Evan Apodaca is a media artist known best for his film, Que Lejos Estoy, which streamed nationally on PBS in 2016. Apodaca received his Bachelor's of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 and is currently based in San Diego, California. His work explores new forms of narrative nonfiction through methods of public engagement and innovative digital media interfaces. In 2018 he was the Associate Producer and Animator for, Singing My Way to Freedom, an award winning feature film about musician and civil-rights activist, Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez. Apodaca’s work consists of short films and video installations that examine themes of race, family history, cultural assimilation, political activism and most recently militarism in the San Diego region. His films have also screened at the Chicano International Film Festival (LA), the Tijuana Film & Food Festival and the San Diego Latino Film Festival. Apodaca was a 2019 San Diego Foundation Creative Catalyst fellow and was a recipient of National Association of Latino Arts & Culture’s Border Narrative Change Grant in 2021.
Contact: evanapodaca@gmail.com
Education
2009 Bachelors of Fine Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Screenings and Exhibitions
2020 Voz Alta: Time & Space, Best Practice, San Diego, CA
2018 ¡Frontera Filmmakers!, San Diego Latino Film Festival, CA
2017 Deep Time University, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA
Tijuana Film & Food Festival, Centro Cultural Tijuana, Mexico
National Association of Latino Independent Producers Media Summit, LA, CA
Que Lejos Estoy, New Americans Museum, San Diego, CA
San Diego Film Week, Museum of Photographic Arts, SD, CA
2016 PBS Online Film Festival, Nationwide
Chicano International Film Festival, Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles, CA
San Diego Latino Film Festival, AMC Fashion Valley, San Diego, CA
San Diego Underground Film Festival, Tenth Avenue Arts Center, SD, CA
National Association of Latino Independent Producers Media Summit, LA, CA
Date Night , San Diego Art Institute, Horton Plaza, San Diego, C
2012 International Symposium of Electronic Arts, University of New Mexico, NM
2011 The Body Parlor , Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, IL
Off the Wall, Space4Art, San Diego, CA
Learning Modern, SAIC, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
2009 SAIC Spring BFA Senior Thesis Exhibition, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
Happening in Bronzeville , The South Side Community Arts Center, Chicago
Don’t Put It Past Me, Koscielak Gallery, Chicago, IL
Reviews & Publications
2021 Filmmaker Points Surreal Lens, KPBS, Julia Dixon Evans
Meet artist Evan Apodaca, San Diego Union Tribune, Seth Combs
Artist Uses Photos and Motion Capture, PetaPixel, Anete Lusina
2018 Beyond Storytelling, La Prensa, Marielena Castellanos
2016 Video Players, San Diego City Beat, Seth Combs
Grants, Awards & Residencies
2021 Border Narrative Change Grant, National Association of Latino Arts & Culture
2018 Creative Catalyst Grant, San Diego Foundation, CA
Audience Award for Best Documentary Film San Diego Latino Film Festival
Best Frontera Feature Film, San Diego Latino Film Festival
2007 SAIC Full Tuition Chairman Merit Scholarship
Fine Arts Club of Pasadena Visual Arts Award
2006 Jeane Ward Foundation Grant
William B. Memorial Scholarship Award
Professional Experience
2019 Arts Advisory Committee Chair, Centro Cultural de la Raza
2018 Instructor, Special Effects, Platt College
2018 Associate Producer/Editor/Cinematographer, Espinosa Productions
2017 Instructor, Media Arts Center, San Diego, CA