About Us

The opening sequence for the URBAN IMAGE showcase was created through the collaboration of accomplished students and alumni of the Media Arts Department. The newly designed opening sequence for 2011 was created by Corey McNair (’10) and Jon Philip (’11). Some of the original images were shot on film by Clint Higgins ('06) and Michael Smythe ('06) and edited/animated by Clint Higgins. The new theme music was composed by Jon Philip.

Clint Higgins (cinematographer, editor, and title designer) graduated from the Media Arts Department in May 2006 and was awarded the prestigious Dr. Joseph Drew Award for Excellence in Media Production. His work has screened at the Jersey City Museum, the Hoboken Historical Museum, and the Landmark Loew´s Jersey Theater in Jersey City, NJ. Clint was the videographer for the title sequence of Jane Steuerwald´s recent film "The Memory Box," screening at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) this November 2006. He worked as a production assistant and assistant camera on the acclaimed documentary "8-BIT" which premiered at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in October 2006. He is in great demand as a director of photography, sound recordist, videographer, and editor on film junkets and on independent film productions.

Michael Smythe (cinematographer) graduated from NJ City University in May 2006 and was chosen for the Dean´s List at NJ City University every semester. He served as a teaching assistant and as a video editing tutor in the Media Arts Department and was also a Professional Services Staff member responsible for instructing media students in the operation of film, video, lighting, and audio production equipment. Mike was chosen as the projectionist for the Black Maria Film and Video Festival final jurying weekend in December 2005, and as the projectionist for the premiere weekend screening at the Jersey City Museum in February 2006. He worked with award-winning filmmaker Joel Katz, on a documentary portrait of former NJ City University professor and Civil Rights activist, Lee Hagen. Mike works at the Paley Center for Media in NYC.

Corey McNair was born and raised in Trenton, NJ. Growing up, Corey always dreamed of the day when he would work in the media industry. At the age of 17, he got his first internship at a radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - WRDW Wired 96.5FM. That experience encouraged him to further his education in the area of media. Corey enrolled in community college where he studied communication, speech and theater. Two years later, he transferred to New Jersey City University to major in Media Arts. Corey has interned at WRNB 107.9FM in Philadelphia, PA; at The Maury Povich Show in NYC; and at Power Play Production Studio in Newark, NJ. Corey graduated with his BA in Media Arts in Spring 2011.

Jon Philip graduated in the spring of 2011 with a BA in Media Arts. Jon is a writer, an actor, a poet, a filmmaker, and Hip-Hop producer. He is interested in screenwriting, directing, acting, and musical composition in film. Jon has performed all across New Jersey and New York, headlining at the Bowery Poetry Club, Margaret Williams Theatre, New Jersey City University, and Montclair State University. He has created and starred in many short films and music videos. Jon has also participated in internships with Cablevision and at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and is one of the founders of NJCU’s own Gothic Knight Films. Gothic Knight Films is a student organization, created and run by Media Arts majors, who produce their own student films.

Jane Steuerwald (coordinator) was born in Queens, NY. Since 1980 she has been working with 16mm and Super 8mm film and video creating installations, documentaries, found footage works, narrative and experimental films, and single edition art books. She studied film, video, and synaesthetic education at Syracuse University and received both a BFA and an MS. She completed an MFA in film at Bard College in 1987.

She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Black Maria Film and Video Festival for many years, and continues to serve as a pre-screener and guest curator. In 1989 and 2004 she received Artist Fellowships from NJ State Council on the Arts, and has also received grants from the NJ Historical Commission, the Puffin Foundation, Lightworks, Sony/AFI, and NJ City University. Her work has screened at MoMA; the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Thalia Cinema, NYC; Anthology Film Archives, NYC; The Gramercy Theater, NYC; the Jersey City Museum; Athens International Film Festival; and numerous arts venues in the US.

Jane Steuerwald is the coordinator/curator of Urban Image, and the curator of the Womenswork Media Collective also based in Jersey City. Screenings of Urban Image and Womenswork showcases have played in venues including The Jersey City Museum; the Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theater; the Five Corners Library; the Hoboken Historical Museum; Seton Hall University; the Fort Lee Film Festival; Millennium Film, NYC; Galapagos ArtSpace, Brooklyn, NY; NJ City University; and the NJ State Film Festival at Cape May where Steuerwald has been a guest curator. She was chair of the Media Arts Department of NJ City University for seventeen years, has been a film & video production professor there for thirty years, and was chosen for inclusion in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities in the US, Fall 2005. In March 2012 she was a Women’s History Month Honoree in Hudson County for empowering women through education.

URBAN IMAGE is grateful for the generous support from Jo Bruno, Esquire, Vice-President of Academic Affairs, NJCU; Dr. Barbara Feldman, Dean of the William J. Maxwell College of Arts and Sciences, NJCU; Joel Katz, Chair, Media Arts Department, NJCU; James Wallace, Associate Director, Media Arts Department, NJCU; Robert Foster, Executive Director, Hoboken Historical Museum; Marilyn Consulmagno, Media Arts Department, NJCU; Tom Gannon, Technical Services, Media Arts Department, NJCU; Ellen Wayman-Gordon, Public Information, NJCU; Kelly Resch, Public Information, NJCU; Jason Roque, Technical Services Staff, Media Arts Department, NJCU.