Redford sponsors scholarship at SFUAD

The new Robert Redford/Milagro Initiative Scholarship Program is geared toward attracting, retaining, and graduating qualified students who wish to pursue a fulfilled life and career in the arts.

The program consists of two scholarship categories: the Unique Voice Scholarships and the Emerging Artist Scholarships. Both awards are available to qualified students within and outside the United States.

While the inaugural scholarship program will be funded by the university, award recipients will be selected by celebrated actor and Academy-Award winning director in conjunction with the Milagro Initiative spearheaded by Kathleen Broyles, the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Consultant and Director of The Milagro Initiative.

“Regardless of the medium — whether it’s through a poem, art installation, or a film — Santa Fe University of Art and Design offers something special to its vibrant student body,” said Redford. “It is an honor to collaborate with this exciting institution in choosing scholarship recipients for the next generation of storytellers, as it will be this generation of artists who will provoke thought and inspire significant change throughout the 21st Century. With guidance and support from outstanding faculty, including the profoundly talented Film Chair, Chris Eyre, students will most certainly learn what it takes to have an authentic voice in society and in today’s industry.”

The two scholarship categories offered through the Robert Redford/Milagro Initiative Scholarship Program are the:

♦ Unique Voice Scholarships — Awards that covers 100% of tuition, room and board, as well as base fees, for an enrolled student in the BFA in Film program at SFUAD. The applicant must represent the voice of Indigenous people from the U.S. or around the world. The number of scholarships awarded each year will be contingent on the applicant pool.

♦ Emerging Artist Scholarships — Awards for eligible students in any SFUAD department, variable depending on the cost of their respective program. Students could potentially receive up to $15,000/year for the Art, Contemporary Music, Film, Performing Arts, and Photography programs, and up to $7,000/year for the Arts Management, Creative Writing, Digital Arts, and Graphic Design, programs. The number of Emerging Artist Scholarships awarded will vary each year.

“I’m pleased to offer students the opportunity to apply for the new Redford/Milagro Initiative Scholarship Program through an important partnership with Robert Redford, one of my industry friends and key mentors,” said Chris Eyre, chair of The Film School at SFUAD. “Along with assistance from Kathleen Broyles, an instrumental member of our new Advisory Board for the Film School, we have created a program that opens doors for talented youth who might not otherwise have the means to pursue a higher education in an arts-related field.”

Eyre and Redford have a long-standing relationship that spans almost two decades. After graduating from New York University’s film school, Eyre was invited to participate as a fellow in the Sundance Institute’s Directors Lab under the mentorship of Redford. His relationship with Redford was instrumental in helping Eyre produce his early films: Smoke Signals (1998), which was the first feature-length film directed by a Native American to receive national theatrical release by Miramax Films; Skinwalkers (2002); and A Thief of Time (2003). Eyre’s 2004 film Edge of America was selected to show on Opening Night at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and it garnered Eyre the highly prestigious DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement from the Directors Guild of America.