For Immediate Release

GRAM and Wealthy Theatre Partner to Present Experimental Film Exhibition

Wealthy Theatre Presents highlights 16 experimental films by Michigan filmmakers

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI, October 6, 2023 — The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) is excited to announce the newest installment of its Michigan Artist Series, Wealthy Theatre Presents: Experimental Film Selections from Open Projector Night, on view October 7, 2023 through January 14, 2024. Presented in collaboration with Wealthy Theatre, the exhibition celebrates the varied ways in which films and filmmakers from Michigan are expanding the boundaries of the medium.

“The Grand Rapids Art Museum is thrilled to highlight Michigan filmmakers this fall with Wealthy Theatre Presents,” commented GRAM Curator Jennifer Wcisel. ​“Presenting work by Michigan artists has long been a key component of the Museum’s exhibition program, and Wealthy Theatre couldn’t be a better partner in helping us recognize the creativity and talent of filmmakers from our community and across the state.” 

The selection of 16 films will change midway through the exhibition period. Visitors can experience the first selection of films beginning October 7 through November 26, 2023, and the second selection from November 28, 2023 through January 14, 2024. 

“Film is art, it is expression. With Wealthy Theatre Presents, I’m thrilled to provide an opportunity for audiences to look at film through a different lens,” commented Exhibition Guest Curator and Wealthy Theatre Operations & Film Coordinator Nicholas Hartman. ​“I want to educate viewers that a film can be viewed the same way a painting is viewed in a gallery, with emotion and thought. I want audiences to know the screen is a blank canvas and the camera is the artist’s paintbrush.”

Selection 1, October 7 — November 26:

  1. Julia Yezbick, Roses, Pink and Blue (5 min., 26 sec.)
  2. Anal Dilip Shah, The Odisha File (5 min., 6 sec.)
  3. Caroline Bell, Someday You’ll Be Gone (5 min., 17 sec.)
  4. Darius Quinn, CHITA. (8 min. 37 sec.)
  5. Rissa Groves, Skins (2 min., 11 sec.)
  6. Tara Twal, BRAIN WORMS (2 min. 55 sec.)
  7. Adeline Newmann, dreampop spider (9 min., 22 sec.)
  8. Paul Echeverria, Selfie (3 min., 55 sec.)


Selection 2, November 28 — January 14:

  1. Peter Sparling, Seven Elegies (8 min., 18 sec.)
  2. Jeremy Knickerbocker, DISTANT DREAM 001 (2 min., 41 sec.)
  3. Veerendra Prasad and Ashwaty Chennat, Navarasa (7 min.)
  4. Joanie Wind, THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK (6 min., 8 sec.)
  5. William Milo Mosqueda, Enochian (3 min., 4 sec.)
  6. Seejon Thomas, The Examination of a Species (5 min., 29 sec.)
  7. Jack Cronin, The Wind That Held Us Here (6 min., 25 sec.)
  8. Jennifer Proctor, One Door Closes (3 min.)


“While we’ve showcased experimental short films in past Open Projector Night shows for years, I couldn’t be happier with this selection of works exclusively devoted to celebrating artists’ cinema and the avant-garde,” commented Exhibition Guest Curator Spencer Everhart. ​“In their own unique ways, these filmmakers are opening up new possibilities for what filmmaking is and can be. The sheer variety of approaches and modes of expression on display in Wealthy Theatre Presents speaks to how rich and vital moving-image art is outside the commercial mainstream — especially here in Michigan.”

Related Event:

Visionnaire Series: Experimental Film Panel Discussion
Thursday, October 26, 6 – 8 pm
Free, GRAM Auditorium
Join us for a panel discussion exploring the Michigan Artist Series exhibition Wealthy Theatre Presents with guest curators Nicholas Hartman, Wealthy Theatre, and Spencer Everhart, Grand Valley State University. This event is free as part of Meijer Free Thursday Nights. 

Wealthy Theatre Presents is curated by Nicholas Hartman, Wealthy Theatre, and Spencer Everhart, Grand Valley State University, as an extension of the Open Projector Night series that highlights Michigan filmmakers, in collaboration with the Grand Rapids Art Museum. 

Support for GRAM’s Michigan Artist Series is generously provided by Beusse & Porter Family Foundation and The Jury Foundation, with additional funding provided by GRAM Exhibition Society. 

About the Grand Rapids Art Museum
Connecting people through art, creativity, and design. Established in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, the art museum is internationally known for its distinguished design and LEED® Gold certified status. Founded in 1910 as the Grand Rapids Art Association, GRAM has grown to include more than 6,500 works of art, including American and European 19th and 20th-century painting and sculpture and more than 3,000 works on paper. Embracing the city’s legacy as a leading center of design and manufacturing, GRAM has a growing collection in the area of design and modern craft.

For museum hours and admission fees, call 616.831.1000 or visit artmuseumgr.org.

About Wealthy Theatre
Originally built in 1911, Wealthy Theatre today is a performing arts center, historic cinema, and community venue. Hosting live shows, classic/​independent films, and community events. A haven for local artists and audiences as well as the home of Open Projector Night, Grand Rapids Film Society, and the Tuesday Night Movie Series. Wealthy Theatre is a proud program of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting communities through media.

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