PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow, the film and new media arm of the Portland Art Museum, has announced the 2026 Sustainability Labs Fellows. The program, now in its fifth year, supports five mid-career media artists—Kamari Bright, Peter Burr, and others—with bespoke mentorship in business planning, financial strategy, creative brand expansion, and mental health. The Labs culminate in a pitch session at Wieden + Kennedy and attendance at PAM CUT’s Cinema Unbound Awards on May 29, honoring polymath artists including Titus Kaphar, Emma McIlroy, and Maria Bamford.
This announcement matters because the Sustainability Labs represent a rare institutional focus on holistic career sustainability for mid-career media artists, moving beyond project-based support to address long-term creative and financial growth. By emphasizing cross-platform storytelling and de-siloing artistic practice, the program aims to strengthen the broader media arts ecosystem. The inclusion of recognized figures like Peter Burr (a Guggenheim Fellow) and Kamari Bright (an Artist Trust Innovator Award recipient) underscores the program’s growing prestige and its role in fostering resilient, multi-disciplinary careers in the visual and media arts.