Bio

Anita Clearfield is a media innovator and activist, pushing social boundaries with video art.
In 1978, she formed one of the first all-women crews for PBS to make a portrait of the women’s recording company, Olivia Records, pioneering music video techniques (before MTV!). She joined the Social Media Action Group, using music and storytelling in her feature documentary, “Vacation Nicaragua,” to counter US intervention in Central America. She won numerous awards for her films and developed a facility for moving between media, as she served in various capacities in the film and television industry -- from Hollywood to Maine Public. Her BFA in film (Syracuse University) and MFA in video-installation (Mass Art) were important foundations for finding unique ways to combine painting, found objects, and video. As a member of the Artists’ Rapid Response Team (ARRT!), she expanded the group’s banner-making into video by starting the LumenARRT! collective. Their large-scale light shows and projections on buildings create a type of electronic graffiti -- they reclaim public spaces, while creatively amplifying voices of Maine’s under-served and progressive communities. To this day, in her personal “femmedia” videos, she continues to innovate with digital animation, often collaborating with poets and creatives to visualize diverse points-of-view.