BRIC Receives Two Ippies Awards from Ethnic and Community Press

The Center for Community and Ethnic Media, an initiative of The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, awarded BRIC TV with two of its prestigious Ippies Awards at the 15th annual ceremony held at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism on May 18, 2017.

The Ippies are "the only journalism awards in NYC to honor reporting in English and in languages other than English by the ethnic and community press."

Judges for the Ippies Awards are comprised of CUNY Graduate School of Journalism faculty and staff members as well as other independent prominent journalists.

Housed at BRIC Arts | Media House (647 Fulton Street), the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, BRIC TV is increasingly lauded for its dynamic programming that gives voice to marginalized voices and celebrates the artistry and activism present within local Brooklyn communities. The Ippies Awards not only recognize the work of BRIC TV, but also seek to position the organization alongside others in the media sector to "draw mainstream and progressive media attention to the people responsible for bringing community perspectives to [everyone's] attention."

Aziz Isham, Executive Producer of BRIC TV, said, "It's an honor to be recognized by a talented group of journalists and storytellers that truly reflect the diversity of the city that we're lucky to call home."

BRIC TV received a first place Ippies Award in the Best Video category for Seeing Myself: A Teacher-Student Duo Create Goldstein High School's first Black Student Union. Aired as part of BRIC TV's social justice #BHeard series, the video examines student life at Goldstein High School in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, where a student named Rahmel creates the school's first Black Student Union. The awarded video highlights the importance of teacher diversity and having a safe cultural space for students to engage in important discourse. As a result of their work, the two have paved a path for others at the school (Latinos, women, LGBTQ) to create spaces of their own.

Placing second at the Ippies Awards this year-in the same category-is The Freedom Riders 1961 which explores the art and installation of painted portraits created by Charlotta Janssen and based on the mugshots of The Freedom Riders.

This is not the first time BRIC TV has brought home awards for dynamic video production. In 2016, BRIC TV won a first place Ippies Award for best video, Giving New York's Homeless Sneakers From the Sole by Natasha Gaspard and Timothy Etienne. The video centered around the work of Andre McDonnell, founder of It's From the Sole, who serves thousands of the City's homeless by providing them with sneakers and socks. BRIC TV was also recently nominated for thirteen New York Emmy Award awards and received an award for programmatic distinction in the environment category.

BRIC TV is the first 24/7 television channel created by, for, and about Brooklyn. It is the borough's source for local news, Brooklyn culture, civic affairs, music, arts, sports, and technology. BRIC TV features programming produced and curated by BRIC, an arts and media nonprofit located in Downtown Brooklyn, NYC.

BRIC is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. The organization presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers that reflects the diversity of New York. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year.

BRIC's main venue, BRIC Arts | Media House, offers a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio and artist work spaces.

Some of BRIC's most acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park, several path-breaking public access media initiatives, including the newly renamed BRIC TV, and a renowned contemporary art exhibition series. BRIC also offers education and other vital programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn.

In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences.

BRIC is unusual in both presenting exceptional cultural experiences and nurturing individual expression. This dual commitment enables BRIC to most effectively reflect New York City's innate cultural richness and diversity. Learn more at BRICartsmedia.org.

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