Visiting Artist Mark Pagan
Mark Pagan has traveled from Washington DC to spend the month of October in NYM, working on his narrative short film “Raymond & Lina” which looks at the lives of a man and his granddaughter. This 11-minute short film received acceptance in a dozen festivals around the country including a premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in 2011. During his residency, Mark will revisit his feature script and footage from interviews to craft a new version of the feature as well as an interactive exhibit piece using footage from interviews compiled during research.
The name of Mark’s film company, Con Chocolate, came into being when he revised an obscene epithet cast at him by a Chilean 12-year-old. Mark has worked in theater, television, video and film production for 10 years and he has also spent the last 10 years working in social work and educational advocacy.
Mark now writes and directs for film and theater and continues to work as a child advocate and educator for at-risk youth in Washington, DC. In his spare time, he likes to test his taste buds with spicy food and tease dogs.
Mark will be helping the Center as it develops its final gallery show of the year, a participatory project that asks everyone in the community to “paint themselves into the picture of their community.” The show will be called “Our Town” and Mark will be conducting video and voice interviews with students and citizens of the area in preparation for this new exhibit.
