Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Bunch and Melanie Ernestina.
Hi Danielle and Melanie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Fine Arts Forward addresses the lack of support given to students pursuing college and career paths outside of the STEM-normative options presented in schools. We strive to provide perspective, suggest resources, answer questions, as well as offer performance and essay critiques; we’re connecting students with working professionals for assistance in the pursuit of their desired creative field, for free.
Applying to college can be a very confusing, complicated, process, especially for those interested in studying the arts. In addition to essays and financial aid, prospective arts students have the added stress of portfolios to present and auditions to impress. Often, school counselors are overworked and ill-equipped to provide help to the average student looking to major in corporate environments; this leaves students interested in creative fields at a greater disadvantage to receive necessary information – or worse, talked out of pursuing a “risky” career.
For BIPOC students and first-generation college students, an already historically underserved population, implicit bias and systemic oppression within institutions are an added challenge to navigate. We’ve been there, and want to provide real answers – the advice we wish we would’ve had. Although the adults in our lives were college-educated, they couldn’t offer any legitimate guidance on choosing the best arts program for us, because they simply didn’t know what to consider. We’d like to believe we made the right choice, but the opportunity to pick the brain of a like-minded professional before expensive life-changing decisions would’ve been comforting.
It’s our goal at Fine Arts Forward to provide a source of peace, confidence, and logic to every interested emerging arts/creative professional.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Our biggest challenge thus far is that we are not interested in operating in the same ways as existing non-profits. At the moment, we call ourselves a grassroots collective since we do not have (or seek at this time) a 501c3 status. Because of how funding and charitable giving in the US operates, funding has been highjacked by capitalist ventures that often disproportionately support or outright ignore the communities we are trying to serve. It’s discouraging to know that even with a 501c3 status, reports as recent from 2020 find that BIPOC-led organizations receive on average 70% less in financial support than predominantly white non-profits.
As much as non-profits can provide genuine help, there’s equal evidence that these types of organizations aren’t always maximizing their funding. However, official distinction as a charitable organization makes the public more likely to donate to a cause. We are working within an interesting paradigm: trying to separate ourselves from low-impact organizations while working to ensure our community can see evidence of our work and that their support – financial and otherwise – is making an impact despite the “legitimacy” of non-profit status.
We’re launching our first fundraiser soon through a Kickstarter program to directly support a group of senior theatre students as well as finance an arts-based conference we’re planning for the year 2022. Those interested in supporting us can find more information on our website.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Fine Arts Forward is only a year old, establishing in August 2020, but in this short time, we’ve helped close to 30 individual students.
Additionally, we’ve produced a series of free PDF guides regarding aspects of acting and modeling. These were made when our team first started out and consisted of all theatre artists; we have since expanded to include numerous multi-disciplined artists to our board.
We’re in the process of developing new guides about starting a career in photography, grant writing to sustain oneself as a new artist, navigating FAFSA, the ACT, and SAT when choosing an arts school, maintaining one’s physical, mental, and emotional health as a performer, and more. Our next edition of guides should be available for download in the Spring.
The creators of Fine Arts Forward are Danielle Bunch and Melanie Ernestina who met in undergrad in 2008 and have been acting peers, colleagues in education, and friends ever since.
Danielle is an actor & director originally from Houston, Texas, currently living in San Diego, California. She has a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Houston. While in Houston, she performed for numerous companies, including but not limited to, Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre, Obsidian Theatre, and the Houston Grand Opera. She’s directed numerous shorts for both film and stage, including regional premieres, and maintains board membership to Firecracker Productions. In San Diego, she has performed with Coronado Playhouse and New Match Collective; recently she was appointed social media manager for San Diego Black Artist Collective.
She is represented by Shamon Freitas agency. Danielle is finishing her MS in Arts Administration from Drexel University with a thesis focused on the influence of capitalism in arts education.
Melanie is also a graduate of the University of Houston with a BFA in Theatre Performance. After interviewing with elite arts programs such as Yale and Stanford, Melanie decided on pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Producing from Cal Arts. A Houston Texas native, she’s worked throughout the city as an actor and director, as well as doing voiceover work; She’s performed for companies such as Mildred’s Umbrella, Rec Room, and Sentai Filmworks to name a few. In addition to acting and directing professionally, Melanie carried a robust and successful acting program at Dulles High School in FBISD, receiving multiple distinctions during one-act play festival; she’s helped numerous students get into the theatre programs of their choice all over the country. Her expertise in the college process, both as a student and teacher is why Fine Arts Forward exists today.
You can read about the rest of their phenomenal team of artists and educators on their website.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
We’re PROUD Houstonians and recognize that the city is a hub for natural talent. It’s no surprise to us that so many current artists in popular culture in numerous mediums hail from the “H.” There’s so much talent where that comes from throughout the greater Houston area and all of our wonderfully diverse suburbs too.
However, that talent cannot always thrive within the confines of the city due to its disjointed arts culture which includes but is not limited to the infrastructure and lack of resources in neighborhoods outside of the inner city, the lack of diversity at the leadership level of arts and cultural institutions in Houston, and the city is not immune from a culture of systemically marring people from opportunities- especially those of marginalized identities.
Considering the cost of living in Houston is significantly more ideal than the other high-trafficked artist hubs such as NYC, LA, and Chicago, we need to honestly ask ourselves, why are our artists of all disciplines leaving?
We love Houston and hope to create a network of opportunities strong enough to sustain the talent Houston naturally attracts and produces.
Contact Info:
- Email: fineartsforward@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.fineartsforward.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fineartsforward/
Image Credits:
Danielle Bunch
Melanie Ernestina
