The film industry in New Mexico continues to grow after the pandemic and now young, up and coming filmmakers will also have a place to hone their skills in Albuquerque.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was joined alongside Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Alicia Keyes and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller to announce the new Albuquerque headquarters of the New Mexico Media Academy, which will be located at the Rail Yards.
A companion campus will also be located in Las Cruces, with both focused on helping grow and educate students, hoping to join the state’s burgeoning digital media ecosystem.
Lujan-Grisham said the Albuquerque branch of the media academy will help continue to grow the state’s workforce and give students the training they need.
“When we put it all together this becomes an incredible space that is already being used, today, as an incredible space for creativity and New Mexico should be not just known for film, but that we have the best economic opportunities, however those present themselves and there is in fact no wrong door.”
The media academy will be constructed in the boiler room location of the Rail Yards and once completed, the facility will offer industry-standard, hands-on and craft-specific workforce training and job competencies for film, television and the digital media industry.
There will also be a focus on emerging fields such as virtual and extended reality and volumetric production.
Fifteen New Mexico post-secondary film and media institutions from access the state have already agreed upon the core curriculum for students.
CNM will also be co-located at the Rail Yards and will share resources with the media academy.
Mayor Keller, who’s administration has focused heavily on the revitalization of the Rail Yards, said this investment by the state is another step in rebuilding and renewing the history of Albuquerque.
“Every single New Mexican will know about the film academy run by CNM, right here in the Albuquerque Rail Yards. This is that big of a deal for our state, this is something that all of our children will grow up with, just like we know CNM and UNM as a part of the fabric of New Mexico, all of our children will know about this film academy.”
The total investment into this academy is $40 million dollars.
As it stands right now, the film industry supports some 8,000 jobs across the state and the median wage of a film worker in New Mexico is $32 an hour.
