Until recently, Indie Grits Labs ran art projects in the same space as the Nickelodeon Theatre, but the lack of physical distinction — in tandem with the fact that the Nick is growing rapidly — made it difficult for Indie Grits to focus on what they do best: organizing community-driven, educational programs for youth and local artists. This drove Indie Grits Labs to branch out and to become independent of the Nickelodeon. Both are now operating at different locations, but work together to show local films to the community.
As its own entity, Indie Grits Labs facilitates several different programs, workshops, art projects and festivals. According to Seth Gadsden, the Nick’s previous managing director, the organization is tight-knit, with a focus on community interaction. They aim to work very closely with artists and locals.
"I’ve always said that if I could just find a job where I worked with kids and artists, I’d be happy," Gadsden said, "and that’s what Indie Grits Labs does."
The separation has allowed Indie Grits to focus more of their energy on outreach efforts including various workshops for kids. The three-hour programs range from film to documentary, commercial, social media and various other types of labs. They have production labs available for the youth like Take Break Make, which is designed for LGBTQ youth, and Come Around My Way, which teaches small groups of kids to make documentary films about their own neighborhoods. These labs have activities, lectures and lessons in media literacy, and happen after school so that they fit the schedules of kids.
“We believe that it’s as important to teach screen media literacy as it is to teach reading and writing literacy because nobody’s teaching people what it means to consume on the screen,” Gadsden said.
In this era immersed in screen culture, society doesn’t always realize how much information and media they are consuming digitally. Indie Grits strives to educate on how to interpret, process and create this media. Local schools take field trips to the lab so the students can learn about various forms of film and the opportunities that are available to them. Indie Grits has summer camps where kids learn to write, script, shoot and edit their own films. They learn to create a piece from start to finish, complete with their own music. Gadsden said the students tend to enjoy it so much that many of them will return every year.
“We also want to serve our community, so we don’t force the moving image on people,” Gadsden said.
Indie Grits works on projects with various types of artists, including chefs, painters, filmmakers, gardeners and riverkeepers. Their current project, Two Cities, looks into how race and differences in socioeconomic backgrounds influences locals' perspectives of the city. The project focuses on the north Columbia community, and it was working on this project that led them to their new studio location.
The organization is also working on expanding their music festival. It will be held from April 12 to 15, and they’ve booked over thirty bands. The Columbia community comes together every year for these three nights of music, fun and parties. They show about 12 features and 60 to 70 shorts that revolve around certain themes. The festival will also feature discounts for students.
“We have a crazy fleshed out musical festival this year,” said Pedro Lopez De Victoria, a former USC student who has served multiple roles for the Nick and Indie Grits including production manager.
Gadsden says that he and his coworkers were completely ingrained in the culture and workings of the Nick, and that the work that they did there is what allows them to do what they are doing today.
"Now we're focused on what really makes us who we are," Gadsden said.