By Jessica Hudgins
SDUN Reporter

“In addition to the diverse programming we do off-site,” said Ethan van Thillo, founder and executive director, “it will be fantastic to create a thriving community center for media arts in a neighborhood that understands the power of creativity.”

With a mission to promote access to film and video tools for community self-expression and social change, the organization has spent a decade establishing programs that work with teens in San Diego County, including the 17-year-old San Diego Latino Film Festival—the second largest Latino festival in the United States.

MACSD plans to offer a variety of 21st century lifestyle programs at the new location on the Boulevard. The site will also include a community lounge, video archive, a screening room, performance space, a “new media” gallery, a gift store and an alley garden.

“I like to think of the new space as a digital gym—a place where people can discover, play and create all kinds of media,” said Patric Stillman, innovations and programming officer. “With the growing popularity of new technologies and Internet apps, we all need a place that we can learn how to use them to further our personal and professional goals.”

After considering dozens of potential sites for establishing a new media arts community center, and with the help of a three-year strategic plan, MACSD announced it was signing a lease in North Park on July 9.

“The board and staff are excited to have identified a new home that offers us the opportunity to help in revitalizing a historic community. We look forward to becoming an active good neighbor. That’s important to us,” Van Thillo said.

MACSD’s new neighbors are energized by the move.

“It will greatly enhance our efforts to revitalize the district and showcase arts and culture,” said Beryl Forman of the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association. “The Media Arts Center will soon become an iconic location on the Boulevard that will be embraced by the surrounding communities and we look forward to all the new programs and activities that they will bring to the Boulevard.”

“Arts and culture organizations are an essential component in the revitalization efforts in North Park,” said Lynn Susholtz, director of Art Produce Gallery and Stone Paper Scissors, a public art/education company. “Media Arts Center San Diego’s quality educational and community based cultural programming is exactly what will make North Park an arts and culture destination. We are very excited to have them become an important part of this growing arts district!”

Stillman says MACSD will miss its previous location in Golden Hill, but expanding to a more technologically savvy building is crucial in order to keep moving forward.

“We have been bursting at the seams for some time. California Craftsman homes, like the one that we are currently in, just weren’t built for today’s technologies,” Stillman said. “It simply was time for us to take the next logical step.”

MACSD plans to announce details of a capital campaign to fund the necessary renovations of the new space in the coming weeks.