“Arnías’ work is sublime. His chosen medium (16mm filmmaking) is challenging and very unexpected. I’m elated to see him receive an award that can help push his career further.”- Juror Dexter Wimberly, Independent Curator and Co-Founder, Creative Study.

Luis Arnías is the Wagner Foundation Boston Artadia Award recipient.

Luis Arnías is a filmmaker from Venezuela who currently lives and works in Boston, MA. In 2009, he completed the diploma program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and in 2020 he received his Masters in Film/Video from Milton Avery Graduate School at Bard College. He has screened at New York Film Festival, TIFF, Punto de Vista, Berlin Critics’ Week (Woche Der Kritik) and BlackStar Film Festival. He was a Fellow at The Film Study Center at Harvard University and recipient of the Herb Alpert/MacDowell Fellowship 2022.

Arnías makes experimental 16mm films. He moves through space seeking what moves him. He starts a film by walking and following light. When he sees an object or person or situation in his viewfinder, there is a mutual recognition, they bring each other into being. It is laborious work. Conjuring work. A visual exploration of his enduring experience as an immigrant person of Afro-Caribbean descent living in America.