In the MAPS Media Lab, our statewide educational outreach program, MAPS professional artist-educators travel to rural and tribal communities and facilitate specifically designed media arts workshops with youth ages 13 - 24. Through these hands-on workshops, youth develop the skills to plan and produce various media art projects as they collaborate with professional teaching artists using state-of-the-art equipment. These projects often have real-world implications, such as addressing a social issue or promoting a positive social or cultural message. They are designed for fully realized professional outcomes and frequently result in award-winning student productions.

The Archie Bray Foundation First Fire was a 2023 MAPS Media Lab project.

The 2023's First Fire summer intensive program invited leading Indigenous artists working in ceramics and pit firing methods to work in Montana during July. Artists Cannupa Hanska Luger (Mandan / Hidatsa / Arikara / Lakota) and Raven Halfmoon (Caddo) returned to Helena, MT, to lead the group with invited artists Anita Fields (Osage), Tara McCoy (Cherokee), and Jared Tso (Dine) to convene for an immersive studio experience. Joining from various regions of the US for two weeks, each artist brought their unique knowledge and expertise of traditional and contemporary pit-firing practices.

MAPS staff and students spent several days interviewing the artists and capturing one-of-a-kind visual B-Roll on the Archie Bray Foundation grounds in Helena, MT. Documenting the First Fire program with an intentional storytelling lens welcomed sharing the program's rich, multidimensional impacts. The video fully explores individual artist backgrounds, artwork processes, and Indigenous cultural influences driving their creative expressions.

This video project was generously funded by
- Archie Bray Foundation
- Greater Montana Foundation
- MAPS Media Institute
- Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Steele-Reese Foundation
- Virginia A. Groot Foundation

MAPS Media Institute: https://mapsmediainstitute.com
Archie Bray Foundation: https://archiebray.org