02
November
2022
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21:35 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Acclaimed Documentarian Brigid Maher Visiting Del Mar College as Part of Free Film Screening on Nov. 7

Public invited to view Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story, hear lecture by Maher in Richardson Performance Hall; DMC Art faculty member also featured in documentary

Article by DMC College Relations

The art of documentary is becoming increasingly popular in film, television, photography and the visual arts as a form of storytelling. Presented on Monday, Nov. 7, as part of the Del Mar College Art + Architecture Lecture Series, Washington, D.C.-based American University’s Brigid Maher, Associate Professor with the institution’s School of Communication and Director of their Film and Media Arts Division, will screen and discuss her documentary, Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story, which delves into the life of the experimental film curator.

Among the featured individuals interviewed for the documentary is Del Mar College’s own faculty member Dr. Benjamin Ogrodnik, Assistant Professor of Art and Gallery Coordinator, who provided research consultation throughout the film’s development process. In fact, Maher and Dr. Ogrodnik have presented on research panels together at professional conferences, including the 2019 conference held by the University Film & Video Association in Minneapolis, Minn.

The free screening and a Q&A session with Maher run from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in Richardson Performance Hall, located on the Heritage Campus at 101 Baldwin Blvd. (78404). Get online directions and campus map. The public is invited to participate.

For more information, contact either Dr. Ogrodnik at bogrodnik@delmar.edu or 361-698-1503 or Brad Eilering, Assistant Professor of Architecture, at beilering@delmar.edu  or 361-698-1727.

Experimental Curator is considered an important new work contributing to the rediscovery of historic women figures in the art world.

Sally Dixon_Arts Curator

The 57-minute film is a “biopic” about the life and career of Sally Dixon, the arts curator who introduced the general public to avant-garde film and video art during the 1970s. A pioneer in the male-dominated art world, Dixon helped the public appreciate film as an artform, and she boosted the careers of many acclaimed artists, such as Andy Warhol, Carolee Schneemann, Yvonne Rainer and Jonas Mekas, among others.

Dixon’s story began in the 1960s when she received a small hand-held movie camera from her father-in-law and started making films that she later called “Film Poems.” Known as a trailblazer in the “film as art” movement, she created the film program at The Carnegie Museum of Art in 1970 by founding the program with the purpose of “promoting a greater understanding and appreciation of film as an art form and the filmmaker as an artist.” Dixon’s program was one of the first museum-based film programs in the country. 

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As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, Maher focuses on women, ranging from women’s rights in the Middle East to women’s health and beyond. Some of her previous work include The Mama Sherpas (2015), which examines midwives and childbirth in the U.S. hospital system, and Veiled Voices (2009) which focuses on Muslim women living in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. Maher’s films have been exhibited and distributed on PBS, Amazon Prime and other streaming platforms.

As an accomplished director and producer of documentary media, Maher has won awards and served as a juror at international festivals. Learn more about Maher’s accomplishments on her American University web page at www.american.edu/soc/faculty/bmaher.cfm.

View the official trailer for Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story below:

 

About Del Mar College

Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.