Margot Niederland is a multi-disciplinary artist in photography, film, and assemblage, who began her career as a free-lance photojournalist in the Middle East. Upon returning to the USA, she continued working as a photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts University and several publishing houses. She also created new work, which was exhibited in numerous shows in Boston, Cambridge and New York City.
In addition to photographing, and making assemblages, Ms. Niederland began studying film with such diverse filmmakers as Ricky Leacock and Jonas Mekas. She also worked at several art house cinemas and managed Center Screen, an independent film art house at Harvard, which showcased avant-garde and independent films. After watching over 3000 films in 10 years, Ms Niederland decided to try her hand at filmmaking.
Her first film, the award-winning short, Broken Angel, premièred at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991. Over the next 15 years it was screened in the United States and around the world in numerous festivals and other venues including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Australian Film Institute. (See complete list- under ‘Broken Angel’ Resume)
Since 1998, Ms Niederland has been filming her neighborhood, the Lower East Side. Over the next 16 years she shot more than 300 reels of 16mm film to capture its slowly disappearing history, as buildings are torn down and gentrification takes over. During that time, she received a residency at the Experimental TV Center, and two Kodak awards; the ‘Vision Special Merit Award’ and the ‘Emerging Filmmakers Award’ She is now seeking grants to complete this work-in-progress which will be titled “Beyond Nostalgia.”