With support from the California Arts Council, BAYCAT will provide hands-on digital media arts education at no cost to 150 underrepresented youth in San Francisco. Professional teaching artists empower youth to discover their own creative voices by giving them unparalleled access to high quality digital media technology and training. Semesters culminate in screening events that create an opportunity to celebrate diverse artists, build social justice awareness and amplify community dialogue.
Our award-winning Pathways model offers a continuum of opportunities to meet the needs of young creatives from their first touchpoint and throughout their careers as alumni:
BAYCAT ACADEMY provides free digital media education to youth (ages 11+) year-round through our project-based film and audio production curriculum. Mentors guide youth through the creative process to generate and pitch ideas, produce short films, respond to their peer’s work, and connect projects to social justice issues. Courses emphasize hands-on learning to build expertise in professional tools like Adobe Creative Suite and cutting-edge audio/video equipment. Our advanced media makers, “The Crew,” are paid to produce pro bono media for local partners like the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and immigrant advocacy group, PODER.
BAYCAT STUDIO, our professional in-house production team, creates socially-conscious media for clients like the Golden State Warriors. Our paid Studio Internship mentors diverse young storytellers (ages 18+) through hands-on experiences in six to eight-week internships focused on skills spanning pre production to post or short term intensives to train participants to apply for on-set employment. BAYCAT interns are better-positioned to secure employment once they graduate with a reel, a stronger resume, a LinkedIn profile, and a network of diverse industry professionals.
Programs culminate in public screenings at our Dogpatch headquarters or local cultural venues to celebrate the impact of their work and publicly declare themselves as artists to their community.

