YOUTH PROGRAMS TO GROW AND THRIVE.
MARTHA BOWERS, FOUNDER
A third-generation New Yorker with deep family ties to the Red Hook community, Michelle Rivera brings a wealth of experience in arts administration to her new role as incoming Executive Director at Hook Arts Media She has dedicated her career to supporting people of all ages through arts and education programming for communitybased organizations across New York City’s five boroughs and in NYC public schools
Michelle’s leadership in the non-profit sector encompasses strategic and programmatic growth, cross-functional collaboration, budget management, data-driven analysis, and impactful community outreach. Most recently, as the Director of Community Engagement & Education at Camille A Brown & Dancers, she led innovative strategies that expanded community engagement initiatives, implementing targeted outreach that significantly boosted participation Under her leadership, CABD's Every Body Move program grew its reach and increased programming by over 1,000%
Michelle has held key roles at organizations like St Nicks Alliance, Harlem Children's Zone, and Dancing Classrooms NYC, where she developed projects around dance, civic engagement, and social justice Michelle holds dual degrees in English, with a B A from NYU and an M A from CUNY She is thrilled to advance Hook Arts Media’s mission, leveraging her expertise to deepen the organization’s community impact through arts and media
IT IS WITH GREAT ENTHUSIASM AND GRATITUDE THAT I AM JOINING HOOK ARTS MEDIA AS ITS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR I AM EXCITED TO BUILD UPON THE INCREDIBLE WORK THIS ORGANIZATION HAS DONE, CREATING SPACES WHERE ART AND COMMUNITY THRIVE TOGETHER.
FOR ME, THIS WORK IS PERSONAL. IT'S A WAY TO UPLIFT OUR YOUTH THROUGH CREATIVE EXPRESSION, EDUCATION, AND INITIATIVES THAT GIVE THEM AGENCY AND AMPLIFY VOICES. I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING ALONGSIDE OUR DEDICATED TEAM AND PARTNERS TO EXPAND OUR REACH AND CREATE LASTING IMPACT THROUGHOUT BROOKLYN AND BEYOND
MICHELLE RIVERA
Teaching & Learning To Transform Tomorrow
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I want you to think of someone who made a significant impact on your life. Maybe it’s a family member, a teacher or mentor. I think of my high school dance teacher, María Benítez, who recently passed away. She was a major force in the international world of Flamenco. Studying dance with her was like having Baryshnikov as your high school dance teacher! She modeled a passion for her craft, for teaching, for creating a space where students from wildly diverse backgrounds could find respect and joy in working together. She totally changed the trajectory of my life.
At the heart of all we do at Hook Arts Media, is to put young people together with transformative teachers who can support them as they realize their own extraordinary potential. I am so grateful for all HAM’s teaching artists and to our resilient, creative students whose work together is an investment in our students’ tomorrows.
To give you a taste of the post HAM accomplishments of our alumni, Danny Chicon-Ramirez and his cast walked the red carpet before the screening of his film at the NY Latin Film Fest this Fall. Louric Rankine has joined our Board of Directors and is enrolled in Columbia University’s Creative Producing Graduate Film Program. Citlali Ortiz is the LGBTQ Program Manager at the Hispanic Federation. Stephen Han is enrolled in NYU’s Graduate Film Program.
I hope you will take a moment to offer gratitude to a mentor who changed your life and consider how your support can provide opportunities for our students to meet a mentor who might change theirs.
Lastly, I want to extend our deep gratitude to a donor who has made a transformative investment in our students’ futures by offering a matching gift of $40,000. For all of you who have supported our work over the years, this is a time when your donations can make a huge difference. Please consider increasing your gift to help us make this match. If you have never donated, now is the time.
Thank you, María Benítez, and thank you all for investing in our next generation of changemakers.
With Light and Love,
Martha Bowers Executive Director
Arts in Action
Hook Arts Media is an award-winning, nationally recognized nonprofit located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. For over thirty years our work has centered on serving underresourced youth from the greater New York City area who experience multi-generational disinvestment within their
communities. Our programming includes partnerships with New York City high schools that serve some of the City’s most vulnerable teens and a pipeline of year round community-based film production and workforce training programs for teens and young adults.
