BAYCAT hosts its first ever art exhibit in downtown San Francisco

From Feb 6th to April 27th, BAYCAT hosted its first ever art exhibit in downtown San Francisco entitled "Media Movement" at Zeum, a hands-on technology museum for kids and familes. The opening night party was on Friday, Feb 8th from 6pm to 9pm with food and live music.

2007 – A Very Good Year for BAYCAT

Our accomplishments in 2007 are an incredible testament to the dedication and commitment of our BAYCAT team, students, families, partners, funders and community! Thank you for a record-breaking year, reaching 500 students through our educational programs, working on over 50 projects worth over $300,000 with corporate and probono clients, producing the 10th episode of our youth-produced TV show, Zoom-In, being recognized by the Directors Guild Association, Producers Guild Assocation, the Red Cross, LucasFilm, Union Bank of California, Bank of America, and more.

BAYCAT Awarded Yahoo! Grant

In November, BAYCAT received a $40,000 grant from the Yahoo! Employee Foundation (YEF). YEF is an employee-driven, grassroots philanthropic organization that brings together the talents, time and financial resources of Yahoo! employees. This year we were lucky enough to have Matt Kozlov, a long time BAYCAT friend and Yahoo! employee, champion BAYCAT for a YEF grant. Thank you, Matt! And thank you YEF, for your commitment to the young people of Bayview Hunters Point.

BAYCAT Creates Visuals for Amnesty International Conference

Attendees of Amnesty International’s Western Regional Conference couldn’t have missed the work of BAYCAT this year. The marketing materials and advertisements for the annual gathering were produced by Studio BAYCAT and inspired by work created by the students during the Summer 2007 session. The project began when the students in the Introduction to Graphic Design class volunteered their creative services to the San Francisco office of the human rights organization, and ended up developing a number of visuals to communicate the theme "A Human Rights Revolution: Taking a Stand in an Age of Conflict," creating prototypes for everything from posters to T-shirts. The directors were so impressed with the results they saw that they decided to move forward with the project, so design instructor Tim Harrington and design intern David Santos (also a former BAYCAT student) made key art, advertisements and a printed program based on the results of the class project.

Conference attendees report that the work was a tremendous success and are already discussing the possibility of hiring the studio for future work on human rights projects.

Students in Digital TV Class in Full Production for 10th Episode

This fall, students in the Digital TV class have started on the next episode of "Zoom In", entitled "Sex Education". They will be tackling very delicate issues on teen pregnancy vs. abstinence, AIDS in Africa and sexual behavior and STD's. Experts from Planned Parenthood, New Generations Health Center and other media outkets will share their valuable information for the show.

The full trailer will be shown at the BAYCAT Holiday party this December. Check it out!

Studio BAYCAT Designs Citywide Campaign for SF SOMA

San Francisco Sex Offender Management Alliance commissioned Studio BAYCAT to design their first city wide campaign. The goal was to tackle the myth that most sex offenders are strangers. Studio BAYCAT designed a ‘mug shot’ series that highlighted the fact that 90% of sex offenders are people known to the victims. Look out for these mug shots inside Muni buses from November 2007 to January 2008.

BAYCAT and Richmond Children’s Foundation Embark on Joint Project

In September, BAYCAT began work on an innovative new program in the city of Richmond. The Richmond Children’s Foundation contacted Studio BAYCAT with a request for a documentary film about the city’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, the history of Richmond, and the changes the city is undergoing. To create a film that expressed the community’s voice and perspective, BAYCAT created a class for youth at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Richmond. The class of 10 high school youth is learning camerawork, interview and research skills while producing content for the film. Two BAYCAT interns, Pamela Canada, 25, of Hunters Point and Keith Dimmer, 23, of Portola, are working on production of the piece and mentoring the Richmond students. The documentary will debut in Richmond in April 2008.

BAYCAT Visits Africa

BAYCAT has recently been involved with two projects in Africa. This fall, BAYCAT’s Digital TV Production class teamed up with Hot Sun Films in Kibera, Kenya to create an international video exchange project called "Call and Response". Kibera, in Nairobi, is the largest slum in Africa. Hot Sun Films shares BAYCAT’s goal of empowering communities through digital media. Each month, youth and young adults from Hot Sun Films exchange video footage of themselves and their neighborhoods with high-school students in BAYCAT’s Digital TV Production class. Two BAYCAT interns, Jasmine Criss, 19, of the Western Addition and Noah King, 24, of Visitacion Valley, edit the footage and mentor BAYCAT students through production of the exchanges. The first exchange, entitled "Who am I?" can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K0gClhup-M.

This past summer, in collaboration with long-time community youth leader Reverend Kirk Davis and Young Life Ministries, BAYCAT sponsored three youth to visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to participate in Young Life’s camp in summer, 2007. BAYCAT students Jason Phillips, Moses Jackson (link to community page), and Curtis Davis were among 8 young people from the Bayview and the Bay Area, who photographed and videotaped this life changing experience. "There was a lot of poverty – muThe three young men also met the young filmmakers of Sudden Flowers (http://www.suddenflowers.org/), the brainchild of photographer Eric Gottesman and filmmaker, Daniel Negatu. Villy Wang and BAYCAT donated a new MacBook Pro loaded with FinalCut Pro to support these young filmmakers, who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Despite language differences, they found a way to communicate with them through dance, laughter, and the sharing of our films. "We’re looking forward to continue to exchange stories via film and the internet before the next time we meet in person again!" said Daniel.ch worse than anything I’ve seen in America. It was remarkable to see that people without a lot could be so happy at all times. It made me more appreciative of what I have. It is my goal to return to Ethiopia in the future. I will always remember this experience" said Jason.

BAYCAT Visits Japan

In collaboration with the Kyoto Keikan Machizukuri Center and The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, the Japan Society (http://www.japansociety.org/) hosted a two-day retreat and public symposium in Kyoto in early November, 2007. Villy Wang was among four American community leaders invited to meet six Japanese leaders in architecture, urban planning and community development. BAYCAT was also invited to produce a promotional video capturing this weeklong process and the stories of these creative and innovative leaders who are working in their respective communities in the areas of urban revitalization and social inclusion. Pamela Casper Canada (link to community page), BAYCAT intern, was on assignment as production assistant with the challenging task of videotaping this historic week. "It was a dream come true to film in an international land, meeting great people speaking a different language and living in a different culture! It was my first time leaving California, and I can’t wait to go back!"

BAYCAT Awards Honors 50 Young Bayview Filmmakers and Artists

The fourth annual BAYCAT Awards was held on September 19th at Lucasfilm Ltd.'s Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco. It was a glittering, star-studded affair, as attendees arrived at the spectacular theater in their finest gowns and tuxedos to honor the amazing work. Hollywood heartthrob Benjamin Bratt was on hand with his brother Peter, a San Francisco Film Commissioner, to hand out the coveted awards in categories such as Best Documentary, Best Website and Best Campaign. Afterwards a reception was held at the magnificent Presidio Officers Club, as everyone enjoyed music by DJ Marc Stretch and delicious food. The event was a great success, honoring more than 50 students and raising over $65,000.