Steven Fischer, from Baltimore, Maryland, participating in Artist in Residence Program
Paducah, KY, March 25, 2022—The Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA) is pleased to welcome Baltimore, Maryland, native Steven Fischer, two-time Emmy nominated writer/producer/director and Fulbright Specialist in Creativity, as the current participant in the Artist in Residence Program. Fischer arrives on Monday, March 28, and will continue his two-week residency through April 10, 2022.
Fischer was previously slated for a Paducah residency in 2020, but COVID restrictions forced PAA to temporarily suspend the program. Artists participating in PAA’s residency program are required to engage with the community through exhibitions, workshops, public lectures, or collaborative projects with local artists. Fischer, who is internationally sought to speak on creative writing, will be sharing Writing from the Heart: An Exercise in Journal Writing with students, faculty, and staff at West Kentucky Community & Technical College (WKCTC), and with the Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center and The Zone, Four Rivers Behavioral Health’s teen/young adult drop-in center. He will also present talks to the Survival Skills class at Paducah School of Art & Design and students at McCracken County High School on how he got his start in documentary filmmaking and cartooning.
Fischer’s writing workshop explores creative ways of using words, images, and sound to release and heal, and to document the stories of our lives. “These exercises condition participants to use observation and creative writing to interpret and document the times in which we live,” said Fischer. “Participants will learn to appreciate the inner journey journal writing offers as a source of mental health and personal expression.”
Fischer’s interest in the Artist in Residence Program was sparked when learning that Paducah was a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Arts. “One of the attractions of a residency in Paducah is the city’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City,” said Fischer. “It makes the opportunity all the more exciting because it offers the added sense of being part of a world unity, a family of cities that appreciates and celebrates the enormous diversity in art and culture.” Fischer has conducted workshops/classes/lectures in sister UNESCO Creative Cities Santa Fe, Kansas City, and Budapest, Hungary.
Fischer’s credits include the critically acclaimed animated documentary Freedom Dance with Golden Globe-winning actress Mariska Hargitay, Old School New School with Emmy-winning actor Brian Cox, and productions for Maryland Public Television/PBS, TV Asia, Romanian Television Network, Nalco/Ecolab, Nextel, and National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. In 2019, Fischer produced EarthRise Apollo, which was commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing. The series screened in the United States, Asia, and Europe, including on the 800×300 ft. facade of Parliament in Bucharest to an audience of 60,000 spectators. His current projects include a feature film about the life of French silent film star Max Linder, and a cartoon book in production in Japan.
Steven Fischer can be reached directly through his website at stevenfischer.net. For a list of his scheduled events or to arrange an interview, contact Rosemarie Steele at rosemarie.steele@comcast.net or 270.331.5588.
