The Harlem-based national media arts nonprofit, Black Public Media, earned a $40,000 award from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Grants for Arts Projects program. The award will support its fellowship and residency program for new works in immersive, interactive and emerging media at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

The initiative is a part of BPMplus, Black Public Media’s program designed to increase Black participation in emerging tech storytelling, which was founded in 2018. The BPM project is one of 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during the NEA’s second round of Grants for Arts Projects in the 2023 funding cycle.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including Black Public Media’s BPMplus fellowship, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” Maria Rosario Jackson, NEA Chair, said. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture and design.”

Four creative technologists will receive professional and project development support during the three-week BPM and Carson Center for Emerging Media Residency, where they will have access to computers with virtual reality software, production equipment, VR headsets, a motion capture studio, technical support, production assistants and workspace to develop their emerging technology skills and projects. During the program, the artists will be required to teach a workshop or give a talk to students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The residencies will take place in July.

“We are again delighted for the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts for Black Public Media initiatives,” Leslie Fields-Cruz, executive director of BPM, said. “With this funding we will be able to steep creative technologists in powerful storytelling mediums so they may bring myriad Black stories into the future.”

Upon completion of their residency, the artists will then be invited to receive additional training in preparation for BPM’s PitchBLACK Forum — the largest U.S. pitch competition for independent filmmakers and creative technologists developing new projects about the global Black experience in the United States — and present their VR/XR/AI projects. The winner of the PitchBLACK Immersive Forum will receive up to $50,000 in funding for their project.

Learn more information on Black Public Media, and the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.