Saturday, December 8th/2pm

540WMain Communiversity:

How to Kill A City: Demolition & Divestment in Rochester
An Interactive Film Based Workshop

Join us for an interactive people centered workshop rooted in a curated selection of films from the Visual Studies Workshop collection that address the causes and effects of gentrification, with a focus on the urban redevelopment strategies in Rochester’s history and how systemic factors have impacted and will impact development and revitalization in Rochester’s future.

Facilitated by Calvin Eaton Founder/ Executive Director & Ray Ray Mitrano Art Activist for an afternoon of reflection, discussion and active participation in building a more inclusive community in Rochester.

Program:
Let’s Come Up With Something (circa 1970)
16mm film Produced by Metro Act (now Metro Justice)
This film takes a critical look at living conditions among the working class in Rochester and the effect of municipal planning and construction initiatives in Monroe County.

Demolition: Justification or Remedy? (1980)
Umatic Video
Produced by Leslie Knowlton for Portable Channel
Independently produced video profile of the Corn Hill Neighborhood construction project in Rochester in the late 1970s.

The Community Curator program invites representatives from community groups in the Rochester region to curate film screenings using VSW’s collection of over 9,000 film and video titles. The goals of the Community Curator program are to empower cultural organizations to create their own media programming, expand global and cultural awareness within the Rochester community, and strengthen ties between students, artists, and communities that will cultivate multi-cultural relationships.
The  Community Curator Program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works program.