Preservation Through Access

Supports film preservation efforts through funding and collaborative partnerships with institutions such as the Yale Film Archive, enhancing institutional capacity to preserve culturally significant works.

Releases and supports the distribution of restored and independent films, ensuring digital access and availability for booking by arthouse cinemas nationwide.

Facilitates and financially supports the preservation and restoration of American independent films, including titles such as Nothing But a Man (1964), The Student Nurses (1970), and James Baldwin: From Another Place, often in collaboration with archives and cultural institutions.

Produces and co-produces independent films, including Video Heaven (directed by Alex Ross Perry), Hermia and Helena (by Matías Piñiero), and Dream of a City and Free Time (by Manfred Kirchheimer), often providing full production support and post-production services.

Funds independent film productions and creative projects, including Rodney Evans’ Vision Portraits and Tony Stone’s Peter and the Farm.

Organizes curated theatrical re-releases and nomadic exhibitions of independent and restored films, including works by the Hubleys, Jamel Shabazz, and films from the Black/African diaspora, primarily in Brooklyn and surrounding communities.

Operates a long-running weekly Monday night film series that has continued for decades across multiple venues, including themed events such as a triple-feature Halloween horror show and “The Worse Than Bad Film Festival.” Screenings have featured classic and cult films such as “Hamlet” and “Night of the Living Dead” at venues like the Onondaga County Civic Center and restaurant-based locations.

Produces Cinefest, an annual classic film convention featuring film screenings, dealer spaces for film-related items, and attendance by up to 600 enthusiasts from around the world. The event was founded following experience with Cinecon and has been held for 35 years.

Advances the preservation of classic motion pictures through curated screenings and archival programming.

Provides hands-on training in exhibition management, marketing, promotion, and handling of analog and photographic materials; offers internships to students and emerging professionals and has educated over 1,000 students through workshops and degree programs between 1969 and 2022.

Organizes and hosts exhibitions in photography, film, video, artists' books, and interdisciplinary art in a fully accessible facility with a gallery, theater, and workrooms; also hosts public lectures, gallery conversations, film screenings, performances, and special events such as opening and closing receptions.

Operates a research center with extensive archives in books, magazines, films, photographs, and other media-related materials, maintaining a collection of over one million photography and film-related objects available for public and global educational use.

Organizes, curates, and rents exhibitions to other institutions nationally and internationally; has made available over 50 traveling exhibitions, with historical records indicating 4 in 1970 and 16 by 1978/1979.

Offers multiple artist residency programs, including 4-week residencies for national and international photo, film, and media artists and a 3-month program for emerging photographers in the Rochester region, providing studio access, equipment, stipends, housing support, and mentorship; has hosted over 500 artists and more than 100 Project Space residents since 2017.

Operates an on-site digitization lab to preserve and provide access to magnetic tapes and film media; has preserved and digitized over 200 video recordings from the 1970s by Portable Channel.

Operates VSW Press to publish artists’ books, having produced more than 500–600 titles, with 2–3 new books published annually; also founded and published the journal Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism from 1972 to 2018.

Produces a podcast series featuring conversations with artists about their residency experiences and creative processes, expanding public engagement with media arts.

Invites community group representatives from the Rochester region to research, curate, and present film programs using VSW’s collection of over 10,000 film and video titles; hosts these curated screenings in the VSW Theater and streams them via the VSW Twitch channel.