Mosaic is the official hub for all things media at the Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies (IWES)! Since our founding, we have included media in all aspects of our work to bring the stories, experiences and perspectives we represent to life. Storytelling has been the cornerstone of many of our programs, even woven into our curricula, especially when focusing on health prevention topics such as healthy relationships and emotional well-being. Through projects like Teen Expressions on Cable Access TV in the late ‘90’s, the Media Advocates for Prevention “Role Model Stories” in the mid-2000s, and more recently our feature films Back Story (2016) and Woke (2017), we strive to create pieces that speak to the real experiences of New Orleanians, especially youth, through a variety of formats. We’ve had separate pages for all of our projects, and we realized it was time to bring it all together and house it under one roof - Mosaic. Ranging from short films to features, documentaries to narratives, and everything in between, Mosaic is here to communicate the IWES way through film. 

Mosaic is the next step in the evolution of IWES’ Media & Communications department. The site is new, but the goal of our work remains the same. We will continue to bring honest portrayals of important health issues through a new lens, and to give a voice to those often overlooked or misrepresented. On our Mosaic website and social media channels, expect to see behind the scenes moments, sneak peeks and trailers of new projects, discussions that explore the intersection of media and health, and, of course, premieres of our newest pieces.