NEVAN SWANSON

150 Park Avenue, Portland, ME  04101 • 2039171661 • nevanswanson@gmail.com

EDUCATION

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME        Bachelor of Arts, May 2018

Visual Arts with a minor in Government and Legal Studies                                                                             

FAMU International Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague         Fall 2016

Narrative Filmmaking        

Watson Foundation, New York, NY,         July 2018 – July 2019 

Thomas J. Watson Fellow

• Awarded a one-year highly selective grant for purposeful exploration outside of the US
• Explored how the act of documentation enhances and inhibits the very experience one seeks to preserve, considering what documents hold in themselves and confronting memory and loss, keeping and sharing
• Engaged with and interviewed artists, archivists, cultural activists, memory researchers, and local community members

WORK EXPERIENCE

New System Exhibitions, Portland, ME                                                                                             January 2021 – Present

Co-director

• Lead a community art space providing emerging artists exposure though solo exhibition opportunities
• Conduct outreach to local artists and community members, advertise upcoming events, and curate exhibitions
• Interview and create video content for exhibiting artists

First and Second Assistant Cameraman, Portland, ME and New York, NY                                                            2017 – Present

Emic Films, Charlex, Street Warrior Promo

• Worked directly with cinematographer, managed data, handled timecode slate and camera equipment

Production Assistant, Camera Department Assistant, Grip, New York, NY                                                                2013 – 2020 

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Netflix’s The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show, Netflix’s The Who Was? Show, among others

• Worked directly with cinematographer, camera assistants, and camera operators
• Built equipment to support camera department

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Ashford, CT (Remote)                                                                                                          2020

Photography Teacher

• Created lesson plans and taught students of various photography skill levels

Bowdoin Film Society, Brunswick, ME                                                                                                               2017 – 2018 

Co-President

• Selected, licensed, discussed, and screened films for the student body and local community
• Facilitated student film production

Abelardo Morell, Paris, France and Brunswick, ME                                                                                                                            2015

Assistant

• Location scout, production still photographer, and field assistant

HONORS

Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Residency, Rockland, ME                                                                                            May 2022

Artist-in-Residence

Kearny Point, Kearny, NJ                                                                                                               January – March 2020

Artist-in-Residence at the Gardenship

Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME                                                                                                                                                     2020

Gardenship: First Voyage Group Exhibition

Florens Cargo, Darmstadt, Germany                                                                                                                                    2019

Pop-Up 2 Group Exhibition

PhoPa Gallery, Portland, ME                                                                                                                                                     2016

Seeing Through: Maine Photographers, 30 and Under Group Exhibition

AWARDS: Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholar,Bowdoin College Senior Exhibition Juror’s Award, Anne Bartlett Lewis Memorial Prize in Visual Arts,  Bowdoin College Kaempfer Grant and McKee Photography Grants