PROJECT
Documentary
STATUS
Post Production
FUNDRAISING GOAL
$16,480
Griots of Avery Hall
Griots of Avery Hall is a short documentary film, whose crowdfunding campaign will be hosted on Seed&Spark. It chronicles the experiences of fifteen Black individuals who have come into contact with the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University throughout their career.
GSAPP is housed in Avery Hall, which sits at the heart of Columbia’s Morningside campus. The graduate program offers degrees in architecture, urban planning, urban design, real estate, historic preservation, critical, conceptual, and curatorial practices, and computational design. Our fifteen Griots – ranging from alumni, current and former faculty and staff, and members of the Harlem community – provide insight into Columbia’s innerworkings from the late-1960s to the present. We hear from people who have been credentialed, disillusioned, radicalized, rebirthed, and galvanized by the institution. People whose relationships with the institution have become increasingly more complicated. People who were moved to build community within, outside, despite, and because of the institution. People whose identities shaped and were shaped by these ivory towers.
The mission of this project is to illuminate the political, cultural, and academic shifts seen at Columbia GSAPP over the years and to serve as a roadmap during these troubling times, where institution-wide programs that promote diversity are being cut across the country.
To make a donation in support of Griots of Avery Hall make out a check payable to: SIMA STUDIOS and mail to 551 Norwich Drive, West Hollywood, CA 90048. SIMA’s Tax ID is 46-2836025. Be sure to write “Griots of Avery Hall” on the notes/memo line of the check. If you would prefer to make a wire transfer, please reach out to [email protected].
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