NEW MEXICO – Governor Michelle Luján Grisham on Tuesday broke ground on the new Creative Campus at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Arrowhead Center.
According to information from New Mexico officials, the new space will house the Las Cruces satellite campus of the New Mexico Media Academy, along with new film and media education facilities for Doña Ana Community College and NMSU.
The New Mexico Media Academy (NMMA) is a priority initiative that has identified film and television production as a key industry sector in the state to create good-paying jobs and diversify the economy.
“The Las Cruces satellite campus exemplifies the collaboration that continues to grow the film and television industry in communities across the state,” said Governor Lujan Grisham. “The partnership between the booming industry and New Mexico’s free higher education will foster that growth and support the impressive field of top-notch production companies and media programs right here in Las Cruces.”
The Creative Campus will feature a 4,000-square-foot traditional stage, a volumetric stage, flexible classrooms and classrooms designed specifically for graphic and web design, game design, virtual reality, animation, cinematography and more. In addition, the common area of the building will be a hub for students and activities such as screenings.
The New Mexico Media Academy will offer a certificate program that will allow students to quickly access jobs in the film and media industry with specific training and paid internships in coordination with New Mexico Film Partners, Netflix, NBCUniversal and 828 Productions.
The NMMA Las Cruces campus, in collaboration with NMSU and DACC, will offer a tailored bilingual curriculum that will help create a film crew ready to work on Spanish-language productions, for which there is a high global demand. A unique “teacher training” program is also planned to train middle and high school teachers in the industry, the latest technologies and production equipment and best practices. Fifteen New Mexico post-secondary film and media programs have already partnered with NMMA and have agreed to a core curriculum that will cover basic production skills.
Governor Lujan Grisham proposed the creation of a statewide media academy in 2022 to prepare students for employment in the state’s thriving film and media industry. The governor secured $40 million in the 2022 legislative session for the creation of NMMA and its first satellite campus in Las Cruces.
Las Cruces was named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the top ten cities for film professionals to live and work in 2023.
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