In School Programs
In the 2023–2024 school year we partnered with five schools serving over 350 students through culturally relevant residencies that offered classes in drumline, spoken word poetry, visual arts, film and dance. If you were to walk into a classroom with a Hook Arts Media program, you might see our amazing drumline teacher, Cornelio Joseph, helping his students master complex rhythms and choreography. Or in Felicia Cade’s poetry
Post Program Surveys
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classroom, students’ desks would be circled up as they work intently on a response to one of Felicia’s thoughtful writing prompts. In Albert Areizaga’s visual arts class, you’d see students painting vibrant tributes to Brooklyn rapper, Notorious B.I.G. In Phoenix Ra’s film class, students created a deeply researched short documentary, A People’s History of Red Hook
Left to right: SBCHS student art; EBCHS drumline class with Cornelio Joseph; and EBCHS poetry class student. Photos by Justus Snyder
hookarts.org info @hookarts.org
Film Production and Workforce Training Programs
Hook Arts Media’s year-round series of film production programs served 70+ students, giving them access to state of the art film equipment, Apple computers and Adobe Creative Suite software. Many students start with our introductory In Transition Media fall and spring documentary film workshops, then attend our summer intensive Digital Boot Camp. Our most advanced program, Digital Connections, offered 400 hours of advanced film production and workforce readiness training to 11 Film Fellows. Their final films were screened for families and friends at the Dolby 88 Screening Room in Midtown New
York. A unique feature of all of our films programs is that all participants earn minimum wage equivalent stipends to remove economic barriers to their participation. We are thrilled to have received a third round of support from the NYS Department of Labor for our 2024 Digital Connections program which will serve 15 Film Fellows.
Indeed for some of our students, our programs are truly life changing.
“HAM has changed my life forever. Even with all the skills I’ve learned to be a professional filmmaker for the first time in years I am safely housed, have furniture, clothes and am food secure. I also have friends.”
– Angad Singh, Digital Connections Film Fellow
Red Hook Fest
Hook Arts Media’s much beloved annual performing arts festival returned in June bringing with it a joyous opening night celebration of community and a second day of performances by renowned artists and local youth groups. As always Red Hook Fest celebrates diversity and included performances by Indian classical dancers, folkloric Mexican dance, Hip Hop and House Dance and more. A huge thank you to our many community partners who shared their resources and cultural activities with attendees. We are especially grateful to our Red Hook Seniors who volunteered.
Clockwise from top left: Ballet Folklorico Quetzacoatl; Johnnie Cruise Mercer/ TheREDprojectNYC; Ephrat Asherie Dance; Cornelio Joseph & EBCHS Drumline
Photos by Jody Christopherson
Hook Arts Media alumnus Danny Chicon Ramirez & his cast at NY Latin Film Fest
With Your Gift of:
$175 we could get a trimester of classroom supplies
$525 we could accept another filmmaking student
$1,200 we could purchase a new student film camera
$6,000 we could add a Film Fellow to Digital Connections
$10,500 we could subsidize a public high school program
Maximize Your Gift
Thanks to the generosity of a long time supporter, Hook Arts Media has a pledged $40,000 matching gift. From now through December 31, 2024, your donation can help unleash these funds and provide a significant increase in the resources available to carry out our programs.
“I’ve definitely grown as a person because of this program and feel comfortable to direct people, work on other people’s projects, and have a collaborative mindset whenever I approach any film projects.”
– Louric Rankine, Alumnus and Board Member
Hook Arts Media is extremely grateful to our many supporters, including: The Bay and Paul Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, the O’Connell Family Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Seventh District Foundation, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYS Department of Labor, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYS Legislature, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the NYC Council and NYC Council Members Alexa Aviles and Darlene Mealy, as well as our individual donors. We’re also grateful to our corporate funders, including Erie Basin Marine Associates, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Apple Bank, NY Circle Line/NY Water Taxi and Food Bazaar.
Hook Arts Media is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all deductions are fully tax-deductible to the extent provided by the law. To make a donation by check, please make it payable to: HOOK ARTS MEDIA, INC.
Enclose this insert and mail it with your check to:
Hook Arts Media
480 Van Brunt Street, Suite 203
Brooklyn, NY 11231-1014
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Hook Arts Media Film Students; Photo by Justus Snyder