Flashpoint has new name, partners
De Niro's Tribeca acquires 50% ownership in school
At a Wednesday morning meeting of the school’s 450 students, staff and teachers, president/CEO Howard Tullman and academic dean Paula Froehle announced that the school is now Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy.
Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal’s New York-based Tribeca Enterprises has become a 50% partner in the school in a deal that was concluded April 8 after months of discussions.
No changes are expected in management or curriculum. Tribeca’s involvement at this point will be to provide notable guest speakers and singular workshops for which Tribeca Flashpoint has become well-known, Froehle noted.
Tullman said, “It really means amazing opportunities for our students.” While the school has had success in placing graduates in jobs in Chicago’s visual media industry and throughout the country, the Tribeca pipeline also will put them into Tribeca-led activities.
Flashpoint was appealing to Tribeca “as an extraordinary opportunity to complement and expand our educational and digital media ecosystem,” said investor Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of Tribeca Enterprises with his wife, Jane Rosenthal.
Who reached out to whom first to make the connection is not known, although there was talk last year about Flashpoint seeking additional investors.
Howard Tullman, Tribeca Flashpoint CEO/president
Tullman, a legendary figure in high-tech ventures originally led the school’s $16 million funding. “We were looking for a strategic partner as much as an investor,” he said.
Flashpoint was an ideal fit for Tribeca’s continuing educational expansion. Its highly concentrated, two-year curriculum, Rosenthal said, would help prepared students for jobs that haven’t been invented yet.
Tribeca Flashpoint’s studies are centered on the disciplines of film and broadcast, recording arts, game developing and interactive media and visual effects and animation.
"The jobs and the skills needed are changing dramatically, and you need to stay forward thinking. The students that do come out of this program will help us keep our industry healthy," Rosenthal told the Tribune’s Mark Caro.
Tribeca Flashpoint is located in the heart of the Loop, in 75,000-sq. ft. of handsomely designed space on two floors, and ornamented with original art from Tullman’s personal multimillion dollar collection. The facility is complete with stages, editing suites and mixing rooms, state-of-the-art camera and computer equipment.
Tuition is $25,000 per year. Enrollment for the fall 2010 semester is currently open.
Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy is located at 28 N. Clark, phone 312/332-0707 312/332-0707 .
See www.tribecaflashpoint.com. —Ruth L Ratny
