Cover Letter
I am a hard-working first-year MFA student at Duke University studying Experimental and Documentary Arts. I accrued a slew of experiences working with film production, animation, and archival footage during my academic career. I have had two years of knowledge through the privilege of working with a professor, Dr. Krystal Strong, for the Re/Member Black Philly Project in an Undergraduate Research Fellow role. There, I learned valuable professional skills such as emerging technology dealing with 360 ° cameras, DSLRs, and filming cameras to document endangered spaces and collect material for the project's documentary web series component. I was involved with another fellowship, the Mellon Humanities + Urbanism + Design (H+U+D) Initiative, in which I am completing an ongoing documentary called "The Black Bottom." Through this research of a predominately Black community displaced due to urban renewal, I have interviewed faculty and persons who have experience and knowledge of the "Black Bottom." Currently, in my Masters' Program, I am documenting the Black woman experience in America through animation, documentary work, and producing a short film. Through exploring this documentary experience, I am modeling and animating a virtual reality world in which viewers can explore the many facets that encompass the experience of being a Black woman in America, with archival footage playing a pivotal role in appearance in this virtual reality world. With this installation piece, I am also producing a short film centered around Queer Black women. My experiences and skills are plenty and diverse. I am flexible and can apply my mass skills to any role, adding a pivotal input to each based on my research, animation, and film production background.
