Appalachian Media Institute 
AMI is Appalshop’s youth media project, training young people in Central Appalachia to document the unique traditions and complex
issues of their communities. AMI offers an intensive summer institute and year-round media training.
In March 2005, AMI students collaborated with visiting students from New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts to produce short videos, a dramatic piece and an audio documentary. The summer media lab students produced three short video documentaries, including a film about the work and philosophy of a local artist (Cousin Rabbit,Dakota Brock and Machlyn Blair); a look at the criminal justice system through the eyes of a young man accused of a crime and struggling to navigate the legal system (The Defendant, Keith Cook); and April Brown’s thoughtful portrait of her father (Dad) and the challenges presented by his declining health.
In the fall of 2005, AMI launched a new website from which viewers can watch AMI videos online. Eight AMI youth participated in the Fall 2005 Media Lab, learning to produce and air short audio documentaries. AMI interns produced documentaries about the prescription drug epidemic in Letcher County, the experience of school consolidation, family experiences with the mining industry, and heavy metal music.
AMI is also conducting a five-month long web, audio, and video documentary workshop at Jenkins High School during the winter and spring of 2006.
Rebecca O’Doherty recently joined Appalshop as the director of the Appalachian Media Institute. Rebecca comes to Appalshop from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she worked with the Youth Document Durham Program at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies.
AMI Media Links:
