Embedded Files
"Visions of Hope" on view at ArtRage Gallery, Feb. 7 to March 21 2026
Teens with a Movie Camera:
Teens with a Movie Camera:
VISIONS OF HOPE
February 7, 2026 - March 21, 2026
ArtRage Gallery
505 Hawley Avenue, Syracuse, NY
Wed, Thurs, Fri: 2-6 PM
Saturday: 12-4 PM
ABOUT THE PROJECT
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Teens with a Movie Camera is a community art project, filmmaking collective, and hands-on collaboration in which teens in the city of Syracuse, New York work together to make movies with local media artists, including film professors and Syracuse University students. Founded in 2024, the workshop focuses on community-building through personal visual storytelling, creating a supportive environment for self-expression through the arts, which culminates in the creation of original short films and their public presentation.
Together, we explore the possibilities of cinematic storytelling, animation, light and shadow, film editing, and creative sound design. We work with tools readily available, such as our smARTphones.
Our ethos comes from the tradition of independent cinema and low-budget filmmaking, which requires creative problem-solving and an embrace of limitations.
Work with what you have,
where you are.
Be smart, make art!
TwMC in THE PRESS
TwMC in THE PRESS
Syracuse teen film program showcases work at ArtRage Gallery
Syracuse.com // Feb. 19, 2026
Visions of Hope invites visitors to become artists
The Daily Orange // Feb. 17, 2026
Lights, Camera, Imagination! Faculty help turn teens' ideas into films
SU News // July 31, 2025
Teens with a Movie Camera puts "Community" on the big screen
SU Humanities Center // Feb. 3, 2025
For many grad students, community-engaged scholarship gives extra meaning to educational experience
SU News // April 15, 2024
“The most important part of your equipment is yourself: your mobile body, your imaginative mind, and your freedom to use both. Make sure you do use them.”
-Maya Deren, groundbreaking filmmaker and Ukranian refugee who lived as a teen in the city of Syracuse
MISSION / PURPOSE
MISSION / PURPOSE
As organizers of the program, part of our artistic practice & creative research lies in how to share the joy of experimental film / media art with younger generations, invite their participation, and engage with emerging frameworks of a collaborative, community-based mode of filmmaking.
We approach cinema as a personal, imaginative medium that should be accessible to all, rather than an industrial or commercial product. Media production tools are within our reach (i.e., the smartphones in our pockets). With genuine curiosity, an open mind, and a passion for exploration, anyone can go from being passive media consumers to active media creators!
Our goal for the project is for participants to see themselves as visual storytellers with their own agency, instilling a sense of confidence in their own voices and visions. We would like to celebrate and highlight the diverse perspectives and creative ideas of youth in our community.
SCREENINGS + RECOGNITIONS
SCREENINGS + RECOGNITIONS
Film Festival Selections & Awards
Film Festival Selections & Awards
Chickadee Overcomes Gravity (2025)
Official Selection + WINNER of an "Honorable Mention Award" from the 45th Annual Thomas Edison Film Festival (New Jersey)
Official Selection, BAMKIDS Children's Film Festival (Brooklyn, NY)
Official Selection, Providence Children's Festival (Providence, Rhode Island)
Official Selection, Experiments in Cinema v21.5 (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Emerging Artists (2024)
Official Selection + WINNER of "Critic's Choice Award" at SyraQs Micro Film Festival (Festival Screening on Everson Facade, Oct. 19, 2025)
Humans & Nature: Projector Performances (2024)
Official Selection for "Humans & Nature: A Changing Relationship" Group Exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art Connecticut. Video works by TwMC participants Linnea Warren, Charles DeShields, and Selaci Butoto (January 9 - March 2, 2025)
Community Screenings & Events
Community Screenings & Events
2026
Feb. 7- March 21: VISIONS OF HOPE: Moving Images by Teens with a Movie Camera at ArtRage Gallery
Feb. 15: Stories from Stories: Object-Based Storytelling with the Narratio Fellowship, Workshop at ArtRage Gallery
Feb. 8: Storytelling for Change: Meet the Data Warriors, Workshop at ArtRage Gallery
Feb. 7: "Our Place in Space: A Creative Voyage." Premiere screening with the Syracuse Symposium at ArtRage Gallery
2025
Aug. 7: SOURCE Summer Showcase Presentation, Syracuse University
July 30: Our Place in Space: Interactive Video Installation, Shaffer Art Building
May 2: Engaged Humanities Community Showcase, Community Folk Art Center
April 29: Write Out in Chorus, Central New York Philanthropy Center
April 4: Community Celebration at Northside Learning Center
Feb. 2: Syracuse Symposium: Visions of Community, Watson Auditorium, Light Work
2024
Dec. 6: SOURCE Fall Showcase Presentation, Syracuse University
Dec. 5: Gordon Parks Community Showcase at SU Art Museum
Oct. 5: TeenReel 2.0: Visions of Community at the Everson Museum
Oct. 4: Engaged Communities Cohort Presentation, Syracuse University
March 22: SOURCE Spring Showcase Presentation, Syracuse University
March 8: TeenReel 1.0: Everson Museum Outdoor Screening
March 3: TeenReel 1.0: Watson Auditorium Screening, Light Work
If you're interested in learning more about TwMC events and opportunities,
please fill out the general interest form linked below:
For more info, please contact teenswithamoviecamera@gmail.com
Follow Us on Social Media:
Follow Us on Social Media:
VISIONS TOGETHER: Community Quilt (Silent Loop)
Images by the TwMC Collective / Collage by Evan Bode
VISIONS TOGETHER: Community Quilt (Silent Loop)
Images by the TwMC Collective / Collage by Evan Bode
What we realized, while working on this community-based project, is that a new web of connections between neighbors and neighborhoods in the City of Syracuse is being woven...
THANK YOU to our network of supporters:
THANK YOU to our network of supporters:
EHN: Engaged Humanities Network at Syracuse University
Nottingham High School
Bird Library Digital Scholarship Space
CNYCF: Central New York Community Foundation
Syracuse University Humanities Center's
2024-25 Symposium on "Community" + 2025-26 Symposium on "Creativity"
This project is made possible through the CNY Arts Grants for Regional Arts and Cultural Engagement regrant program thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature, the Office of the Governor and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.
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