Camarillo, CA. - The annual California State University Media Arts Festival was held Nov. 7 at CSU Fullerton. Student entries from various campuses in the 23 campus CSU system were submitted to the Festival, out of which 30 finalists were chosen for award competition within nine categories: Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Interactive, Music Video, Narrative, Television, Feature Screenplay, and Short Screenplay.

CSU Channel Islands (CI) announced that four students from its Art Program received place recognition for their films: Charlotte Ferguson, Director and Producer, Second Place for her Interactive entry, Velouria Vodka; Kellam Cunningham, Director, and Luke Sommer, Producer, Second Place recognition for their Television entry, Xtreme Dog Walking; Katherine Thompson, Director and Producer, Third Place recognition for her Interactive entry, KMTdesign.com. The finalist projects were screened at the Festival and Rosebud Award (first place) winners were announced.

The Media Arts Festival is conducted under the umbrella of CSU Summer Arts, a program begun in 1985 to meet the needs of CSU students interested in pursuing various fields within the arts. It supplements the programs of CSU’s diverse Arts Colleges. Summer Arts has many intensive workshops in theatre, dance, music, visual arts, creative writing, new media, and arts education. It allows students to connect not only with their peers from around the state, but with some of the best artists and master teachers in their respective fields.

The Media Arts Festival was established in 1991 to give students working in film, video, and new media within the CSU system a chance to work with like-minded students, interface with professionals and present their work for professional review. The creative atmosphere propels students to exceed their own personal expectations and gives them realistic knowledge of how to enter their own creative fields once they leave the academic world.

Liz King, Associate Professor of Art at CI, who works with interactive media and web design, had two student winners. She has been involved in the Media Arts Festival during her time at CI and stated that the Festival allowed CI students to, “…compete with their CSU peers throughout California.” She is very enthusiastic about seeing the creative output of so many students and said that, “Every year CI students have done very well at the Festival and this type of opportunity really helps students as they get ready to enter very competitive careers.”

CSU Channel Islands is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

CSUCI Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.