About the Millennium

Mission

The Millennium Film Workshop is dedicated to the exhibition, study, and practice of experimental film, video, and new media. Whether supporting artists in the development of their work, or critically engaging audiences, our wide range of programs and services place great value on the role artists play in stimulating social change, cultural awareness, and inspiring creativity in others. Much of the work shown and created at Millennium engages ideas and issues rarely covered in mainstream media, and acquaints audiences with new points of view that transcend race, ethnicity, class, age, and geography. This is the nature of non-commercial independent film, and our mission is to keep this art form vital, engaging, and accessible. This mission is fed by low cost access to facilities, equipment, and workshops; open dialogue between artist and audience; programs that provide freedom of expression to all regardless of experience and level of accomplishment; and the exploration of moving picture media in all its forms and its cultural, social, and political impact.

History

An integral part of the film and video history of the area, the Millennium Film Workshop was born during the 1960's counter-cultural period in the East Village of New York City. The Millennium was one of a group of arts workshops set up in 1965-66 on the Lower East Side by St. Marks Church and the New School as part of the federal government's anti-poverty program (This is where the St. Mark's Poetry Project got its start). Filmmaker, Ken Jacobs was appointed the first director, and in the fall of 1966 he set up a film series at the church on Sunday afternoons - mostly one-person programs open to any filmmaker with a body of work. Jacobs also launched separate "open screenings," where he led discussions between the filmmakers and audience, pioneering the one-person film-talk format in the United States and establishing it as a vital and distinctive feature of the organization. In 1967, the organization became independent and moved to an old courthouse on Second Street and Second Avenue, the building now used by Anthology Film Archives. Workshops were introduced where various filmmakers taught classes in cinematography, sound, and editing. The organization moved to various locations in lower Manhattan, including a loft space on Great Jones Street (1969-1974), before settling in its long-term home at 66 East 4th Street in 1974. The Millennium Film Journal was launched in 1978; it is now one of the oldest continuously published journals of the avant-garde, independent or experimental cinema in existence. Finally, in 1999, Millennium established a regular series of photography and art exhibitions by and about media artists in its in-house gallery.

Supporters

The Millennium thanks the following institutions for their support in recent years: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties; the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the city council; DCA/NYC-Materials for the Arts; Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Furthermore (A program of the J.M. Kaplan Foundation); Museum of Modern Art; Goethe-Institute New York; Experimental Television Center; New York Foundation for the Arts; Aorora Picture Show; Film Forum; Robert Bowne Foundation; Judith Rothschild Foundation; Gary Goldberg Memorial Fund; Berks Filmmakers; Ascend Capital LLC; Caplan Family Foundation; John Wiley & Sons; Angel Orensanz Foundation; The Joy Company; and many individuals...