About

Mission

THE STANDBY PROGRAM, INC. is a non-profit media arts service organization founded in 1983. Standby’s mission is to foster the creation and preservation of media artwork by democratizing access to media technology, providing technical consultation, and creating resources to advance the development of the field.

Staff

Maria Elena Venuto, Executive Director, maria@standby.org began working at the Standby Program in 1993 and oversaw the development of new services and programs including the creation of comprehensive magnetic media preservation services designed to meet the needs of artists and cultural organizations. Maria has worked in the media arts since 1986 as an artist, video editor, and technical specialist. She is a graduate of the Department of Media Studies at SUNY Buffalo B.A. ‘87, M.A. ‘90.

Bill Seery, Director of Preservation Services
preservation@standby.org has over 30 years of experience in sound design, editing and mixing for film, video, radio and multimedia. For the past 20 years he has been active in the conservation and restoration of time based media including audio and moving image materials, and installation art.

Maurice Schecter, Consultant – is affiliated with the Standby lab, providing technical consultation and time based media conservation services. Maurice was the Chief Engineer at DuArt in New York for over 20 years. He has worked with the Guggenheim Museum and Red Bull Arts among others.

Standby offers internships to those seeking hands on experience in time-based media preservation. Contact us for more info@standby.org

Board of Directors

Ardele Lister, President

Artist & Visiting Professor in Media, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University

Janine Jackson, Vice President
Program Director of FAIR & Host of CounterSpin

Rachel Melman, Treasurer

Media & Entertainment Professional

Marshall Reese, Secretary

Artist & Video Editor

Debby Silverfine

Executive Director, Voelker Orth Museum

Funders

THE STANDBY PROGRAM is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Standby’s preservation activities are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.