AMMI Celebrates 15 Years

The American Museum of the Moving Image (AMMI) has had an audience of more than a million people since it opened in September of 1988. On September 13, the museum began its 15-year anniversary celebration, the culmination of a unique rags-to-riches story that would make its own good movie.
"The museum has been a tremendous success story," said its founding director, Rochelle Slovin. "The moving image, more than any other art form, is a part of our daily lives. By continuing to explore its past, present and future, the museum has entertained, enlightened and inspired an ever-widening audience."
It didnt always appear that happy endings were going to be in the museums future. The Astoria Studio began in 1920 as Paramount Studios east coast production facility and became a site for independent film production in the 30s. From 1942 until 1971, the site belonged to the US Army, and was named the Signal Corps Photographic Center. The studio helped train millions of wartime inductees, but when the Army left, the abandoned property fell into disrepair.
It looked like the studios final curtain until elected officials and motion picture industry leaders joined forces to save Astoria Studios. In 1977, the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to turning the site back into a working studio, was formed. It was this organization that was eventually reincorporated as the American Museum of the Moving Image in 1985, after the studios successful revival.
The concept was conceived by Slovin, who saw the need for an institution that could educate the public about the art,technique, technology, history and cultural influence of film and television. In 1988, the building, including its unique facade and vertical sign, which was designed by Gawthmey Siegel & Associates Architects, opened to the public.
Today, the museum boasts a collection of more than 100,000 artifacts from television and the silver screen, almost all donated by industry insiders. Exhibits include the ins and outs of basic filmmaking and dynamic exhibits illustrating the direction that media might take in the future. The museum screens over 400 films each year and hosts discussions with leading filmmakers. It hosts workshops, guided tours, seminars and has reached an additional 500,000 people through traveling exhibits.
On the museums opening day, visitors were shown a screening of "Singin in the Rain." On Saturday, which marked the beginning of the celebration, movie lovers were once again treated to the 1952 classic about the transition from silent films to movies with sound and this time, admission was free. The free admission day included the interactive exhibit "Behind the Screen," which focuses on the history and mechanics of film, and "Alt DigitalMedia," a collection of innovative, futuristic and often whimsical electronic diversions.
"With these events, we wanted to say thank you to all the treasured supporters and friends who made our first 15 years such a great success," Slovin said.
Saturday was also the first day of the museums From the Dream Life: American Movies and the Mythology of the 1960s film series, curated by Village Voice critic J. Hoberman. He was present during the days 4:30 p.m. screening of "Dr. Strangelove," and thereafter, signed copies of his book, which inspired the series.
Later in the month, Jeremy Blake, a digital film artist, will give a free talk, and October 18 will mark the beginning of the museums Bela Lugosi weekend in honor of Halloween. For more information, visit www.ammi.org.