With support from the California Arts Council, BAYCAT will provide digital media training to 24 young BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and women storytellers (ages 18-25) from historically oppressed San Francisco communities. Young artists will collaborate with community partners to produce their own original media series that tells authentic, socially-minded stories.
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.

